to the EEO/AA CONNECTION ~ Meet Bruce, Carol, Jan, and Joann, your nationally recognized Equality and Affirmative Action experts

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Make 2008 the year your company is in compliance with EEO and Affirmative Action laws, regulations,
and Executive Orders. 

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Check out changes to the Veteran's Regulations (see link to right:  New Trends in EEOC and OFCCP)

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Jan. 28, 2008

FMLA Expansion Signed into Law

Bottom Line (at the top):  On January 28, President Bush expanded the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to include leave for military families.  Employers must now provide 26 weeks of FMLA leave during a single 12-month period to permit a
"spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin" to provide care for a "member of the Armed Forces, including a member of the National Guard or Reserves, who is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy, is otherwise in outpatient status, or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list, for a serious injury or illness." For more detailed information, visit the Dept. of Labor/Wage and Hour web site here.

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NEW I-9 FORM REQUIRED FOR ALL NEW HIRES AFTER 12/26/2007

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services published a new version of the I-9 Form which documents both identity and employment eligibility for all new hires.  On December 26, 2007, you must begin using the new version of the form.  Click here to download the new form,

To read the new instructions, go to our link to the right “New Trends.”  Be sure you are using the correct version of the form.  Financial penalties can be significant.

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AAP MUST BE CORRECT – OR ELSE…It Can Get Ugly

If your Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) contains  inaccurate data or unnecessary admissions, the information could be admissible in court.  The Ohio State Appeals Court ruled that an AAP may constitute direct evidence of unlawful employment discrimination and could be taken into consideration during an EEO related trial.  

Mitchell v. Lemmie (Ohio Ct. App., No 21511, 10/26/2007

Referring to the AAP, the court document states, "If it
is not valid, an [AAP] amounts to nothing more than a formal policy of unlawful discrimination."

Here is where you need to pay attention:  The ruling states the AAP could be invalid under Title VII because it failed to take into account that under-representation
of women or minorities in certain positions cannot
alone justify taking race or sex into consideration for employment decisions. 

You don’t want these problems if an EEO disparate treatment case or class disparate impact case makes
it to court.  Be sure your AAP is able to stand scrutiny by the courts - contact EEO Logic today. 

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September 2007 OFCCP Guidance regarding EEOC's race and ethnic category changes and how they can be used in your AAP (although they conflict with the OFCCP categories)....click on "New Trends in EEOC and OFCCP" to the right. 

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If you are not in compliance with Dept. of Labor Affirmative Action requirements, you might want to read on...Click on "New Trends in EEOC and OFCCP" for more information

To avoid being a statistic for 2007, give us a call or send
an email inquiry.

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Congratulations to Bruce Kuehnl, for receiving the Partner in Excellence Award from the Arizona Affirmative Action Association/Arizona Industry Liaison Group.  The award was presented to Bruce in April 2007. 

Bruce accepts the Excellence award from John Garza, President, AAAA/AILG

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DISCRIMINATION IS NOT CHEAP

The OFCCP and EEOC are focusing on systemic discrimination.  This means they are setting their sites on your numbers instead of one-on-one individual disparate treatment discrimination (although the large treatment cases are still around - see Caesars, Dial, & Flushing Manor).  If the statistics don’t look good to the these agencies, the result will most likely end up

costing your business a considerable amount of money – and that is just the start. After the discrimination news hits the media, bad publicity is the next financial hardship to hit your front door.

Focused below are just a few of the large settlements by the EEOC in the past few years.  Can your business afford discrimination?  Check your numbers before it is too late. 

 
*  Caesars Palace- $850 Thousand (8/20/2007) Sexual Harassment and Retaliation (forced sex on   Hispanic

female workers)

*  Flushing Manor Geriatric Center, Inc.  - 

$900 Thousand   (04/23/2007)   Harassment and Retaliation of Black and Caribbean Workers

*  Dial Corporation - $3.3 Million (11/20/2006)
Pre-employment strength test discriminated against female job applicants (52 rejected female applicants)

*  Morgan Stanley - $54 Million (8/15/2005) Claims that the company excluded women from work-related outings, paid women less than their male peers, and denied them warranted promotions (67 females)

*  Abercrombie & Fitch - $50 Million (11/18/2004)
Claims that the company adopted restrictive marketing image, and other policies, which limited minority and female employment
 
*  Dial Corporation - $10 Million (4/29/2003) Sexual harassment in Illinois facility

*  California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) - $250 Million (1/30/2003) Reduction of benefits based on age discrimination charges

*  Rent-A-Center - $47 Million (10/4/2002)
   Sex discrimination (100 females)

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FREE:  2008 EEO-1:  APPLICATION TEAR OFF SHEET provided with required revisions:  Go to:  WHAT IS APPLICANT link to cut and paste Word Document

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86%

 According to Diversity Inc., eighty-six percent of the Top 50 Diversity Corporations make diversity training mandatory for all managers.

