Category Archives: Discrimination

Avoid Sexual Harassment

cultural diversity training, cultural diversity training activities, Discrimination, sexual harassment

Avoid Sexual Harassment

Avoid Sexual Harassment

Avoid Sexual Harassment

 

Get Trained … Stay Compliant

 

You thought it was a joke…She thought it was offensive.

 

You thought it was ok to hug him… He thought he was cornered.

Just what IS sexual harassment? It is a form of sex discrimination and prohibited by Title VII of 1964 Civil Rights Act.  It encompasses unwelcome physical, visual, or verbal behavior of a sexual nature.  Like other forms of discrimination, sexual harassment creates a toxic workplace. Did you know that over 16% of sexual harassment cases are filed by men?  The EEOC collected over $48 million in monetary benefits related to sexual harassment in 2010.  This figure doesn’t include settlement collected through litigation.

 

These costs also don’t consider the legal fees and cost lost in productivity.  Further, organizations lose money when people leave a contentious environment.  No one is a winner when a Title VII complaint is launched against your organization.

 

 Some recent cases in the last six months include:

 

>Jay Medicar Transportation will pay $70,000 to settle sexual harassment suit.

 

>MTV employee files sexual harassment and hostile work environment.

 

>Lighthouse Restaurant pays $23,000 to settle sexual harassment lawsuit.

 

>Monarch Dental pays $175,000 to settle EEOC sexual harassment lawsuit

 

>International Profit Associations will pay $8 million to settle sexual harassment suit compensating 82 women who suffered sexual harassment at the company.

Patricia Berkly LLC on the Move

bullying, companies who offer diversity training, Discrimination, Diversity Training, diversity training consultants

Patricia Berkly LLC on the Move


 Patricia Berkly LLC on the Move

Patricia Berkly LLC on the Move

Fall is a traditional time to get back in the swing of things with the beginning of the school year and people returning from vacation. Subsequently, the fall has been quite hectic for Dr. Leah Hollis, President of Patricia Berkly, LLC. In early fall, Dr. Hollis was featured on WBZN to discuss her book UNEQUAL OPPORTUNITY. Also, Dr. Hollis was featured with Coach Ron Tunick from Ventura, CA. The Pacific Coast drive time radio show informed listeners on how to be on the lookout for discriminatory behavior in the workplace. Later in September, Dr. Hollis visited St. Francis University to offer diversity training for staff and students. Workshops included “Inclusive Curriculum” and “The Intersection of Bullying and Diversity” for the athletic department. Her busy day culminated with a lecture: “Changing Agents: Innovators, leadership and diversity management.”

September also included a visit to the business owners at the Lions Club in Flemington, NJ to discuss “The Perfect Storm: Retaliation in the Workplace.” The most recent EEOC statistics again reveal that retaliation was the leading complaint area in 2011, surpassing race and gender discrimination complaints. Visit the Patricia Berkly LLC YOU TUBE Channel for lectures and other critical information on workplace discrimination.

Later the same month, Dr. Hollis also visited with the PA- NOW Conference in greater Philadelphia to present “Care for the Caregiver.” As the EEOC advises, gender discrimination is not just about being discriminated against because of gender, but also due to the care giving duties typically assigned to women.

The fall continued with a hectic schedule for Dr. Hollis as she presented “Up to Date- Out of Court: Five Updates every employer should know.” Her legal update of Supreme Court cases was provided through the Johnstown Chamber for Commerce for HRCI credits for Human Resources professional in the Laurel Highlands. The same weekend, Dr. Hollis presented a lecture for the SUPER SIXTY of Richland High School and their parents. In these tough economic times, Dr. Hollis conveyed her message of positive imagery and optimism to actualize goals and objectives. October concluded with a national webinar on Workplace Bullying and Employee Engagement. Participants attended from corporations and higher education to learn more on this critical topic plaguing the workplace. Through the year, Dr. Hollis has addressed the topic of bullying, harassment and discrimination. While bullying is technically legal, it is costly and debilitating to any organization. Visit the Patricia Berkly LLC YouTube Channel for lectures and other critical information on work place discrimination.

November will continue with a busy schedule as Dr. Hollis makes a second appearance on the Jim Blasingame Show from Alabama to discus workplace bullying. She also authored “Avoiding Bullies in the Executive Talent Acquisition Process for Todd Raphael of ERE.net. With events planned in late December, and Spring 2012, Leah Hollis of Patricia Berkly LLC has been on the move!

How to avoid being target of discrimination…

companies who offer diversity training, cultural diversity training, Discrimination, Diversity Training

How to avoid being target of discrimination…

How to avoid being target of discrimination…

How to avoid being target of discrimination…

 

 

Even if an organization is located in an “at-will state”, it still must comply with Federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The EEOC has reported again an all time high in the number of complaints with 99,922 complaints reported in 2010, up over 7,000 complaints from 2009.  “Retaliation” now leads the complain area, surpassing “race” as the most common complaint.

The recession has certainly had an impact on the record number of complaints.  In the past, dissatisfied or poorly treated workers would find other employment. In a sluggish economy, people stay in bad situations longer, and find themselves the target of potentially discriminatory practices.  Further, employees are more educated about the laws and are more likely to exercise their rights in a fiscally challenging environment.  After being fired, and with meager job prospected, terminated employees are more likely to sue than to simply walk away from a situation where he or she experienced a tangible loss.

Retaliation is the largest complaint area, yet one of the easiest to avoid.  Once an employee complains about his or civil rights, he or she should not face adverse employment action.

