HARRISBURG, Pa., March 21, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- According to recently released litigation and enforcement data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), age, disability, race and sex discrimination complaints filed against private employers increased to the highest level in nearly a decade.
Even with this dramatic rise, more often than not, when employers are hit with a discrimination-based lawsuit, they're not being sued for what they do, but rather for how they do it. This according to nationally-renowned human resources attorney Jonathan Segal, the keynote presenter at the PA Chamber of Business and Industry's upcoming Discrimination Law 202 Workshop, Friday, March 22, 2002 at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg/Hershey Grantville from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"With the economic slowdown and layoffs on the rise, today's highly informed employees are not only more aware of their rights, the specialized lawyers they hire to represent them in court are even more adept at exposing and exploiting company weaknesses," warned Segal. "Worst of all, by the time you uncover what your company's specific litigation risks are, it's too late to do anything but pay up, making this workshop a 'can't miss' event for Commonwealth employers."
According to Segal, the most common litigation traps employers fall into involve improperly conducting internal investigations, inconsistency when disciplining and discharging employees, misunderstanding employer obligations regarding the Family & Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and improper record keeping. These and other critical employment law issues will all be addressed during this intense one-day discrimination law workshop. The workshop will also include two special sessions on training first-time supervisors to bring out the best in their employees and how to increase diversity, particularly at the top, in today's workplace. For the full agenda and speaker details visit www.pachamber.org/cp.
With nearly 10,000 members representing every county in the Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association and the fastest-growing state chamber in the United States.