Here is the latest issue of “This & That” Tuesday. I hope you find it to be informative and useful.

 

Announcements

You can always check out my website for upcoming speaking engagements that are guaranteed to be of value to business owners or for a list of topics that I can speak on at Chambers, Clubs, Business Associations, etc. More details about the events, topics and Human Resources 4U, in general, can be found on my website.

 

Upcoming Talks

April 8, Culver City "The Big 7 EmploymentTrouble Spots" Click here for more information.

 

July 17, West Covina "Critical Human Resources Issues for Business Owners" Click here for more information.

James E. Brown & Associates Settle EEOC Pregnancy Discrimination Suit

James E. Brown & Associates, PLLC, a Washington, D.C. law firm, agreed to pay $18,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit.  

 

The EEOC said Zorayda J. Moreira-Smith interviewed for an associate attorney position at Brown & Associates around November 2010 and received a job offer in January 2011.  Before Moreira-Smith accepted the job offer, on January 6, 2011, she e-mailed the Brown & Associates' business manager to inquire about the company's maternity leave policy, among other things.  In the same e-mail, Moreira-Smith informed the business manager that she was six months pregnant.  Less than two hours later, Brown & Associates e-mailed Moreira-Smith and rescinded its job offer. The EEOC claimed that Brown rescinded its offer because of her pregnancy.

 

Such alleged conduct violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which holds that discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is a form of sex discrimination. 

 

In addition to monetary relief, the two-year consent decree settling the suit requires the firm to implement a policy that prohibits discrimination, provide EEO training to all of its personnel and post a notice to its employees about the settlement.  Brown & Associates is enjoined from engaging in further pregnancy discrimination or retaliation and has agreed to be monitored by the EEOC for the term of the decree.

 

"No woman should have to choose between having children and working," said the regional attorney for the EEOC, which has litigation authority in the District of Columbia.  "Employers must remember that they cannot make employment decisions based on stereotypes about pregnant employees. As the law makes clear, discrimination due to pregnancy is illegal and the EEOC will vigorously redress violations of the law."

 

HoneyBaked Ham to Pay $370K to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment and Retaliation Lawsuit

The Original HoneyBaked Ham Company of Georgia, based in Alpharetta, Ga., will pay $370,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuit filed by the EEOC. 

 

According to the EEOC's suit, female HoneyBaked Ham employees in Colorado stores were subjected to sexual harassment and were fired or otherwise retaliated against if they complained. The lawsuit springs from the charge of discrimination brought to the EEOC by Wendy Cabrera, a former supervisor in the Highlands Ranch, CO store.  The EEOC charged that Cabrera and other female employees were harassed, but when she reported her complaint up the chain of command and to HoneyBaked Ham headquarters in Georgia, she was terminated.  

 

Sexual harassment and retaliation for complaining about it violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  HoneyBaked Ham has agreed to pay $370,000 to Cabrera and a class of female employees to resolve this case.  The company entered into a consent decree and agreed to ensure that all of its employees are trained on sexual harassment and the anti-retaliation provisions of Title VII, and managers are additionally to receive training on handling sexual harassment and how to respond to complaints.  HoneyBaked Ham will also report to the EEOC on gender discrimination, including sexual harassment complaints in Colorado during the decree's duration.

 

EEOC Regional Attorney said, "Sadly, sexual harassment remains a prevalent problem in many workplaces.  Employers need to be very careful to respond to sexual harassment complaints — to take them seriously and stop the sexual harassment, certainly not punish the victims.  People subjected to this abuse often suffer in at least two ways — first they suffer the indignity of sexual harassment and then again when they endure illegal and unfair retaliation for speaking the truth."

 

The EEOC has seen retaliation complaints become the most prevalent kind of charge filed with the EEOC over the last two years — in fiscal year 2012, 38.1% of the charges filed with the EEOC were retaliation charges.  

 

Factoids

• Average number of fines or penalties per year reported by midsized firms: 6
• 57% of all firms offered health benefits in 2013, down from 66% in 2003
• Average base pay increases will remain around 3% for 2014.
• 1 in 5 parents age 50+have at least one “boomerang” adult child who has moved back in with them.
• 18% of job seekers have had a video interview  (double the prior year): Right Management

 

Quotes

“I don't want to achieve immortality through my work. I want to achieve immortality through not dying.”

-Woody Allen~