In short, retaliation is when an employee complains, and something bad happens to them.  

Retaliation is not just about being fired; it can include other employment actions such as demotion, transfer, or a change in shift.

Employers who have regular training can avoid falling into a snare of the changing EEOC rules.  As the breadth of retaliation has changed in 2010 and the fact that ORAL complaints are now viable, organizations needs to keep managers and supervisors compliant with the EEOC rules to avoid costly lawsuits.

Here are a few steps you can take:

1.      Review HR policies regularly to insure these policies comply with most recent legislation,
2.      Invest in a regular training calendar.  Training is far cheaper than the cost to defend a law suit,
3.      Keep in mind that diversity training is nice, but it application to EEOC policy is critical,
4.      Take ALL complaints seriously and include HR BEFORE changes in employment status for those who complained.

For more information, visit Leah Hollis, the President and Founder of Patricia Berkly LLC a diversity training and consulting group. Dr. Hollis has conducted several lectures and assisted clients with this issue.  Her group is atwww.diversitytrainingconsultants.com.

The recent book Unequal Opportunity, offers details about discrimination and harassment cases, and suggests solutions for managers.  Visitwww.diversitytrainingconsultants.com for more details.
Contact: Patricia Berkly LLC for training solutions that can help your organization.

 

Cyber Bullying: Virtually bad behavior

bullying, Discrimination

Cyber Bullying: Virtually bad behavior

 

Cyber Bullying: Virtually bad behavior

 

Cyber Bullying: Virtually bad behavior

Cyber Bullying is the growing problem facing our schools.  Cyber Bullying targets students who are perceived as weaker, different, or less aggressive.  As a result cyber bullying drives many children to desperate decisions and cyber bullying even leads to suicide.

Recently, the state of New Jersey has addressed bullying and cyber bullying in its schools.  There is a zero tolerance for bullying and cyber bullying.  Recently, Anderson Cooper address bullying and cyber bullying.  Many children don’t tell their parents they are the target of cyber bullying.

As the saying goes, much of what we know, we learn in kindergarten.  Unfortunately, that means the learned behavior of bullying and cyber bullying comes to the workplace.  Just as bullies target those who are perceived as being weaker, different or less aggressive, workplace bullies have the same pattern, using cyber bullying in person bullying and other tactics of bad behavior to control employees. Often bosses are the perpetrators.  Also, women are more often the target of workplace bullying.

Further, just as school districts are becoming more litigious to deal with bullying and cyber bullying, many organizations are also developing anti- bullying polices, which would also address cyber bullying.  Bullying and cyber bullying in the workplace create an unengaged staff, create personal and emotional problems for the target, and can lead to a formal legal complaint.  When women, religious minorities and racial minorities are the targets of bullying and cyber bullying at work, the organization can be on the hook for a Title VII harassment case.

Bullying and cyber bullying are perhaps the unfortunate manifestations of a particularly tense time in our history.  With unemployment rates still above 9%, with family frustrations growing due to threats to fiscal stability, adults and children might act out through bullying and cyber bulling as a way to control another wise unstable situation.  Regardless of the reason, bullying and cyber bullying is not only hurtful to schools and young students,   bullying and cyber bullying are particularly costly behaviors for organizations to ignore.  Proper policy implementation can address bullying and cyber bullying, allowing for organizations to protect their employees

Stress and bullying go hand in hand…

bullying, Discrimination, diversity training consultants, diversity training programs in companies, impacts of corporate diversity training

Stress and bullying go hand in hand…

Stress and bullying go hand in hand…

Stress and bullying go hand in hand…

We might have thought bullying was one of those things we endure as kids, but it is no coincidence that during a recession and season of budgets cuts, bullying has taken a serious foothold in schools and in the workplace. Stressful situations breed bullies as it triggers insecurity and the need to have absolute control in these stressful environments. Ironically, the last thing a stressful situation needs is a bully who brings more stress to the environment.

Bullies bring emotional and psychological attacks to staff who then spend time fending off the threat, instead of time focusing on being productive. Why then don’t organizations crack down on bullies if they are so destructive?

1. Bullies are often the boss, welding control, even threatening targets with demotion or job loss if they don’t comply with
unreasonable demands.

2. Organizations often protect their management, even when management is wrong, therefore targets subordinates quietly suffer and plan an escape instead of addressing the problem.

3. Staff often makes excuses: there is not enough time, or not enough energy to address the toxic personality.

Patricia Berkly LLC offers some organizational solutions to help everyone maintain a healthy work environment. The time spent to put protective measures in place will help to maintain quality and productive employees.

1. Establish a culture of zero tolerance with strong anti-bullying policies. Be clear about what behavior is acceptable and the steps the organization will take to protect itself from a bully

2. Follow that policy. Too often organizations craft wonderful policies, yet fail to follow them, or apply them inconsistently.

3. Offer regular and consistent training. With natural attrition, any staff needs training. Such training will also empower staff as a whole to address bullying as the grassroots level.

4. Establish information interviews with staff as a standard operating procedure. In addition to other aspects of the operation
which need attention, this standard procedure could also uncover incivility in your workplace.

Protecting your organization from bullying is everyone’s responsibility. For more information, visit Leah Hollis, the President
and Founder of Patricia Berkly LLC a diversity training and consulting group. Dr. Hollis has conducted several lectures and
assisted clients with this issue. Her group is at www.diversitytrainingconsultants.com –