Workplace Harassment Still Major Employee Concern

According to EEOC Chair, Jenny R. Yang, approximately 30 percent of all charges filed with the EEOC are based on workplace harassment. To prevent workplace harassment, Yang is establishing a task force to bring together experts from the employer community to identify effective strategies to prevent and remedy workplace harassment. Yang hopes to deter workplace harassment by making sure employees are informed of their rights, and by informing employers on how to best implement and enforce harassment policies. Legal Counsel of the EEOC expressed that having a policy is insufficient if it is not communicated understandably to the workforce.

http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/1-14-15.cfm

Does any statute of limitations apply?

On January 6, 2015, the D.C. Circuit held that the six-year statute of limitations for suits against the United States does not apply to Title VII actions by federal employees. In February 1995 two federal employees filed an administrative complaint alleging “Racial Discrimination against African Americans in the Department of Commerce.” After complying with EEOC guidelines for over ten years, the complaint was dismissed on July 16, 2010. On appeal, relying on Supreme Court precedent, the D.C. Circuit explained that following the six-year statute of limitations would undermine Congress’s goal of encouraging employees to resolve their employment discrimination disputes administratively. The case was remanded for further proceedings.

http://hr.cch.com/ELD/HowardPritzker.pdf

Security Guards Entitled to Overtime

On January 8, 2015, the California Supreme Court concluded that security guards, who spent on-call hours at construction sites, were entitled to compensation for all on-call hours. CPS Security Solutions employed security guards to provide security at construction worksites. During the weekdays and weekends the guards were required to reside in a trailer provided by CPS while being on-call for eight hours. The guards were not compensated for these eight hours. Due to CPS being in control of the guards’ actions and movement for eight hours, the state high court determined that compensation was required.

Mendiola v. CPS Sec. Solutions, Inc., No. S212704, 2015 WL 107082, at *2 (Cal. Jan. 8, 2015)