The federal government has launched a new initiative aimed at cracking down on discriminatory hiring practices.  According to this law.com article that is exactly what happened to Walgreen Co. when the EEOC decided to file a class action against the company for alleged discrimination against African-American workers.

The initiative is called E-RACE (Eradicating Racism and Colorism in Employment).  Specifically the EEOC will focus on hiring decisions based on names, arrest and conviction records, employment and personality tests and credit scores – all of which may disparately impact people of color.

It may surprise some that discrimination claims are still so prevalent.  But the most frequently filed claims with the EEOC are still race-based claims accounting for a total of 36% of the claims in fiscal year 2006.  Maybe your company’s employment training should center on the basics after all.