eQuest Compliance Update
San Ramon, CA — March 5, 2012 — The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has approved a Final Regulation on Disparate Impact and Reasonable Factors Other Than Age (RFOA) under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The regulations say that an employment practice that adversely impacts older workers is discriminatory unless the practice is justified by a “reasonable factor other than age”. EEOC will take a case-by-case approach to determining whether the practice is based on factors other than age. The regulation provides a list of factors for determining whether the practice is reasonable and based on a factor other than age. The rule is now waiting OMB approval.
EEOC may ban the question of criminal records on job applications as is now the case in some states. The National Employment Law Project’s guide“ Criminal Background Checks: A Best Practices Guide for Employers” provides useful advice.
EEOC received a total of 99,947 charges in FY2011 up slightly from 99,922 filed the prior year. The following chart summarizes the posted statistics.
| Basis of Charges | |
|---|---|
| National Origin | 11.8% |
| Age | 23.5% |
| Disability | 25.8% |
| Gender | 28.5% |
| Race | 35.4% |
| Retaliation | 37.4% |
| Closures | |
| Settlements | 10,234 |
| No Reasonable Cause | 66% |
| Monetary Benefits | $364.7 m |
| Merit Resolutions | 18% |
| Litigation Suits Filed | 300 |
| Monetary Benefits from Suits | $91 m |
The foregoing has been prepared for the general information of clients and friends of eQuest and Workplace Dynamics LLC. It is not meant to provide legal advice with respect to any specific matter and should not be acted upon without professional counsel. If you would like to contact Workplace Dynamics they may be reached at www.workplace-dynamics.com.