Fast Facts

General
A nationwide survey of human resources professionals reveals that many U.S. employers are utilizing proactive practices in the fight against employee lawsuits. Of 100 HR executives interviewed:

• 86% had written HR policy manuals;


• 65% conduct training for managers and employees;


• 57% developed complaint resolution procedures;


• 51% hired HR managers or consultants.

Benefits

• On average, companies offer 9.3 paid holidays per year.


• The average vacation benefit is 12 days per year.


• 60% of companies offer relocation benefits.


• 26% of companies offer a sign-on bonus.


• Over half of all companies offer flextime as a benefit; 27% offer compressed workweeks; 22% provide job sharing and 26% have telecommuters in the workforce.


• 99% of employers offer medical coverage and 96% provide dental coverage.


• 11% of companies offer paid dry cleaning services; 8% offer massage therapy; 4% offer concierge services and 1% provide take-home meals or daytime siesta.

EEOC Activity

• EEOC claims increased 15.2% in 2008 for private sector employers and 9.4% for public sector employers.


• "For cause" finding of the EEOC increased 37%, but still only account for 66% of all resolutions of EEOC charges.


• Approximately 17% of all charges result in a favorable outcome for the charging party, either through mediation, cause resolutions or charge withdrawals with benefits.


• Over 5000 EEOC Charges were resolved through mediation, with 36% of all responding employers and 81% of all complaining employees submitting to the mediation process.


• The EEOC settlement rate is 65%.

Damage Awards and Settlements

• In 2008, the EEOC secured more than 274.4 million in monetary benefits of behalf of over 18,000 claimants. According to the EEOC, some of the more noteworthy settlements were:


• 27.5 million settlement of age discrimination claims against law firm of Sidley & Austin


• 4.3 million settlement on behalf of a class of Hispanic workers at B&H Foto and Electronics


• 2.2 million settlement of harassment and retaliation claims against New York’s Tavern on the Green


• 1.6 million race discrimination settlement with Ford Motor Co. on behalf of black workers.

Mediation
Where transformative mediation is used, the results measure the impact of the process on employee relations, i.e. whether the parties feel the process will affect their future work behavior and attitudes. The results are tremendously favorable:

• Among management
  
  
  
  • 95% felt the process was fair;
  
  
  • 96% felt their participation was valuable;
  
  
  • 95% felt that were treated with respect in the process; and
  
  
  • 97% felt their position and views were heard by the other side.
  
  
  
  


• Among complainants
  
  
  
  • 89% felt the process was fair;
  
  
  • 96% felt their participation was valuable;
  
  
  • 96% felt they were treated with respect in the process; and
  
  
  • 96% felt their position and views were heard by the other side.
  
  
  
  

Sexual Harassment

• 44% of all sexual harassment charges filed with the EEOC result in a finding of "no reasonable cause." Only 7.1% result in a "reasonable cause" finding.


• The EEOC reached settlement agreement totaling over $50 million for sexual harassment lawsuits in 1999.


• A single harassment lawsuit costs the average Fortune 1000 company more than $350,000, considering legal fees and damages awarded.


• The average award given to plaintiffs for harassment suits is $167,000.


• Plaintiffs won 33% of all jury cases; they were successful only 23% of the time before a judge.

Workplace Violence
Employers are experiencing a rise in workplace violence and are taking greater precautions to prevent such incidents, according to a recent survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

• 57% of responding employers said that a violent incident had occurred in their.


• Shooting and stabbing account for just 2% of workplace violence incidents.


• Most common acts of violence include verbal threats (41 percent) and pushing and shoving (19 percent).


• Personality conflicts are the primary cause of violence, resulting in 55% of incidents. Other common motivations included family or marital problems (36 percent) and work-related stress (24 percent).

The survey also confirmed an increase in employers taking preventative measures:

• 68% have written policies addressing workplace violence, up from 59 percent in 1996.


• 79% say their organizations have written policies regulating weapons on their premises, up from 73 % in 1996.


• Other prevention methods reported include installing a security system to control building access (73 %), referring potentially violent employees to Employee Assistance Programs (52 %), and training managers and supervisors to identify the warning signs of violent behavior (35 %).