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Conflict in the Workplace, Harassment and Discrimination - Mediating Employee Complaints

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Workplace Conflict, Employee Lawsuits and Mediation

Workplaces can be territorial and adverserial places to be, and this is exacerbated by poor attitudes about equality or simply a lack of knowledge about employee rights.  Sometimes employers don't go the extra mile to improve facilities, employees go out of their way to make other employee's lives difficult, or employers actively discriminate against their employees.

The downside to this behavior (besides lost productivity due to complications and the self-esteem of those who are harrassed and/or not supported) is that more and more employees are lashing out with lawsuits against their employers, trying to get what they deserve while trying to make changes that will benefit them at work and create the right environment to reduce or eliminate future conflicts.

Companies should be proactive in these events so as to avoid complications with employees and resulting lawsuits, but if they can't, then they should be prepared to go to court, or better yet, be prepared to mediate to resolve the issue, and work with the wronged employee to find a solution for the future.

We'll look at conflict in the workplace, with some statistics on the matter and the results of mediation.

Employee Discrimination - EEOC

Discrimination is a major factor in workplace conflict both between employees who feel they are being harassed due to social factors, and between employees and employers, where employees feel they are being held back or suppressed due to a discriminatory factor.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recognizes seven types of discrimination that make up the bulk of workplace conflict charges registered with the EEOC:

  • Race
  • Sex
  • National Origin
  • Religion
  • Age
  • Disability
  • Equal Pay


Discrimination can manifest in verbal or written forms which denigrate an employee for their race, gender, lifestyle, nation of origin, age, disability, social position, upbringing, attire or physical appearance, and may be in the form of inappropriate communication, epithets, unequal division of assignments, unequal pay, lack of promotions, preferential treatment for other employees, inappropriate physical contact or assault.

People have a tendency to act out against those that are different from them, but the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution and the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protect employees from harassment or unequal treatment and those that harass on purpose, or through lack of action fail to prevent harassment, are likely to be sued.

Discrimination can manifest in verbal or written forms which denigrate an employee for their race, social position, upbringing, attire or physical appearance, and can be noticed in the form of epithets or unequal division of assignments or unequal pay.

Most Common Class of Discrimination - Race - EEOC Statistics

Racial discrimination, actions against or inequality towards employees who are discriminated due to race or ethnicity, is the most common type of workplace conflict charge brought to the EEOC, followed closely by sexual discrimination. Since 1998, better than 1/3 of all EEOC charges of workplace conflict have been classified as racial discrimination.

Total = Total charges brought to the EEOC
Race = Racial charges brought to the EEOC
Prct = Percent of all charges

Year

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008


Total

79.591

77.444

79.896

80.840

84.442

81.293

79.432

75.428

75.768

82.792

95.402


Race

28.820

28.819

28.945

28.912

29.910

28.526

27.696

26.740

27.238

30.510

33.937


Prct

36.2%

37.3%

36.2%

35.8%

35.4%

35.1%

34.9%

35.5%

35.9%

37.0%

35.6%



EEOC Charge Statistics by Class

Classes are also not mutually exclusive. It's not unlikely or unprecedented for employees to bring charges based on several classes of discrimination (race and sex, for example).

EEOC Mediation

The EEOC's initial solution to discrimination charges is to engage in mediation. Mediation of workplace conflict issues serves two purposes.

First, it allows the employer and employee to really discuss the issues, understand exactly what is being done (or not being done) and find a solution that can be implemented in the future, including giving the discriminated employee the opportunity to oversee or direct new programs that prevent discrimination in the future. The mediator should help both sides outline new policies, and the offer from the employer might include a change of work hours, job responsibilities or location, changes in accommodations, training for employees and posting of EEOC materials. These changes are meant to reduce conflict in the workplace between the involved parties, and reduce the likelihood of workplace conflict from other parties in the future. In the event that the discriminated employee does not want to remain with the company, requests for job referrals and letters of recommendation, changes to the employees personnel file and other non-monetary requests are common.

Second, mediation allows the employer and employee to discuss reasonable monetary compensation, and if agreed to, dissolve the charge so as not to go to court. For employees that stay with the company, a one time payment, promotion with higher pay, or additional sick or vacation time or all three can be offered, while employees that quit the company can be offered a one time payment, continued medical care or continued severance pay (or some combination) can be offered to solve the dispute.

In the next section, the EEOC shows their success with workplace conflict mediation. In 2008, 72.1% of that year's cases were solved through mediation. Of those cases, employees received an average of $16,247.70 per case. This is a high rate of success by mediation standards and proves that it is a viable option for solving the problem of discrimination charges and related conflict in the workplace.

