Public Employers Beware!
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Everyone focused on the “jobs, jobs, jobs” message President Barak Obama stressed in his recent State of the Union Address, or the mouthed comment “not true” by Justice Samuel Alito. Adam Santucci reminds us that buried in the speech is a warning the Justice Department will be aggressively pursuing employment discrimination suits against public employers.
This first was announced when, “In December 2009, Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for civil rights, announced the CRD’s (Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department)) intention to file more class action ‘pattern or practice’ discrimination suits against state and local governments.”
These types of cases generally involve class actions alleging discrimination in hiring practices, promotional exams, physical testing etc. The lawsuits allege such practices discriminate against a particular protected class of individuals because fewer of them are selected for employment. Mr. Perez warned he would be seeking monetary damages.
This new threat of aggressive enforcement should cause public employers to revisit their hiring, employment, and testing practices to insure compliance with the law.
The U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is also actively pursuing discrimination claims against federal government contractors, and recently won an ongoing case against Bank of America. The federal government is looking everywhere to conduct discrimination investigations.