Every employer covered by the non-discrimination and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC/EEO) laws is required to post this notice in a conspicuous place or in a frequently visited area of their office where all employees can view it. Employers with staff members who telecommute and do not regularly have access to physical inner-office postings must be provided an electronic version of this form. Note: electronic notifications are not acceptable replacements for hard-copy posters in office locations where posters are legally required to be posted.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC / EEO) was designed to prevent the unlawful mistreatment of protected classes of people. Providing employees and applicants an official process through which they can file grievances should they feel they have been victims of discrimination. EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.
In addition, EEO laws prohibit punishing employees or job applicants for practicing their rights against employment discrimination or harassment. For example, it is unlawful to retaliate against applicants or employees for:
Participation in a complaint process is protected from retaliation under all circumstances as long as the employee is acting on a reasonable belief that something in the workplace may violate EEO laws. This is regardless of whether or not the employee uses legal terminology to describe it.
This notice provides information concerning the laws and procedures for filing complaints of violations of the laws with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Employers are held responsible when discrimination or harassment occurs in the workplace, regardless of the capacity in which the discriminating party is employed. This designation of accountability is known as vicarious liability.
During an EEO investigation, an employer will be asked to provide sufficient evidence to show that the company took all reasonable steps to prevent discrimination from occurring. In cases where the EEOC does determine the company had all appropriate measures in place, vicarious liability will usually be removed, and the employer will not be held responsible.
An employer places their business at risk of incurring fines for not being in compliance. The maximum fine per posting violation is $612.
The laws apply to all types of work situations, including hiring, firing, promotions, harassment, training, wages, and benefits.
Employers coverage:
Discrimination can occur in two ways: direct or indirect.
Happens when an employee or applicant is treated less favorably than others when all other circumstances are the same or reasonably similar. Generally speaking, discrimination does not need to be the sole reason for the less favorable treatment of the employee, nor does it have to be the dominant reason; it simply has to be a contributing factor.
This occurs when a policy appears to be uniform for all employees and applicants; however, the policy is not, in fact, neutral, causing a disproportionate impact on certain groups. As an example, the language of a requirement that unlawfully indirectly discriminates may provide a negative impact on people of a certain age or sex, even if it appears to be an all-encompassing rule on the surface.
