Association Responds with Member Education
The National Law Journal reports that faced with a rising case load and shrinking resources, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has released a draft strategic enforcement plan that calls for bringing cases with the broadest possible impact and eliminating systemic barriers in recruitment and hiring.
The EEOC has asked the public for comments on the plan, which it says will shift the “enforcement paradigm from complaint-driven to priority-driven.”
First on the list of the EEOC’s nationwide priorities is employer hiring practices. “The EEOC will target class-based intentional hiring discrimination and facially neutral hiring practices that adversely impact particular groups,” the plan states. The agency says that racial and ethnic minorities, older workers, women and people with disabilities continue to face discrimination when job hunting due to “restrictive application processes and the use of screening tools.”
Notably, the EEOC mentions the potentially problematic use of “background screens.” In April, the agency released new guidelines on the use of criminal background checks as part of the hiring process. The agency also has a case pending against the Freeman Companies that challenges the use of credit checks as a screening tool.
According to the draft plan, the EEOC is best suited to bring such cases. “Because of the access EEOC has to obtain data and documents and potential evidence of discrimination in recruitment and hiring.”
Saturday Morning Session
Fall Convention Answers Your Questions
David James, Attorney with Nilan Johnson Lewis PA:
Staying One Step Ahead of Various Federal Initiatives
While most of our members have benefited from several years of strong equipment sales, they have also felt the hand of over-regulation reaching deep into their business and becoming an increasing threat to hard earned profits.
We are very pleased to add James as the closing speaker for our Fall Convention in Jacksonville, FL. In addition to authoring insightful articles that appear in our Ag Innovator magazine, James, along with Joe Schmitt, are the attorneys we count on to answer members questions involving HR issues.
This early morning session will focus on the actions of several Federal agencies that have been active in the last year, sounding alarms across the HR spectrum. EEOC, for example, has challenged ubiquitous hiring considerations, such as criminal history and educational background, as mentioned in the above article.
The National Labor Relations Board has planted a flag in social media, with implications for the union and non-union workplace alike. The Department of Labor has identified enforcement targets ranging from unpaid internships to independent contractor classification.
This session will provide real take home value as it provides an overview various agencies initiatives in an effort to stay one step ahead of the next compliance audit.