Class Action Settlements Create Sustainable, Measurable Change

Sustainability is not only important in environmental practices.  It is critical in developing changes to many different practices in the workplace.  While some people consider what can be done to immediately create changes, others may wish to find a way for the changes to last over time.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) has released a report that argues that class action settlements have long-term effect in the workplace.  The report, Ending Sex and Race Discrimination in the Workplace: Legal Interventions That Push the Envelope, finds that injunctive relief is a critical but underutilized feature of Title VII that can impact the overall workplace, not only for those who file complaints.

Class action settlements usually require that employers clarify their criteria for job assignments and promotions.  Two-thirds of certified class action settlements, but fewer than one in ten other settlements, require that employers make it more clear when their are job vacancies.  Here recruiters may find that their services are more required when employers cannot simply hire a friend of a friend all the time.

Most of the time, class action settlements mandate that employers regularly analyze its important decisions in regards to race and sex bias.  These settlements assure their participants that if the settlement is won, they will know that the employers are scrutinizing their decisions involving promotion and compensation decisions for potential sex or race bias.