Companies are beginning to consider the impact that employment related lawsuits are having on their financial stability.

 

The number, size and prominence of these allegations being brought are unprecedented.

The negative publicity is long and lasting.

 

Allegations of sexual harassment...

... age and racial discrimination...

... wrongful termination...

... hostile work environment...

... whistleblower protection/Sarbanes-Oxley...

... medical leave act violations...

... disabilities act violations...

... mishandled interpersonal conflict...
... inappropriate workplace behavior...

 

Employees (not always the most important asset) can become a significant liability. Because one of the managers did something wrong, yes, WRONG, but the company, the shareholders and the other innocent employees are paying the price...

 

150,000+
Number of wrongful employment practices complaints currently filed at US state agencies and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

 

$650,000
The average damage award employers must pay in employment related lawsuits.

 

2,000%
The increase in discrimination suits since 1974.

 

33%
The percent of all employment practices awards involving punitive damages.

 

461,530
The number of people who charged their employers with some type of discrimination from 1991 to 1997 according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

 

80%
The percent of all defendant-employers who feel that they are victims of unfair or frivolous allegations, as indicated by the California Chamber of Commerce.

 

450
The estimated number of employment lawsuits filed in the United States every day.

 

43 million
The estimated number of Americans with physical or mental impairments protected by the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

 

20%
The percent of civil litigation in the United States now involving employment related issues.

 

$1 billion
The total amount spent between 1992 and 1997 by Corporate America on sexual harassment settlements and award damages, as estimated by Treasury & Risk Management.

 

33%
The percent of women in the U. S. who claim to have suffered on-the-job sexual harassment in one form or another.

Sexual harassment costs the typical Fortune 500 company $6.7 million dollars a year.

Legal fees for defending a sexual harassment average $250,000