by Jackson Lewis
Among the most notable results in the 2005 Jackson Lewis Annual Workplace Survey are the following:
- The number of
companies reporting workplace lawsuits fell. In the 2005 survey when
participants were asked, "Was your company sued by an employee for any
reason during the past year?" 49% answered affirmatively. This was an
8% decrease from similar surveys conducted in 2004 and 2003 in both
years 57% of those surveyed said their organization had been sued by an
employee.
- Gender discrimination
was the most frequent claim in 2005. Of those who were sued, when asked
the nature of the claims, 51% cited gender discrimination. Race
discrimination (45%), age discrimination (40%), disability
discrimination (40%) and national origin discrimination (17%) were also
reported. These results were relatively unchanged from a similar survey
conducted in 2004.
- Complaints of sexual
harassment showed a steady decrease. In 2005, 48% of those
participating in the survey said there were no complaints of sexual
harassment at their companies. In 2004, 44% of those polled said there
were no complaints of this nature and in 2003, 37% said they did not
have a sexual harassment complaint.
- Sexual harassment
prevention training for supervisors reached almost 90%. When asked if
their companies train supervisors to prevent sexual harassment, the
vast majority (89%) said yes. This was an increase from 81% in 2004 and
79% in 2003 when participants were polled in similar surveys.
- Drug and alcohol
testing was commonplace. In 2005, 62% of those surveyed said they
conduct drug and alcohol testing. Of these, 91% test on a pre-hire
basis. Most (69%) said there was no change in the number of positive
results from the previous year. The most common method is urinalysis,
cited by 55% of those who test their employees.
- Despite the low
national unemployment rate, human resource executives said job security
was the most critical issue facing the country. For the fifth
consecutive year, job security was the chief concern, cited by almost
half (48%) of the 2005 survey respondents. However, this is a
substantial drop from 2004 when 66% identified job security as the most
critical national issue.
For more information about the survey, please contact Margaret R. Bryant, Esq., at (412) 232-1156;
[email protected].