There have been well-publicized settlements paid by Texaco, Mitsubishi, and Smith Barney. Companies are learning the hard way that if a case goes to court, the courts tend to side with the individuals, not the corporation. Unfortunately, our government has also attracted the scrutiny of the press following the Clarence Thomas hearings and the current allegations against the President. In 1996, American workers brought more than 23,000 lawsuits alleging race, sex, disability or age discrimination to federal courts, more than double the 10,771 that were brought in 1992. Sexual harassment cases brought by the EEOC have risen from 6,127 in 1990 to 15,342 in 1996.
Experts forecast continued growth in the amount of claims filed.
A recent polling of law school professors showed that employment practice courses that historically had less than 30 law students enrolled, now have 150-200. All companies are at risk, but small to midsize companies are particularly at risk because they often do not have the resources that are available in a larger corporation. In the increasingly complex employment environment it is difficult to stay current with changes in employment law, let alone develop, implement and maintain procedures to ensure compliance with regulations. The smaller companies may not have a budget for a thorough employment handbook and training for employees and managers. Employment practices claims are generally disruptive to an organization in terms of time, worker productivity, morale and financial impact.