"This & That" Tuesday: Pay Discrimination, Sexual Harassment

February 10, 2015

 

 

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

February 11, Webinar on Discipline

http://www.trainhr.com/ and go to Webinar Search – by month

 

February 11, Labor Law Update 2015, Pomona Chamber of Commerce

Information at Human Resources 4U

 

February 12, Labor Law Update 2015, Glendora Chamber of Commerce

Information at Human Resources 4U

 

February 21, Labor Law Update 2015, Institute of Management Accountants, San Gabriel Valley

Information at: Human Resources 4U

 

March 9, 2015, Time Management,

Mt. Sac Community College

Information at: (909) 274-4027 or workforcetraining@mtsac.edu

 

March 11, Labor Law Update 2015, National Association of Women in Construction

Information at Human Resources 4U 

 

March 16, 2015,           Coaching to Improve Performance,

How to Build a Hiring Process

Human Resource Issues for Business Owners

Leave of Absence Laws in California

Mt. Sac Community College

Information at: (909) 274-4027 or workforcetraining@mtsac.edu

 

March 23, 2015,            How to Create and Conduct a Formal Discipline Discussion

How to Build a Salary Structure & Merit Pay System

Cal-OSHA & IIPP Basics

                               AB 1825 Mandated Harassment Training for Supervisors

Mt. Sac Community College

Information at: (909) 274-4027 or workforcetraining@mtsac.edu

 

 

Checkers Franchise Pays $100,000 for Pay Discrimination

A fast food restaurant franchise, Market Burgers, LLC, doing business as Checkers in West Philadelphia, will pay $100,000 and furnish significant equitable relief to settle a gender pay discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC.

 

The EEOC charged that Market Burgers paid female shift managers and female cashiers / sandwich makers lower wages than their male counterparts even though they did substantially equal work. According to the lawsuit, Market Burgers also suppressed the wages of female shift managers and cashiers / sandwich makers through discriminatory job assignments, such as scheduling them for fewer hours than their male counterparts.

 

Such alleged conduct violates the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC filed suit after first attempting to reach a voluntary pre-litigation settlement through its conciliation process.

 

In addition to the $100,000 in monetary relief to aggrieved current and former female employees, the three-year consent decree settling the lawsuit contains important remedial provisions, including prohibiting Market Burgers from future discrimination on the basis of sex with respect to wages. The restaurant will increase the hourly wages of female cashiers / sandwich makers to match the wage rate it pays to males performing equal work. Market Burgers will provide training on complying with Title VII's and the EPA's prohibition against sex-based wage discrimination with a focus on the legal prohibitions on making discriminatory job assignments based on sex. Market Burgers will also report to the EEOC on its handling of all complaints of wage discrimination based on sex or sex-based discrimination in job assignments, as well as post a remedial notice.

 

Davis Typewriter Company Settles Sexual Harassment Suit

Davis Typewriter Company, a Worthington, Minn., office furniture and office supply company, will be subject to a sweeping federal court injunction and pay $11,000 in emotional-distress damages to a former employee to settle a lawsuit filed by the EEOC.

 

The EEOC's lawsuit charged that between March and July 2010, Davis Typewriter's operations manager used the company's security camera system to stream footage of a female former employee's breasts and body onto his office computer. The EEOC's investigation indicated that when the employee learned of her manager's surreptitious surveillance and notified another manager and Davis Typewriter's owner, the company failed to take sufficient steps to correct such behavior or prevent it from occurring again in the future. The agency's lawsuit alleged that as a result of the company's failure to take reasonable measures to correct the harassment or prevent it from happening again, the employee was forced to quit.

 

In addition to monetary relief to its former employee, the two-year consent decree settling the lawsuit establishes an injunction prohibiting Davis Typewriter from permitting the creation of a sexually hostile work environment, and requires it to take prompt corrective action when notified of sexual harassment complaints. Additionally, the injunction requires training on employee rights as well as training for managers and the ownership on their obligations to promptly investigate reports of sexual harassment. Further, the EEOC will be monitoring Davis Typewriter's receipt of and response to employee harassment complaints for the next two years.

 

Factoids

Bonuses are back

• 74% are offering sign-on bonuses
• 60% spot bonuses
• 51% retention bonuses

 

Most disrupting at work:

• 18% emails
• 9% odors
• 8% telephone calls
• 6% noise

   

Quote of the Blog

“Sometimes you make the right decision; sometimes you make the decision right.”

~Dr. Phil McGraw~