As we move further into 2012, employers must take note of a disturbing trend in the human resources arena: the persistent rise of discrimination-related lawsuits. While employee lawsuits and litigation-hungry lawyers are nothing new to American businesses, the dramatic increase in discrimination lawsuits demands that employers take note. Challenged with keeping their business afloat, most employers don’t have the time or resources to adequately stay abreast of this alarming trend.

The U.S. Employment Equal Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released their “charge statistics” data for 2011. Charge statistics refers to claims filed by employees for the various forms of discrimination, as enforced by the EEOC. The EEOC reported that in 2011 they received a total of 99,947 charges, the highest in the agency’s history. This figure represents a whopping 32% increase in just 5 years, when “only” 75,768 charges were filed in 2006.

Common Lawsuits

The most common lawsuit over the past 3 years has been Retaliation lawsuits with 36,258 charges, accounting for 37% of lawsuits filed. It is reasonable to assume that during a tight economy when layoffs were common, disgruntled employees sued their employers for retaliation, hoping to recoup some money in return for their termination. Retaliation claims are followed closely by Race (35,890 claims), Sex (29,029 claims) and Disability (26,165 claims).

What Employers Can Do

While many small to mid-sized businesses do not employ a dedicated Human Resources Manager, there are still basic steps all employers can take to significantly minimize the chance of facing a discrimination lawsuit.

1. Know the law. It may sound easier-said-than-done, but there is no excuse for a manager or executive in today’s environment to be ignorant of the law. Of course, there are complicated scenarios that may require either professional or legal input, but many of the laws are simple to understand and implement. Send your managers for training, take a course or simply research the information online.
2. Be the consummate role model. Always be professional in your behavior at work and begin by treating all employees with courtesy and respect. If we recognize that we share the workplace with others who may different than us, but that we also share a common goal – the success of the business – we will be a lot further down the compliance road than you may think.
3. Respond immediately to any and all complaints. Train your managers to be aware of the environment around them and to address any and all inappropriate acts, misconduct or employee behavior. Take all complaints seriously, document everything and take the appropriate follow-up steps with HR or legal counsel.

As the trend of employment lawsuits doesn’t seem to turning around in the near future, employers should enforce management’s awareness and knowledge of employment laws in 2012 to ensure their business doesn’t become the next statistic on the EEOC’s annual report.