EEOC Renews It's Call For Training

EEOC attorneys recently told an American Bar Association audience that a failure to train supervisors on employment law issues often results in company liability.  Even when employers and supervisors do not intentionally violate discrimination laws, a failure to train can expose organizations to liability because of the myriad innocent errors and omissions supervisors often make in the course of their duties.  Imploring organizations to train all their people in charge, including all supervisors, one attorney noted that supervisors testifying at trial often admit that they did not remember an employer's policy or what to do if they witnessed a violation of the policy.  When training, EEOC attorneys recommended a focus on retaliation prohibitions as well as investigation skills.  Further, the attorneys emphasized that training should be tailored to each organization's particular needs, environment and culture.

In addition to discussing training, the attorneys spoke about the issue of caregiver discrimination.  While noting that there is no specific prohibition against caregiver discrimination, the attorneys made clear that it is illegal when tied to other protected characteristics, including sex and race.  One attorney noted that there is a "maternal wall through employer stereotyping, in which women are perceived as more focused on caregiving than their jobs, or seen as less competent in their jobs because of the impact of their caregiving responsibilities."  The attorney also cautioned that male caregivers are sometimes discriminated against in a mirror opposite to women, as they are often not viewed as caregivers and are denied benefits granted to women.  Evidence of caregiver discrimination is often found in interviews where prospective employees are asked if they have children, or through derogatory comments about pregnant women or working mothers.  Several best practices to avoid caregiver discrimination were mentioned, including:  training employees about their rights and responsibilities; not asking about caregiver roles and responsibilities during interviews; not assuming anything about an employee based on caregiving; and promoting an inclusive workplace culture irrespective of protected characteristics and child care responsibilities.