While the story did accurately depict a change in attitudes among younger workers, it was off-base with regard to the causes.  The piece pointed to baby-boomer parenting tactics that encouraged self worth over hard work and results driven praise as the cause of changes in the attitudes of younger workers .  What the piece did not address was what role changes in employer behavior played in the change.  Over the past two decades, younger workers have watched as their parents were laid off or had their salaries cut at the whim of their employers.  This corporate behavior sent a powerful message to the children of the workers that there is no such thing as job security in today’s workplace.

Simply put, the change in behavior is probably due at least in part to a recognition of the fact that the employer is going to make choices based on the bottom line.  If the employer can and will make decisions without regard to the impact on individual employees,isn’t it rational for the employee to demand all it can and vote with their feet if the company does not oblige?

Frankly, as a firm dropout, this study did not surprise me at all.  Earlier this year the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession published its own study that came to largely the same conclusions.  From my perspective, the problems stem from partners’ and coworkers’ inability to see people as the individuals they are, rather than  stereotype based on physical characteristics.  For a woman of color, this inability can result in a double set of stereotypes that are hard to live down.

It is normal to notice the differences among us as long as we are sure we are noticing real differences and not presumptions based on misinformation and outmoded prejudices.  If firms want to increase the feeling of inclusion among their associates, they have to understand that diversity is about nuance and balance and actions speak louder than words.  It is simply not enough to publish policy statements about valuing diversity and recruit at minority job fairs.  Firms have to think about what they will do with the candidates once they become employees.  That means changing the firm’s culture if necessary and confronting partners who refuse to get with the program.  If your firm is having a hard time retaining double minority employees, perhaps the firm needs to take a look at whether there are institutional barriers to success that linger rather than writing it off as just another bad hire.

"all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really.”

Watson went on to say that: "His hope is that everyone is equal, but he counters that “people who have to deal with black employees find this not true”. He says that you should not discriminate on the basis of colour, because “there are many people of colour who are very talented, but don’t promote them when they haven’t succeeded at the lower level”. He writes that “there is no firm reason to anticipate that the intellectual capacities of peoples geographically separated in their evolution should prove to have evolved identically."

This is not the first time that Watson has made insensitive remarks. In the past, he has been raised the ire of women’s groups for his comments about female scientists. It seems that Watson would counter that many of his comments have a basis in science in scientific research. One has to wonder if these statements were made in an effort to help sell his new book. If it isn’t, this may just be an example of how seemingly intelligent people can be shockingly ignorant.

]]> http://thefonteneaufirm.com/dr-watson-presumes-too-much-nobel-prize-winner-quoted-making-an-insensitive-statement/feed/ 0 http://thefonteneaufirm.com/how-to-sink-your-discrimination-case/ http://thefonteneaufirm.com/how-to-sink-your-discrimination-case/#comments Sun, 12 Aug 2007 22:20:31 +0000 Kira Fonteneau http://thefonteneaufirm.com/brilliantcolor/?p=4 Clients come in to my office all the time who have been treated unfairly by their employers.  Often they want to file a lawsuit to address this treatment but due to choices that they have made, there may be little or nothing that can be done legally.  There are several things you can do to sink your claim before it is ever filed.  Here are just a few that can be fatal.

• Failure to keep up with records.

In employment cases, the employer generally has all the cards.  Most employers have records of their employees that date back to the first time they submit an application or submit a resume.  As a result at the first sign of legal trouble, the employer and their attorneys will look for any reason to justify the decisions that have been made.  An employee who has a corresponding record that contains everything it received from the employer has a better chance of disputing inaccuracies in the employer’s version of the events.

• Failure to report inappropriate conduct or comments  to the employer when they happen

Employees must provide their employers an opportunity to correct problem behavior in the work place.  The most obvious reason for this is that federal employment laws provide protection for employers who implement anti-discrimination/harassment policies. That protection effectively limit an employee’s ability to recover certain types of damages when they have failed to report the improper behavior.  The second reason to report the improper conduct is that it adds credence to the employee’s version of the events.  The simple truth is that in the employment context it is better to be proactive in terms of getting your version of the events out on the table first.  If you are wondering why, ask yourself who you would believe, the person with a clean record who complains about an event or the person who is two steps from termination who suddenly claims to be the victim of discrimination.

• Failure to report the conduct to the proper governmental authority

Failing to report harassing or discriminatory conduct to the appropriate state or federal authority is probably the most damaging mistake to potential employment claims.  Most employment discrimination claims require the employee to report discriminatory conduct to the EEOC or corresponding state entity within a relatively short period.  In many states, claims of discrimination must be reported within six months of the discriminatory conduct or they can never be raised as a basis for a lawsuit.  What’s more, reporting the discriminatory conduct to the company has no effect on the deadline.

• Being dishonest with your attorney

In order to pursue a claim on your behalf, your attorney must have the whole truth.  Holding important information back during the initial interview can not only make it harder to evaluate your case at the outset, it can also create problems in your relationship with your attorney.  This is important because your attorney needs to know the good, the bad and the downright ugly at the beginning of the case in order to adequately represent you.  As an attorney, I would rather have you tell me that you were fired for tardiness or filed bankruptcy than have opposing counsel tell me.  More importantly, not all bad facts are fatal to your case, but the only way to know is by disclosing them to your attorney.