Hopefully you filed your EEO-1 report: The EEO-1 tool initial closure date was June 4th. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a spate of lawsuits (15) last week against hospitality, transportation, food service, and construction companies across the country, alleging they've shirked their legal responsibility to report demographic data about their employees for several years. According to the EEOC, each of the companies had 100 or more employees in both 2021 and 2022, but they never filed their EEO-1 reports for either year despite the federal bias watchdog sending notices of noncompliance to each of the employers. To date, none of the companies have complied with their responsibilities for either year. The EEOC in its lawsuits asked the federal courts to order the companies to file the missing data as required by law as well as all future EEO-1 reports. If a federal contractor, it could lead to contempt of court and possible loss of federal contracts. If you miss that deadline, there is a grace period that ends at 11 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, July 9. After that, no mercy. The EEOC will not accept any submissions after the grace period ends. Source Law360 5/28/24
Have you trained your managers on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and regulations? In the narrow window from when the bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act took effect in late June to the close of the EEOC's fiscal year on September 30, employees sent the federal agency nearly 200 charges claiming companies bucked the pregnancy accommodation mandate. Although not many admittedly, it does indicate that employees are watching what employers are doing in this space. "I think that's high; I was a little surprised to see that," said Jim Paretti, a shareholder at Littler Mendelson PC's Workplace Policy Institute who previously served as a senior EEOC legal adviser. "Usually, it takes a little while for the word to get out." Since the PWFA passed, the commission has held more than a dozen trainings, webinars, and other outreach events addressing workers' rights and employers' obligations under the statute. This energetic awareness campaign is likely at the root of the quick turnaround on PWFA charges, experts said. Source: Law360 5/17/24
Is compliance embedded in your culture? According to LRN's latest Benchmark of Ethical Culture Report, which surveyed 8,500 employees at major organizations and corporations from 15 different countries, it found that 33% of employees observed misconduct or unethical behavior in the past year, with instances going up to 38% for organizations with weak workplace cultures. According to the report, 79% of those who saw misconduct or unethical behavior reported them, with a majority raising it with their managers (60%). Reporting of such instances, however, were much more prevalent in organizations with "strong" workplace cultures (93%), than those with a weak one (63%). While most employees reported misconduct or unethical behavior, 21% of them didn't. According to the report, the top barrier to reporting was the belief that their organization wouldn't do anything about their concern (36%). They also feared retaliation (36%). Interestingly enough, 23% agreed that it's "OK to break the rules if needed to get the job done," while 14% admitted that they also "engaged in behavior that violated their company's Code of Conduct or standards" in the past year. How does your company culture respond to the results of this survey? Source: Huan Resource Director 5/17/24
Job switchers less satisfied with jobs than job stayers: According to the Conference Board, job switchers reported significantly lower overall job satisfaction (down 5.6 percentage points) and less satisfaction than job stayers across 15 of the 26 subcomponents. Importantly, job switchers reported lower satisfaction with leadership and culture in their new jobs, both key differentiators of intent to leave. The grass is not necessarily greener: after a period of perhaps three months, leaders might consider reconnecting with talent that left the organization to re-recruit them. This could take the form of a delayed, or post-exit interview, giving managers a reason to reconnect. Further, Workers with six months to three years of tenure reported the lowest overall job satisfaction. These respondents expressed greater intent to leave within the next six months due largely to dissatisfaction with bonuses, promotions, training, recognition, and performance reviews. Given this information, will you be updating your onboarding processes? Source: The Conference Board 5/6/24
Is your performance management system lacking? Only 2% of Fortune 500 CHROs said they “strongly agree” that their performance management system inspires employees to improve at their jobs, according to a May 7 report from Gallup. Similarly, a separate Gallup survey of more than 18,600 U.S. employees found that just over 20% said that their employer’s performance review process is “fair and transparent,” indicating a disconnect between what is considered “expected” and the work actually being performed, Gallup said. More than half of employees surveyed also said they formally review their goals with their managers only once a year or less. “The folly of traditional annual performance reviews is that people receive goals at the beginning of the year that they do not formally discuss with their manager until the end of the year — if those goals are even still relevant,” Gallup said. Workers desire more in-the-moment feedback, and hybrid work may make it more difficult for employees to obtain it, according to a 2022 Eagle Hill Consulting report. Nearly 40% of hybrid workers surveyed by Eagle Hill said that getting constructive feedback was a challenge, compared to 21% of remote workers and 19% of on-site workers. Source: HR Dive 5/10/24
What about training? Overall, 71% of workers would like to update their skills more often, and 80% believe employers should invest more to provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities for workers, reports TalentLMS. That is because 37% of workers are concerned that their skills may be obsolete, and 33% want upgraded skills to meet job requirements or qualifications. Nearly four in five (78%) employees are motivated to complete work-related training, according to TalentLMS’s survey of 1,000 workers in the U.S. Also, 77% say learning new skills gives them a sense of purpose. Over a quarter (27%) of employees are very satisfied and 44% are somewhat satisfied with their employer’s upskilling and reskilling initiatives. Also, 24% are very satisfied and 40% are somewhat satisfied with the variety of offered skills in these initiatives. Almost all employees using generative AI tools still want to be trained on using them, according to a previous report. However, while workers’ general satisfaction with upskilling and reskilling training is at 71%, it has dropped from 78% in 2020, according to TalentLMS. When setting budgets for 2025, do not skimp on training. Source: HR Director 5/13/24