Are You Sitting Down?  

Each year, thousands of employees file complaints with the EEOC because companies don't provide adequate attention to legitimate concerns and complaints.

  • 188,679: The number of EEOC claims filed over the past two years
  • $376 Million: Monetary relief obtained by the EEOC in 2009
  • 281: The number of new EEOC lawsuits against companies in 2009
  • $234,957 the average award from litigation

FACT:  The best way to deal with the EEOC is to avoid them all together! 

Opendoorline™ helps you avoid EEOC investigations and penalties through:

  • purposeful prevention and
  • professional processing of employee complaints. 

Good Intentions Don't Satisfy the EEOC

Many organizations say they have an "Open Door Policy" to encourage dialogue between management and employees.  In reality, this is often no more than a just a small section in a dusty employee handbook.

All too often, employees do NOT feel comfortable expressing concerns and complaints to supervisors, or even directly to HR.  This can lead to very costly problems if employees don't reveal issues at play in your organization. 

In many organizations, cases of sexual harassment, discrimination, ethics violations, embezzlement, and unfair treatment go on without the knowlege of decision makers.  Having trustworthy, externally managed options for employees will help you understand issues, address problems, and take action before matters get out of hand. 

 

Employment Related Claims 

Employment-related claims can result in multi-million dollar exposures.  Over the past two years, over 188,000 charges were filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Even more alarming, the number of claims filed by plaintiffs in state courts has skyrocketed, as attorneys circumvent the federal system to pursue state venues that do not cap punitive damages.

Many of the major settlements and damage awards against large, high profile companies are well documented.   Less known is the aggressiveness with which the EEOC has been pursuing small and mid-sized companies for allegedly discriminatory practices.  Settlements, in many of these cases, have exceeded $1 million.

 

Healthy Communication is Not Negotiable

Setting aside the clear risk mitigation benefits, your ability to understand and respond to employee concerns, complaints, and suggestions has a direct impact on business success. 

Closed dialogue and unresolved issues leads to a toxic culture that results in: 
  • Poor performance
  • Broken processes
  • Dysfunctional teams
  • Bad quality/customer experience
  • Loss of key employees and subsequent recruiting and training expense
  • Dangerous, unhealthy workplace situations