EEOC Mediation Statistics - 2000-2008

Year

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008


Solved

7.438

6.987

7.858

7.990

8.086

7.900

8.202

8.649

8.840


Mediated

11.478

10.588

11.457

11.595

11.658

11.278

11.314

11.956

12.254


Rate

64.8%

65.9%

68.5%

68.9%

69.4%

70.2%

72.5%

72.3%

72.1%


Time

96 days

84 days

82 days

85 days

82 days

81 days

97 days

88 days

97 days


Monetary Benefits

$108.4 million

$90.3 million

$111.5 million

$115.9 million

$112.5 million

$115.1 million

$109.5 million

$124 million

$124.1 million


With $

6.175

5.897

6.967

6.896

6.882

6.826

6.917

7.400

7.638


No $

1.034

927

1.002

1.005

1.204

1.095

1.285

1.047

976





Mediated: Charges that went to mediation
Solved: Charge cases that were solved via mediation (no further action)
Rate: Success rate of mediation for all charges
Time: Average time to complete mediation process
Monetary Benefits: Total value of money received by al charging parties
With $: Cases solved with monetary awards
No $: Cases solved without monetary awards

Source: EEOC

EEOC Mediation Analysis

EEOC mediation shows an astounding success rate - 60-70%. The EEOC has proven that they are capable of creating solutions to problems prior to bringing charging parties' cases to court. The one downfall of the EEOC mediation program is the time it takes to resolve workplace conflict. With over 111,000 cases since 1999, around 3 months is a long time to mediate. This is probably due to several factors, including caseload, availability of EEOC mediators and scheduling of all parties. The EEOC may want to consider shunting some of its mediations to independent mediators in order to take up some of the load.

A typical mediation takes less than a week, and certainly shouldn't take 3 months to complete. This is most likely due to postponements, scheduling and caseload rather than 60-90 days of straight mediations.

Based on case studies of EEOC charges, the average monetary award also seems to be anywhere from 1/4 to 1/20 of the potential reward paid by courts. Mediation is certainly a more efficient way to receive a monetary award in a short amount of time, however, and the percentage of EEOC cases that go to court and result in a monetary award are unknown.

Books on Conflict Resolution in the Workplace

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Workplace Conflict and Employee Complaint Feedback

Weigh in on mediation, discrimination, harassment and other conflicts and solutions

  • Deeprivergirl May 10, 2012 @ 6:43 am | delete
    Thank you!
  • DeepRivergirl May 8, 2012 @ 11:24 pm | delete
    How much monetary awards can be asked for in mediation? Can you ask for more than one damage? ie punitive, general, etc Getting ready for a Reprisal mediation...any suggestions on what to ask for? Besides my job back :(
  • JHFSEO May 9, 2012 @ 9:24 am | delete
    I can't give you any legal advice, and the details of your particular case dictate what you can ask for, but develop a strategy for what you want to ask for, and consult an attorney (if you haven't already) on what you can and should ask for.

    Be open minded to prepare for different levels of "victory" and also be prepared that mediation may fall through altogether.

    If you were wrongfully terminated, for example, getting your job back, with lost wages and some benefits may be a good goal. There are different levels to even these simple requests. Know what you want and state it clearly. You can't get what you don't request.

    Depending on where you are, the law may have some limits on what you are "entitled" to, so an attorney's advice/presence is invaluable.

    Good luck!
  • ih8mycow Feb 5, 2012 @ 7:19 am | delete
    Harassment in the workplace is a serious issue. I've been reading about these things and some don't even take them seriously. I remember reading a post on ihatemycoworker.com saying that she's being harassed by the boss and the best thing that she can think of is sending anonymous emails on that site because she's afraid she'll lose her job.
  • A victim of the 'process' Jan 31, 2011 @ 8:54 pm | delete
    One solution to a hostile work environment is to order the harassers to role-play the same humiliating acts its victims were subjected. I don't believe some bosses think they can be fired for workplace discrimination nor do I believe bosses think the reasons they proffer would stand before a jury. Harassers rely on the long process of the complaint system to wear their victims down and ultimately out of a job.
  • JHFSEO Sep 15, 2011 @ 4:17 pm | delete
    That's a neat idea. I wonder if consultants who talk about harassment actually use those tactics. I think it might be more effective, depending on how far it goes and the liability for the consultants.

    They might roleplay using their own staff instead (story vignettes) to drive home the point without getting the staff involved (perchance the naming of names in public).

    Thanks for your comments and good luck to you in your process.
  • Looking for EEO Jan 31, 2011 @ 8:47 pm | delete
    Employees who experience harassment in the workplace have little option but to stick it out. I believe when it is more likely than not that an employee is being harassed (non sexual) by supervisor(s), immediate intervention should be the order. Employees should not be forced to endure the humilation. embarassment and exclusion while waiting for the Commission to enforce its own directives-hostile-free work environment. I;m going on two years of literally being barred from performing the duties for which I was hired and it stopped being "cute" the week after roaming the halls with no place to park myself.
  • JHFSEO Sep 15, 2011 @ 4:21 pm | delete
    I'm sorry you've had such trouble, and I agree that the process is long and arduous, allowing some people to get away with more and more.

    The answer, I think, is with small organizations, to take it to the top, and hope the bosses are willing to investigate. If the trouble IS the bosses, then you have little choice but to stick it out, or find a better job (I know, a bad prospect in any economy). If the common is prevalent, your coworkers may support you, but some employees look the other way.

    In bigger organizations, there should be union representation and/or and ombudsperson to help deal with conflict.

    In any case, hiring an attorney often helps speed up the process, or at least get your company's attention. Even if it doesn't go to court, it might prompt the company to play ball, call in a mediator, and try to work out an agreement, even before EEOC intervention.

    Best of luck to you in you ordeal. It's not a short or easy process, but I hope you find some peace.
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JHFSEO

Hi all. I develop content for fun and for clients, and enjoy writing on everything that catches my attention including Arizona, sports, politics, civics,... more »

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