“It's not what you pay a man, but what he costs you that counts.” - Will Rogers

Southern Cops in MS Aren’t Feeling the Hospitality

Posted on June 5th, 2009 by Charity Clemons | No Comments »
Filed under: ., Discrimination, Politics | Print This Post

eeocSome news from a couple of CE writers’ old stomping grounds down south:

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has concluded an investigation of racial discrimination claims made by black Mississippi state troopers. The investigation spanned several months and resulted in the agency finding in favor of the state troopers.

The EEOC’s report cited discriminatory practices by Mississippi’s Department of Public Safety in hiring, assignments, demotions, discharges and discipline. There was also evidence of a hostile work environment. 

The way this works is that the EEOC issues a recommended conciliation program, and the employer (the Highway Patrol, in this case) has some time to make counter-proposals. 

But State Rep. George Flaggs (D-Vicksburg) doesn’t want to wait.  According to the Sun Herald, Rep. Flaggs issued a statement urging the state’s governor, Haley Barbour, to step in and resolve the racial discrimination problems cited by the EEOC:

[The] lawmaker has asked Gov. Haley Barbour to “step in immediately” to help resolve the racial discrimination problems cited in a federal report on employment practices at the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

[Rep. Flaggs] issued a statement Thursday in which he also urged Department of Public Safety Commissioner Steve Simpson to freeze hirings and promotions at the patrol “until they can resolve the issues in the complaint.” Flaggs is chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee overseeing the Department of Public Safety’s budget.

Well, that flag probably doesn't help...

Well, that flag probably doesn't help...

When asked about the complaint at a news conference, Gov. Barbour said that he had not seen the EEOC report. He also commented that the complaint strikes him as “peculiar,” because the troopers didn’t file the original EEOC charge; the Mississippi chapter of NAACP did.  He said he’s never heard of an EEOC case “without an injured party.”

Barbour has not stepped in, and doesn’t want to.  According to the Sun Herald, his office is waiting because the Department of Public Safety is “willing to investigate it.”  The NAACP disagrees.  From the article:

Derrick Johnson, president of the state NAACP, said the troopers had approached Simpson, who’s been DPS chief since April 2008, months before the complaint was filed. Johnson said Simpson didn’t make an effort to address the claims, which date back three years, until it was clear the troopers were going to file an EEOC complaint.

In December 2008, Simpson formed an independent panel of three prominent attorneys to investigate the claims, but the troopers never met with the committee.

“The only reason why we went through this process is that DPS would not respond,” Johnson said. “They’re stonewalling.”

Among other things, the EEOC recommended recommended that the state of Mississippi pay $1.5 million to the affected troopers, revamp its promotion system and implement annual racial diversity training for all personnel.

No Place for Old Men?

Posted on April 1st, 2009 by Charity Clemons | No Comments »
Filed under: ., Discrimination, HR Issues, The Financial Crisis | Print This Post

On the contrary. 

Amidst the gradual demise of this country’s economic infrastructure, legal and financial institutions have been faced with historic downsizing efforts.  The public has been inundated with headlines foretelling salary cuts, layoffs, and disappearing pensions.  As the dust begins to settle, it appears that these mass reductions are widening a gender gap that, up to now, had been slowly closing. 

On March 16, Forbes magazine ran a cover article exposing claims made by Wall Street women that female employees have endured the brunt of downsizing efforts.  According to the article, the financial services and insurance firms have cut approximately 260,000 jobs.  An astounding 72% of these jobs belonged to women, even though women only constituted 64% of the workforce before the economic downturn. 

Many of the ousted female professionals are seeking legal recourse and have recently filed charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  Attorney Douglas Wigdor, who is featured in the Forbes article, currently represents a group of five former managers and rising young stars who claim they were victimized by the cuts.  In the article, Mr. Wigdor describes the cuts as a case of “recessionary discrimination.”

Still, other women with cognizable claims against various financial institutions will not come forward.  There is a concern that in doing so, they will be professionally exiled from the industry once the economy regains its footing.  The Forbes article recounts a 2007 class action settlement, where female employees at Morgan Stanley were given the opportunity to opt-in:

 Alice Hughes, a Morgan Stanley financial adviser in Dallas, talked with several women who declined to participate–and not because they planned to pursue separate claims. “It was just sheer fear,” she says, that even if they kept their jobs they might be excluded from benefits like getting a chunk of business when another broker left the firm. “They’re right,” says Hughes. Moreover, she claims, if they make trouble, “they will be blacklisted from working at any major firm.”