Our youth at work

"As young people enter the workforce, it is important that they understand their rights and know how to respond if they experience or witness unlawful discrimination or harassment," said Jacqueline A. Berrien, chairwoman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, upon the federal agency's release of new materials to educate young workers about workplace discrimination in September 2012.

The commission enforces the federal laws that make it illegal for employers to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), country of origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information. The laws apply to all types of work situations including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits.

Most employers with at least 15 employees are covered. Retaliation against those who report, protest or participate in an EEOC proceeding, such as an investigation or lawsuit, is also prohibited.

"The EEOC is committed to ensuring that the promise of equal employment opportunity is meaningful for everyone, including members of the labor force who are especially vulnerable to discrimination and harassment," Berrien said.

The word "vulnerable" is a key point in the chairwoman's statement. You may be wondering why the EEOC would be concerned with reaching those individuals they regard as vulnerable. Vulnerable workers - like young workers entering the workplace for the first time - are susceptible to some of the worst forms of discrimination and may be the least likely to report such abuses and violations of the law. As a result, EEOC has made a concerted effort to educate vulnerable workers and employers of vulnerable workers, about their respective rights and responsibilities in the workplace.

You might question whether EEOC's efforts on behalf of young workers are relevant to your organization, particularly if you tend to have a workforce that does not typically include young adults. Given recent economic and demographic shifts, workplaces tend to be more diverse than ever.

Although young workers still may be more likely to work in certain industries, such as retail and fast food, today, many workplaces have a range of employees, including young workers. As a result, understanding your responsibilities toward this group may help you not only avoid potential complaints, but also help you create a work environment in which all employees, regardless of age, have equal opportunity to compete and succeed.

So what are the trends? In fiscal 2011, young workers typically filed charges alleging that they were terminated for discriminatory reasons. However, a whopping 44 percent of charges filed by workers younger than 21 included allegations of sexual harassment or other forms of harassment. EEOC is committed to preventing and resolving workplace harassment through not only outreach and education, but also by vigorously enforcing the law.

Young Worker Lawsuits Filed by EEOC

In September 2012, the EEOC sued Panda Express, a Chinese fast-food chain, for the rampant sexual harassment of at least three female teenagers by a male supervisor at a restaurant. At least one teen alleged that she was physically groped and subjected to lewd language and obscene sexual propositions.

In California, the EEOC settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against Giumarra Vineyards, one of the largest growers of table grapes in the United States, on behalf of a 17-year-old migrant farm worker who reported that a male co-worker regularly subjected her to explicit propositions and touching. After the teen complained, she and others who came to her defense were terminated.

The EEOC settled the case for $350,000 . The settlement required the company to make sweeping changes to its company policy and to conduct comprehensive anti-discrimination training for its staff of 3,000 employees, many of whom are farm workers.

In Nevada, Scolari's Warehouse Markets paid $425,000 in 2008 to settle an EEOC lawsuit alleging that 19 female employees, many of whom were teenagers, were subjected to repeated harassment by company senior officers, who reportedly passed around naked pictures of themselves and inappropriately touched the female staff. When the teens complained, they were fired or forced to abandon their jobs. Besides the monetary relief, Scolari's agreed to provide training to all employees and to hire a consultant to review their harassment policies and procedures.

Also in Nevada, the EEOC settled a sexual harassment lawsuit against Caesars Palace on behalf of a class of kitchen workers - including one teenager - who allegedly endured attempted rape, genital exposure and forced grabbing of private parts. Caesars Palace settled for $850,000 in 2007 and agreed to provide training to all employees to prevent sexual harassment from occurring in the future.

Besides filing sexual harassment lawsuits on behalf of young workers, the EEOC has also filed lawsuits, including systemic cases, that allege that young workers have been subjected to other forms of discrimination. For example, in 2004, EEOC settled a lawsuit against retail giant Abercrombie & Fitch for
$50 million on behalf of a class of blacks, Asians, Latinos and women who were subjected to discrimination in recruitment, hiring, assignment, promotion and discharge based on race, color, national origin and sex. Many of the approximately 16,000 class members affected were younger than 21.

Lack of Awareness of Rights
and Responsibilities

While these cases highlight incidents which were reported by courageous young workers, the EEOC understands that many young workers simply do not come forward. In many instances, young workers may be unfamiliar with the laws that protect workers and job applicants from illegal discrimination, harassment or retaliation on the job. As a result, they may be unaware that certain forms of conduct are unlawful.

