ANNUAL DISCRIMINATION COSTS RUN OVER 470 MILLION DOLLARS 10 Year Average of EEOC Claims, Understates The Issue

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ANNUAL DISCRIMINATION COSTS RUN OVER
470 MILLION DOLLARS

10 Year Average of EEOC Claims, Understates The Issue


/24-7PressRelease/ - TUSCALOOSA, AL, July 01, 2007 - The Equal Employment Opportunities Commission statistics over the last 10 years visualize a lack of success in battling Discrimination in the USA. $470,000,000 is a very conservative, 10-year average, which just reflects the reported EEOC collections, and ignores the costs of litigation, lost work time, and indeed the many cases that bypass the EEOC completely. Approximately 140,000 cases come up each year, and the numbers increased throughout most of the last decade. While Sexual Harassment is one of the more recognized forms of Discrimination, it was interesting to note that Sexual Harassment did not even equate to a top 4 contender in the statistics.

The sad reality is that for most organizations, it is not a matter of "IF" they will face a Discrimination case, but rather a case of "WHEN" they will face that case. The ultimate question is are these organizations prepared to defend themselves against these accusations?

Discrimination cases vary widely in the nature of the cases with the following categories being included in the statistics:

· Age.
· Disabilities.
· Equal Pay.
· National Origin.
· Pregnancy.
· Race.
· Religion.
· Sex Based.
· Harassment.
· Sexual Harassment.
· Retaliation.

The top four categories of Discrimination in order of costs of settlement are:

· Sex Based.
· Race.
· Retaliation.
· Age Discrimination.

The good news is that organizations of all kinds have within the law, a means of avoiding most of the resulting damages from Discrimination litigation--The Affirmative Defense. The effort needed to comply with The Affirmative Defense will have a simultaneous benefit in reducing the likelihood of a case arising in the first place. The Affirmative Defense is awarded by the courts to organizations that the court concludes have in place policies, training, and management practices that effectively address discrimination issues.

Having official Discrimination Policies is the first step, but it is not enough. A vigorous training regimen, proper data collection and reporting must follow. These efforts cost money, but are well worth the fairly small investment as a means of avoiding the much larger costs of discrimination litigation.

The author began his study of Harassment and Sexual Harassment in 1998, and since that time has researched issues in Harassment and Sexual Harassment, and taught classes to Business Communications and Ethics students in a variety of classroom settings.

His web site: http://www.sexualharassmentresources.com seeks to be a good source of information on the subjects of harassment and sexual harassment.


If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Bill Barger, please call Bill at 205-345-9822 or email him at [email protected]

About Barger Specialties LLC
Barger Specialties LLC is a company set up to deliver information via the web on the subject of Harassment and Sexual Harassment. It is our desire to be the economical resource for persons seeking basic information. Information is supplied by a educator, not a lawyer, so should not be construed as legal advice.

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