Gerald Pauling Quoted in Inside Counsel

The article ("Color Codes: New EEOC race and color guidelines highlight contemporary forms of discrimination") in the July issue of Inside Counsel highlights contemporary color and race discrimination issues, and what employers should do about them, using the EEOC guidelines as direction noting that "42 years after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, Title VII violations still constitute the most frequent type of workplace discrimination complaint. Of the approximately 75,000 charges filed with the EEOC in fiscal 2005, more than 35 percent alleged race-based discrimination." The EEOC recently released a “Compliance Manual Section on Race and Color Discrimination” and while the guidelines break no new legal ground, they highlight contemporary examples of discrimination that may escape the notice of even a vigilant employer. They also provide clues to EEOC priorities and best-practices. The most useful tool for employers in the new guidelines is the “Proactive Prevention” section that concludes the 51-page document. Other best practices include recommendations on training, objective qualification standards, harassment policies and protection from retaliation. One best practice not mentioned in the guidelines is to keep abreast of EEOC settlements, says Gerald Pauling, a partner in Seyfarth Shaw. “It’s a best practice to know where particular practices fall on the EEOC’s radar screen,” he says. “If you go through the race and color guidelines, you will see hypotheticals of things you may not look at as discriminatory. But if they think it amounts to race discrimination, you need to manage to that.”