HR Trends Impacting Employers in 2019: Part 2

April 19, 2019

Welcome to part two of a four part series outlining HR trends impacting employers in 2019. To read part one, click here!

HR TRENDS TWO: Beyond Compliance

Over the course of the year, expect to see increased scrutiny around sexual and other forms of workplace harassment.

With the #MeToo, #NoMore and other grass roots movements, the risk of litigation and high-profile exposure has increased exponentially.

From Hollywood to Washington D.C. to New York, employers will be expected to take steps beyond policy implementation to support a culture that will not tolerate harassment or discrimination. Scrutiny will expand beyond traditional notions of sexual harassment to include factors such as sexual orientation, sexual identity and wage disparity. Retaliation continues to be a source of analysis and litigation.

The impact of harassment is hard to quantify and the stakes are high. It includes direct costs to employers such as legal fees or settlement amounts. In fact, according to stats released by the EEOC (the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission), they obtained $46.3 million in monetary benefits for victims of sexual harassment in 2017.

In April 2019 alone, the EEOC announced:

• A skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility will pay $25,000 to settle an EEOC pregnancy discrimination suit;
• An Arby’s franchisee will pay $84,000 to settle an EEOC suit for sexual harassment of teen workers;
• A Colorado company will pay $60,000 to settle an EEOC sex discrimination lawsuit involving a transgender applicant; and
• A waste disposal company will pay $32,500 to settle an EEOC sex discrimination lawsuit for failing to interview and hire a waste truck driver applicant because of her gender.
• The toll harassment takes on the workplace also includes indirect costs such as low morale, decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, high turnover, and a damaged reputation.

Employers must be ready to engage beyond mere compliance and embrace a robust training protocol that will educate workers, promote constructive dialogue and eradicate harassment and discrimination.

Thanks for reading! Tune in next week for additional HR trends and part three in this series.

Photo Credit: Image by jessica45 from Pixabay.

About the Author 
HR thought leader, Stacy Johnston, provides innovative HR solutions with a mission to support organizations in understanding and engaging their biggest competitive advantage… their employees. Johnston writes and speaks about contemporary HR topics. She is a licensed attorney and holds the SHRM-CP and PHR credentials.

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