They also may not know that they have a right to request an accommodation, or a change to the workplace, because of their religious beliefs or their disability. In other instances, young workers, particularly those who are working in their first jobs, may be eager to please and reluctant to question the actions of adults, particularly those with more seniority. Finally, young workers may hesitate to report problems out of fear of retaliation.

On the flip side, young workers who are unaware of their rights may also be unaware of their Equal Employment Opportunity responsibilities on the job. They may not realize that certain forms of conduct may not be acceptable in the workplace. For example, teenagers may call each other inappropriate names or otherwise treat each other in a manner that is improper, or even unlawful, in the workplace, if the behavior is tied to a characteristic protected by federal employment discrimination laws.

Advice for Employers

So what can employers do to help prevent and address discrimination against young workers? Employers should have a strong policy against discrimination, harassment, and retaliation, as well as procedures in place to prevent and address EEO issues. The EEO policy should clearly describe what constitutes prohibited conduct and identify a means by which employees can seek additional information and report potential concerns, if necessary.

Having a strong policy in place will help employers avoid or prevent discriminatory incidents. The policy may also help ensure that employees notify employers of potential problems early, enabling employers to effectively address any concerns before they become a liability.

Discrimination involving young workers can escalate rapidly. Thus, the policy and procedures must enable employers to effectively identify EEO issues, thoroughly investigate complaints, immediately stop potential problems and remedy the situation. The policy should provide contact information for the individuals responsible for responding to EEO questions and receiving complaints. Employers are encouraged to designate more than one individual, as employees may hesitate to report potential discrimination if the designated EEO official is one of the alleged offenders.

However, a policy, alone, is insufficient to prevent discrimination. Accordingly, employers should train workers, both employees and managers, about the policy. The training should specify the different types of prohibited conduct and instruct workers to report potential discrimination promptly.

Employers should also train managers to identify, report and resolve discrimination immediately and effectively. And employers should train managers about their responsibilities related to reasonable accommodation requests. Finally, employers should inform all workers that retaliation is prohibited and ensure that prohibition is enforced.

EEOC Young Worker Resources

In 2004, the EEOC developed the Youth@Work Initiative to help educate teenagers about their rights and responsibilities at work and to help employers create positive work experiences for young adults. Since then, the commission has hosted nearly 6,600 Youth@Work events nationwide, reaching more than 400,000 students, education professionals and employers.

The EEOC also created a Youth@Work website dedicated to educating young workers about their workplace rights and responsibilities (http://youth.eeoc.gov).

In September 2012, the commission released a video and accompanying classroom guides to educate working-age students about sexual harassment and other forms of employment discrimination. The Youth@Work DVD features young workers in three fictional settings encountering a variety of potentially discriminatory situations ranging from disability and pregnancy discrimination to race and national origin bias to sexual harassment and retaliation.

The study guide was developed to help students think about and understand the topics addressed in the DVD, which may be their first introduction to EEO issues.

The EEOC created the DVD and study guide to help young workers form an educated first impression about the "work world." Young workers will carry their first impressions of what to expect, how to behave and how others behave at work with them as they proceed from their first job to future career opportunities. The materials will also help educate teachers about equal employment opportunity, which may prove useful if students share their EEO concerns or experiences at work. The materials are posted on the Youth@Work website downloads page or may be requested by email to Youth.AtWork@eeoc.gov while supplies last.

EEOC also updated its Youth@Work website in September 2012 to incorporate updates to laws enforced by EEOC, including the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008, which makes important changes to the definition of the term "disability" that make it easier for a person to establish that he or she has a medical condition that is covered by the law, and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, which prohibits the use of genetic information in employment decisions, restricts the acquisition of genetic information and strictly limits the disclosure of genetic information.

EEOC staff members throughout the country provide free training to youth and small businesses that employ young workers. The EEOC welcomes the opportunity to partner with advocacy organizations, businesses, human resources groups and industry trade associations to promote equal employment opportunity for the nation's youngest workers.

The EEOC has partnered with the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation and National Education Association, as well as a variety of state and local organizations. For the Southern Nevada region, the public is encouraged to email Christine Park-Gonzalez, EEOC program analyst, at christine.park-gonzalez@eeoc.gov for Youth@Work or any other training or partnership requests.

Ultimately, it is in all of our best interests to ensure that our nation's youngest workers are prepared for the workplace. As the federal agency charged with protecting against civil rights abuses on the job, the EEOC shares in the responsibility to safeguard that meaningful promise - a promise so rich in today's youth - of equal employment opportunity for all.

Amy Burkholder is the director of the Las Vegas local office of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.