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 Events

September 22, Mt. Sac (Walnut), How to Build a Salary Structure & Merit Pay System, Click here for more information.

 

September 29, Mt. Sac (Walnut), Cal-OSHA & IIPP Basics, Click here for more information.

 

October 6, Mt. Sac (Walnut), Coaching to Improve Performance, Click here for more information.

 

October 13, Mt. Sac (Walnut), How to Create and Conduct a Formal Discipline Discussion, Click here for more information.

 

October 20, Mt. Sac (Walnut), Cal-OSHA & IIPP Basics, Click here for more information.

 

Bank of America Pays $2.2 Million for Race Discrimination

Bank of America Corp. (BOA) will pay 1,147 African-American job applicants $2,181,593 in back wages and interest for race-based hiring discrimination, says the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), declaring “a major victory.”

 

Here are some details about the BOA case and other backpay/discrimination lawsuits that sound a warning to all employers to take extra care to avoid discrimination and offer a reminder about the tenacity of federal agencies. The ruling in the BOA case awards $964,033 to 1,034 applicants who were rejected for jobs in 1993 and $1,217,560 to 113 individuals who were rejected between 2002 and 2005. It further orders the BOA to extend job offers, with appropriate seniority, to 10 class members as positions become available.

 

The judge determined that the bank applied unfair and inconsistent selection criteria resulting in the rejection of qualified African-American applicants for teller and entry-level clerical and administrative positions at the company's Charlotte facility.

 

On November 24, 1993, the OFCCP initiated a routine compliance review that revealed indications of systemic hiring discrimination affecting African-American jobseekers at the Charlotte facility. After conciliation efforts failed, the Solicitor of Labor in 1997 filed an administrative complaint against the company for violating Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment practices on the basis of race.

 

The BOA may be regretting its decision to continue to fight this battle, especially because we’re guessing that over the 20 years this case went on, the lawyers’ fees and other costs and distractions have added substantially to the total costs the BOA has sustained.

 

Medtronic Pays $290,000 to Settle Wage Discrimination Lawsuit

The OFCCPC  has resolved claims of pay discrimination affecting 78 Hispanic workers employed at the Medtronic Interventional Vascular Inc. manufacturing facility in Danvers, Mass. Medtronic will pay the affected workers $290,000 in back wages and interest for pay disparities dating back to April 2008.

 

In court filings, the OFCCP alleged that Medtronic, a federal contractor, discriminated against 78 entry-level Hispanic senior production associates by paying them less than their white counterparts, in violation of Executive Order 11246.

 

Mountaire Farms Pays $48,000 to Settle EEOC Retaliation Lawsuit

Mountaire Farms, Inc., doing business as Mountaire Farms of North Carolina Corp., will pay $48,000 and furnish other relief to resolve a lawsuit for retaliation filed by the EEOC.

 

According to the EEOC's lawsuit, Frantz Morette began working as a translator for a group of Haitian workers at Mountaire Farms' Lumber Bridge facility in December 2010. The EEOC's complaint alleged that Morette complained repeatedly to his supervisors and the human resources department that the Haitian workers were being treated poorly by Mountaire Farms' supervisors as compared to their non-Haitian coworkers. Morette told company management that supervisors often refused to allow the Haitian workers to take bathroom breaks while allowing non-Haitian workers to do so and refused to provide the Haitian workers with the training necessary for the higher-paying jobs at the facility. Morette also informed company management that the Haitian workers were often harassed by their non-Haitian supervisors and co-workers by having chickens and chicken parts thrown at them.

 

The EEOC's suit further alleged that sometime around Sept. 1, 2011, Morette notified one of the company's managers that a supervisor was refusing to allow a Haitian worker to take a restroom break while allowing other non-Haitian workers to do so. A few days later, Morette was fired, the EEOC said, in retaliation for his complaints.

 

In addition to monetary damages, the two-year consent decree resolving the suit requires Mountaire Farms to revise its existing anti-discrimination policy to include procedures for reporting discrimination; give assurance that the company will protect the confidentiality of discrimination complaints to the extent possible; give further assurance that Mountaire Farms will not retaliate or take action against a person who makes a complaint about discrimination; and institute a procedure for investigating such complaints. Mountaire Farms will also post a copy of its anti-discrimination policy at all of its facilities and train its employees on anti-discrimination laws annually.

 

Factoids

For employees who have spouses eligible for healthcare coverage at their own employer:

• 4% of eligible spouses were excluded for healthcare coverage in 2013
  
• 12% of eligible spouses are expected to be excluded for healthcare coverage in 2014

 

Here are most overlooked health and safety concerns in the workplace (MySafetySign.com)

• 24% stress
• 20% overwork
  
• 19% back strains
  
• 16% heavy lifting
• 15% repetitive strain injuries

 

Quotes

“It is not enough to do your best; you must know what to do, and then do your best.”
~W. Edwards Demming~