Contact us for a business package and syllabus for "Never Boring," interactive Diversity training.

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NO MORE EO SURVEY

The OFCCP is publishing a final rule rescinding the Equal Opportunity Survey (EO Survey) requirements in order to more effectively focus enforcement resources and eliminate a regulatory requirement that fails to provide value to either OFCP enforcement or contractor compliance.  For more information, go to the OFCCP website::  http://www.dol.gov/esa/regs/fedreg/proposed/
2006000646.htm

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DID YOU KNOW?

Did you know that 22% of executives of privately held companies report having an employee file a discrimination complaint with the EEOC or a state agency recently (Chubb 2003 Risk Survey)?  Many are dealing with class action complaints which are not only costly, but are also detrimental to the image of the company.  Be proactive - create a viable EEO/AA Program today!  

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KUEHNL was one of two keynote speakers at the Annual Kentucky Industry Liaison Group (KYILG) meeting.  He spoke on Compensation Equity and the requirements of OFCCP.  Bring Bruce to your organization to learn more about EEO and compensation analysis requirements. 

EEO LOGIC

EEO Logic specializes in developing written Affirmative Action Programs, (which include comprehensive compensation analyses) in response to the US Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) requirements under Executive Order 11246. EEO Logic can help you navigate the maze of Federal Affirmative Action requirements. We provide services in developing written Affirmative Action Programs / Affirmative Action Plans (AAPs), determining availability, conducting comprehensive compensation and adverse impact studies. We can also provide expert technical assistance to your company during OFCCP compliance audits.

Bruce Kuehnl has 25 plus years of experience, including 18 years with the OFCCP as a compliance Officer, District Director and Special Assistant to the Director. As President of EEO Logic and as a Senior Consultant for the Equal Employment Advisory Council, Bruce has assisted contractors in navigating the EEO maze. Bruce's experience and level of expertise has made him a preferred resource by a variety of Fortune 500 companies.

Bruce has successfully responded to numerous OFCCP allegations of systemic compensation discrimination through the use of comprehensive compensation analyses. Similar compensation analyses are an integral part of every Affirmative Action Plan developed by EEOLogic.

EEO GUIDANCE, INC.®
If you have not trained your management staff, you very well may be liable for their inappropriate EEO actions.  EEO Guidance, Inc.® also provides consulting services, specifically the training arm of this EEO partnership. Carol A. Dawson provides straight talking, interactive training sessions on Diversity, Affirmative Action Law, Title VII Harassment, Equality, EEO Counselor training, and a variety of other educational workshops for the workforce. She has 15 years of experience with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program where she served as Area Director for the Louisville, Kentucky office, in addition to experience as an EEO Manager for the Commerce Department (Census). For more information regarding EEO Guidance®, click here or on the EEO Guidance® icon to the left.

Carol is the 2008 recipient of the Will Rogers Humanitarian Award, an annual award through the National Society of Newspaper Columnists (NSNC).

Let EEO Logic and EEO Guidance® help your company comply with the government regulations in the vital areas of Equal Employment Opportunity and Affirmative Action.

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EEO ADVISORS  

As the newest prong to the EEO/AA Connection, EEO Advisors provides additional resources for all of your equal employment and affirmative action needs. Jan Riha has 32 years of experience in this field, including 15 years with the OFCCP. She has the knowledge and experience to effectively develop all aspects of your affirmative action program and provide detailed technical assistance throughout all stages of an OFCCP audit. She is also an experienced presenter and is available as a speaker for your group or to provide training to your staff.

JOTOSKI CONSULTING

Joann Tolbert-Yancy, President of Jotoski Consulting, offers her expert services in Employment Discrimination Complaints/Charges Investigations. Jotoski Consulting provides thorough objective investigative services of internal complaints and charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and similar state and local Fair Employment Practices agencies. For more information on these services or other services provided by Jotoski Consulting, you can contact Joann through this website (see Contact Us).