Tag: diversity

Four Employees Win $19 Million in Race Case

A federal jury in Portland recently awarded $19 million to four African-American former employees of Asbury Automotive Group, LLC ? the former corporate owner of Thomason Toyota in Gladstone. The workers alleged they were forced to endure a hostile, racially charged work environment. Four salesmen, Carlos Barfield, Marcus Arnold, Jahaeel Hardy, and Kent Paul, sued […]

Which Religious Holidays Are Recognized the Most?

Christmas Day — 99% Christmas Eve —  44% Good Friday —  29% Easter — 19% Yom Kippur —  2% Ash Wednesday —  1% Passover —  1% Hanukkah — 1% Rosh Hashanah —  1% Other —  4% Source: Religion and Corporate Culture Survey Report (SHRM, 2008)

Recruiting Teenagers: Program Lures Future Talent

The early bird catches the worm — and the best employees. At least that’s the thinking of the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Street Law organization, which are working together to encourage young people of color to extend their educations and consider law-related careers. Among other things, their Corporate Legal Diversity Pipeline program pairs […]

Diversity Programs: Not Just About “Soft” Skills

Diversity programs have moved beyond sensitivity training. A new survey of more than 2,500 senior HR and training executives revealed a wide variety of diversity initiatives and program elements. The most common? Leadership development. “Just a few years ago, diversity programs usually meant just awareness training. Those programs were separate from other hard and soft […]

International Day: Give Thanks and Decrease Turnover

November is anchored by the Thanksgiving holiday, but it also contains the United Nations’ International Day for Tolerance  making it the perfect time to thank your diverse group of employees, and celebrate their differences. That’s what Henry Schein’s Indianapolis Distribution Center does every year around this time. “In 2004, in part arising out of a […]

Cell Company to Pay $435,000 for Unequal Wages

A New York-based company that refurbishes cell phones at its factory in Long Island will pay $435,000 to settle a wage discrimination and retaliation suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The agency charged that First Wireless Group, Inc., engaged in a pattern or practice of race and/or national origin discrimination against […]

American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month

The first American Indian Day was celebrated in May 1916 in New York. Red Fox James, a Blackfeet Indian, rode horseback from state to state getting endorsements from 24 state governments to have a day to honor American Indians. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed a joint congressional resolution designating November 1990 as “National […]

From Stu to Sue: Transgender Issues at Work

Do you have a policy related to employees who’ve had sex changes? If not, you should consider it, says John Putzier. “Employers are increasingly adopting nondiscrimination policies pertaining to what are now being called GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) workers, who generally have had no legal protection from being fired if they express a […]

Association Discrimination: New Lawsuit Trend

We’ve all heard of employees having an advantage in corporate America because of “who they know.” Whether that’s true or not, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has noted that there is a trend of employees getting ahead in discrimination lawsuits because of “who they know.” Most of you know you can’t treat employees differently […]

EEOC: ADA Allows You to Discipline the Disabled

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a comprehensive question-and-answer guide addressing how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to a wide variety of performance and conduct issues. According to the new guide, employers can apply the same performance standards to all employees, including those with disabilities. It also points out that the […]