Guard against discrimination lawsuits
IF THE STOCK market continues to fall, more lawsuits claiming racial, gender, or age discrimination will be filed, says Jason Boulette, an attorney at Vinson and Elkins in Austin, Texas. During the dot-com heyday, with the potential for startup millions, a very tight labor market, and companies apt and able to give generous severance packages, many IT professionals simply quit and moved to another company when discrimination or unethical behavior occurred in the workplace, according to Boulette.
But that's now changed, Boulette says. "As the stock market continues to fall, stocks tank, and employees are not making as much as they did previously, every [poor management behavior] will uspet them," and they will be more likely to take legal action, he adds.
Awards for such cases are increasing. During 2000, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission obtained more than $200 million on behalf of employees claiming discrimination. That's up from the $118 million that the Commission obtained in 1992. According to Jury Verdict Research, in Horsham, Pa., the probability of an employee winning a discrimination case increased from 45 percent in 1994 to 72 percent in 1999. The median compensatory award increased from $128,000 in 1996 to $221,612 in 1999.
State and federal laws prohibit certain kinds of discrimination
"Managers can't hire, fire, pass over for promotion, deny a vacation request, do anything surrounding the terms and conditions or employment because of someone's protected characteristics. This means you can't make decisions or take employment actions because of an employee's race, color, gender, religion, or national origin," Boulette says. "This is prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." To be covered by Title VII, a company must have 15 or more employees. Age discrimination is prohibited by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act; and the Americans with Disabilities Act covers discrimination against and reasonable accommodations for disabled workers.
Review employment practices
Boulette says managers need to look beyond the protected characteristic to the actual business necessity of the job.
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