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The EEOC’s Push to Fight Harassment in the Construction Industry

Construction plans on a table with a white hard hat, calculator, pens, pencils, compass, ruler, and small house model.

When we think of hazards on construction sites, we usually think about physical safety: heavy equipment, power tools, and so on. But the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that enforces anti-discrimination laws, is shedding light on another hazard that faces many construction workers: illegal harassment.

New guidelines are designed to protect construction workers from unlawful harassment

“Some of the most egregious incidents of harassment investigated by the EEOC have arisen in the construction industry,” the agency wrote, according to Safety + Health Magazine. In response, the EEOC has published new guidelines designed to help construction employers comply with the law and protect workers’ civil rights.

Why is harassment so common in the construction industry?

According to The 19th, discrimination is endemic in the construction industry’s culture. “This is an industry where we still have folks saying, ‘We just don’t hire women,’” EEOC director Charlotte Burrows told The 19th. Gender-based harassment is rampant: one survey found that more than one in four female construction workers said they were “always or frequently” harassed on the basis of gender. Racial discrimination is also quite common, with frequent discrimination in hiring and access to apprenticeship programs.

Part of the problem is that reporting harassment on a job site can be complicated and confusing. With multiple contractors, subcontractors, and companies involved in any given project, a worker may not be sure who to report to. Moreover, the decentralized workplace plays a role: to the extent that construction companies have human resources at all, the administrative staff is rarely on-site, which means problems can easily go unaddressed.

Breaking down the EEOC’s guidelines

The new EEOC guidelines are built around five core principles that help employers prevent and address harassment:

  • Engaged leadership
  • Consistent accountability
  • Comprehensive anti-harassment policies
  • Accessible complaint procedures
  • Regular anti-harassment training

According to the EEOC, project leaders, general contractors, site owners, and construction unions need to step up to address harassment on-site. General contractors, in particular, are well-positioned to serve in a sitewide coordinating role to provide training, monitor for harassment, and verify that their subcontractors are following through with harassment prevention.

The EEOC recommends that anti-harassment training be provided in the languages spoken by workers on a given site and in a manner tailored to the site’s specific needs. The EEOC also recommends providing multiple channels of communication for workers to complain about harassment, again with accessibility in the languages commonly spoken by workers.

While the EEOC guidelines are not themselves law, they do indicate what the agency is looking for when investigating and evaluating harassment claims on construction sites. Employers who do not comply with the guidelines and take proactive measures to prevent and address unlawful harassment may open themselves to legal liability.

If you have been harassed at work, you have legal rights

Under federal law, harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic such as race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, or age (if over 40) is illegal. If you have been harassed at work, you have legal recourse, but you need to take action to protect your rights. Document everything: write down what happened, when, and where, and make sure to get names and contact information for witnesses. Report the harassment to your foreman or team leader, and talk to an experienced attorney about your legal options.

Our employment law attorneys have been standing up for employees throughout Ohio for years, and we know how to protect your rights at every stage of the legal process. Give us a call or contact us online for a free case evaluation with Gibson Law, LLC.

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