EEOC News: Corporate image plays role in EEOC compliance issues

Lynn Bruner is director of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's St. Louis District, covering Missouri, Kansas and southern Illinois.

When the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigates an allegation that a company refused to hire someone because of their sex, race, national origin, color or age, one of the first things an investigator looks at is the composition of the work force.

If the investigator finds that the work force is predominately made up of individuals of a race, age, etc., that differs from the individual making the claim, a red flag goes up.

A red flag is not the same as a conclusion that the individual's allegation of unlawful discrimination is accurate, but it is an indicator that further investigation might be warranted. It's similar to the old saying, "where there's smoke, there's fire." In this case, the investigator wonders why the work force is so homogeneous, and why no one who looks like the complaining party is employed there. This can lead to a class-wide investigation into a company's recruitment and hiring practices, particularly if there was no valid reason why the complaining party was not hired.

When cases like this arise, companies often assert that the reason their work force (or a particular job classification) is devoid of individuals of a specific sex, national origin, etc., is because no qualified individuals in that group have applied. Sometimes the investigation will confirm that assertion. But not always.

It seems like common sense that an employer should not be found guilty of refusing to hire anyone of a specific race, national origin, etc., if no one applies. Unfortunately, the issue is not that simple. There are other questions that arise, such as the company's recruitment practices, where it goes to seek applicants, whom its job notices are likely to reach, where it places its job advertisements, the words it uses to describe job openings and its image in the community.

Like it or not, every company projects an image into the larger community that drives the community's reaction to it. On one level that image comes from the advertising and marketing undertaken to sell its goods and services. On another level, much more important to recruitment of staff, it comes from the rumors and gossip spread by employees about working conditions, and from first-, second- and third-hand stories about the company's hiring practices over the course of many years.

It comes from observations about where the company posts its job openings, how job advertisements are worded, and from the stories of friends and neighbors who applied and were rejected, or who didn't bother to apply because they assumed they wouldn't be hired.

Occasionally, EEOC's commissioners in Washington initiate charges against a company because of the absence of a particular race, national origin, or sex in its work force. One such charge against a company in southwest Missouri was recently resolved by EEOC's St. Louis District. The charge was initiated, in part, because people in some communities believed they were excluded from employment.

Now the company will work to improve its image by paying closer attention to all its activities related to recruitment and selection of new hires. Its CEO will also let current employees know of the company's commitment to diversity and nondiscrimination through internal publications and through public statements. Over time, the rumors and stories will change, along with the company's image.

In today's marketplace, where demographics are changing rapidly, no company can afford to ignore its image in any community that is part of the larger community, whether that be the Hispanic community, or the African-American, Native American or Asian communities. It should also ask itself whether women or men, feel welcome in all job classifications, and whether people of all ages are welcomed.

To achieve diversity in the workplace, a company must address its image with the same enthusiasm and imagination that it uses to find customers for its products and services. The company is itself a product which must be sold to prospective employees to say: bring your skills here, work here, we want to hire you for any job, as long as you possess the necessary skill sets to help our company succeed.

As a law enforcement agency, EEOC is not primarily focused on diversity, but upon unlawful discrimination in employment decisions. However, there is a point at which the two concepts converge. A company that unlawfully discriminates in hiring cannot be diverse. And, a company that discriminates against its employees of diverse backgrounds will not retain those employees. So diversity and nondiscriminating coexist as partners, and each must be addressed by company leadership.