Emerging recently, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched a proposed guidance pertaining to workplace harassment. It must be noted that the EEOC aims for this new direction to supersede the existing document, ushered in more than two decades ago, in 1999. The development offers insight into the EEOC’s current stance on the development of harassment claims.
Earlier this month, the EEOC shared their intention of swapping out the document currently in place. According to Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP, the guidance document indicates, in particular, how the agency plans to address and process harassment claims in the future.
As legal professionals in the realm of employment law, we need to pay close attention to the direction the EEOC takes moving ahead. The guidance could signal shifts in how companies handle internal complaints of harassment, or the ways in which legal proceedings on harassment claims are navigated.
Continuing to stay well informed and adapting to these changes as they come along will be crucial in maintaining solid, defensible positions in litigation and fostering safer, more equitable workplace environments.