Facts About Sexual Harassment Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Un-welcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitutes sexual harassment when submission to or rejection of this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment.
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
- The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
- The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
- The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
- Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
- The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.
It is helpful for the victim to directly inform the harasser that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. The victim should use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available.
When investigating allegations of sexual harassment, EEOC looks at the whole record: the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination on the allegations is made from the facts on a case-by-case basis.
Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. They should clearly communicate to employees that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. They can do so by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee complains.
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In 1969, the AICPA Council formally launched a national program to integrate the accounting profession and passed a resolution to:
- Encourage minority men and women of high potential to attend college and major in accounting.
- Provide educational opportunities for minority men and women to prepare them to enter the accounting profession.
- Encourage hiring of minority men and women in order to integrate the accounting profession in fact as well as ideal.
The primary objective of the Minority Initiatives Committee (MIC) is to implement the 1969 resolution of Council. Over the years, the committee and Council have recognized that minorities were not being attracted to or employed by the accounting profession in proportion equal to their representation in society as a whole. In response to this perceived challenge, the MIC has developed a comprehensive program of scholarship support and faculty development, and has implemented programs to promote the profession to minority high school students.
The minority initiatives programs and activities include:
360 Degrees of Financial Literacy
Leadership Workshop Financial Literacy Video
Accounting Scholars Leadership Workshop
Be a Star in Business Be a CPA! Advertising Campaign
CPA Alumni Hall of Fame
Diversity Pipeline Alliance
Faculty Development Program
Fellowships for Minority Doctoral Students
Scholarships for Minority Accounting Students
StartHereGoPlaces
The Stuart Kessler CPA Scholarship
Supply of Accounting Graduates and the Demand for Public Accounting Recruits. This report includes information on accounting majors and detailed gender and ethnic/racial breakdowns of graduates as well as new graduates employed by CPA firms.
To effectively deal with minority recruitment, the MIC functions as an information center for the accounting profession. It has formed relationships with businesses and outreach organizations, such as the National Association of Black Accountants, Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, and the state CPA societies. These efforts focus on promoting and publicizing the importance of minority recruitment, coordinating scholarship activities and encouraging the development of career awareness programs.
The committee also monitors pending and proposed legislation that could impact areas under its responsibility. The MIC, in conjunction with the AICPA Government Affairs Division, monitors legislation related to education, diversity and upward mobility.
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HIRING GUIDE FOR EMPLOYERS AND HIRING MANAGERS
As much as we consistently prepare and remind candidates to be well prepared for an interview, it is equally critical for companies to be prepared for an interview.
Regardless of the employment market and talent pool available, when interviewing a potential employee, companies must remind themselves that they are representing their organization, themselves and most of all, attempting to paint a picture to a candidate of what their and career will be like.
Over the past few years we have prepared and updated a booklet which provides Hiring Managers with terrific ideas about How to Interview more effectivley.
If you would like us to send you A FREE copy, email us at Info@elcony.com
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LEGAL UPDATE FROM OFCCP REGARDING RECRUITERS/EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES
We have previously advised our members about the “Internet Applicant Rule,” issued by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”). This rule makes it clear that government contractors must abide by a host of regulations requiring them to keep records of the race, gender and ethnicity of those it “considers” for a position. Those of you not at all familiar with the OFCCP’s rules may want to take a look at the article “What Is the OFCCP and Why Should I Care” on the NAPS web site at www.recruitinglife.com.
After the promulgation of the rule, many government contractors took the position that they must contract with their third party recruiters to follow the OFCCP rules, while others did not change their practices in this regard. Recently, the OFCCP revised the “Frequently Asked Questions” section of its web site to address the obligations of government contractors and the search firms they use. Essentially, OFCCP says:
1.Recruiters who are not themselves government contractors are not obligated to do anything under the rule.
2.However, when a government contractor uses the services of a recruiter to screen candidates, the government contractor is required to see to it that the recruiter complies with the rule.
3.Government contractors are strongly encouraged to enter into contracts with recruiters requiring the recruiters to comply with the rule, and to discuss with the search firms the recordkeeping practices the firm will follow.
The result of all of this should be that almost all government contractors who are paying attention will not do business with a recruiter who has not contractually agreed to follow the OFCCP’s recordkeeping rules mandating that candidates who are considered for a position, and meet its minimum requirements, be surveyed as to their race, ethnicity and gender.
Here are the OFCCP’S FAQS pertaining to recruiters, with emphasis added by me where I felt it appropriate.
If a covered employer contracts with an employment agency to screen and refer job seekers using the employer’s selection procedures, what records must be maintained?
The contractor’s recordkeeping obligations are the same whether it screens job seekers itself or whether it contracts with an employment agency to screen job seekers on its behalf with the employer’s selection procedures. If an employer contracts with an employment agency to screen jobseekers on its behalf, it would be prudent to address expressly in its contract with the employment agency the records the agency will be expected to maintain regarding searches made on the employer’s behalf. The Executive Order recordkeeping obligation belongs to the federal contractor, not the retained employment agency, and it is the contractor’s responsibility to ensure that the agency keeps for it whatever records the contractor will be expected to have.
Can a contractor ask a recruiting firm to keep, on its behalf, the records required by the Internet Applicant Final Rule?
OFCCP’s recordkeeping rules, including the new Internet Applicant Final Rule, require Federal contractors and subcontractors to keep and maintain records regarding their selection process, including information about selection and hires. The use of a recruiting firm in the hiring process does not relieve a contractor of its recordkeeping obligations….; the contractor will be held accountable if the specified records are not maintained.
A contractor may ask that a recruiting firm keep records on its behalf so that the contractor can use the records to monitor its personnel practices and demonstrate compliance to OFCCP. Keep in mind, however, that under the Internet Applicant Final Rule, the recordkeeping obligations belong to the Federal contractor or subcontractor. A contractor cannot delegate its obligations to another firm and would be held accountable if required records were not maintained The Executive Order does not impose separate recordkeeping obligations upon recruitment firms with respect to their referral practices to Federal Contractors and Subcontractors. Accordingly, under the Executive Order, a recruiting firm’s obligations to retain records arise out of its agreements with those clients. Because contractors will be held accountable for keeping the required records, we suggest that recruiting firms and Federal contractors and subcontractors have a specific discussion about recordkeeping practices, so that both parties understand what records must be retained, and by whom.
How can a recruiting firm that is not a Federal contractor or subcontractor obtain a certificate indicating that its practices are in compliance with OFCCP’s recordkeeping requirements?
OFCCP does not issue compliance certificates. OFCCP determines whether Federal contractors and subcontractors are in compliance with laws enforced by OFCCP through compliance evaluations. OFCCP does not conduct compliance evaluations of companies that are not Federal contractors or subcontractors. OFCCP is available to offer compliance assistance on specific recordkeeping obligations. Interested individuals may contact OFCCP by email at OFCCP-Public@dol.gov.
So what can we expect out of all this? Notwithstanding the vagueness of the phrase “using the employer’s selection procedures,” more federal contractors will be requiring search firms to agree to comply with the OFCCP rules as a condition of doing business with the contractor. Furthermore, because of the emphasis the OFCCP has put on the liability of the employer if the recruiter doesn’t keep the proper records, contractors may seek to audit the search firm’s compliance to enable the contractor to prepare for an OFCCP audit.
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