Confused about the recent ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States on Title VII and what it means for your organization? You’re not alone.
The recent ruling reaffirms Title VII protections against harassment and discrimination in the workplace for all employees in both majority and minority groups. While the ruling impacts how courts apply Title VII—specifically that members of majority groups are not required to meet a higher standard of proof when claiming discrimination—it doesn’t change the law itself. Title VII still protects employees from harassment and discrimination based on color, national origin, race, religion, and sex.
What does the ruling mean for employers?
It reinforces:
- The need to apply programs and policies uniformly to all employees, regardless of background
- The importance of making employment decisions fairly and without preferential treatment. For example, under Title VII it is unlawful to harass or discriminate based on gender, which means it is equally unlawful to harass or discriminate against men and women.
The ruling also highlights the importance of building and maintaining a culture of respect for all employees. A culture of respect is reflected in:
- The way employees treat one another
- Awareness that everyone has biases
- Recognizing that everyone benefits from exploring and challenging those biases so they don’t impact work relationships or decision making
- A safe and inclusive work environment
- Commitment to creating an inclusive work environment in which everyone feels their input and efforts are valued
- A culture that provides room for mistakes, learning, creative problem solving, and new ideas
- Making it safe to speak up about inappropriate conduct or harassment
- Leadership support for professional conduct
- Encouragement of filtering behaviors for the workplace
- Setting and reinforcing expectations for professional conduct at work
Atana’s Respectful Workplace Training + Insights + Action solution can help get you there. With engaging and relatable content, insights derived from data collected during the training, and action steps to address organizational risks to your culture, you can build a safe and respectful work environment for everyone.
About the Author
Michele Chiarella — Director of Learning, Atana
Michele leads Atana's Learning Development, overseeing a team that develops engaging video-based eLearning that imparts knowledge and teaches skills while assessing desired workplace behaviors. Working closely with our Behavioral Data Science group, she and her team create courses that combine highly-relatable vicarious learning experiences with built-in behavioral assessments to ensure the training drives business outcomes.
Michele Chiarella — Director of Learning, Atana
Michele leads Atana's Learning Development, overseeing a team that develops engaging video-based eLearning that imparts knowledge and teaches skills while assessing desired workplace behaviors. Working closely with our Behavioral Data Science group, she and her team create courses that combine highly-relatable vicarious learning experiences with built-in behavioral assessments to ensure the training drives business outcomes.
