Break from the Grind October 9, 2018

Let the Music Play

Most employees like listening to music at work and say it makes them more productive.
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Most workers feel they’re more productive at the office when listening to music, according to a survey from staffing firm Accountemps.

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Eighty-five percent of survey respondents who are able to do so said they enjoy listening to music at work. Employees ages 18 to 34 appreciate music while working the most (95%), compared with those ages 35 to 54 (84%) and 55 and older (66%).

More than seven in 10 professionals said they are much more productive (39%) or somewhat more productive (32%) when music is playing at the office. Six percent said they are somewhat less productive, and 1% said they are not productive at all. Nearly one-quarter (22%) indicated that music playing has no effect on their productivity.

Asked, “Does your employer have a policy about employees listening to music at work?” 44% reported it is allowed and there are no restrictions, and 38% said it is allowed, but there are restrictions (e.g., workers must wear headphones). Nine percent said it is not allowed.

The online survey includes responses from more than 1,000 U.S. workers 18 years of age or older and employed in office environments.
Compliance October 9, 2018

EEOC Sues Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is alleged to have violated federal law by denying hire to an older applicant and pushing an older employee to retire because of their ages.

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The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed another age discrimination lawsuit in federal court, this one against the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which runs the Kalamazoo Psychiatric Hospital.

The new lawsuit comes amid an active crack down on age bias in the U.S. economy. In late September, EEOC filed a similar lawsuit against RockAuto LLC, a Madison, Wisconsin-headquartered Internet-based auto parts seller, alleging the company refused to hire a 64-year-old job applicant because of his age. The same week, the EEOC sued Norfolk Southern Corporation, which operates a 20,000-mile freight railroad system in the eastern United States. The EEOC has also sued Llanerch Country Club (LCC), in Havertown, Pennsylvania, saying it violated federal law by discriminating against a long-term groundskeeper because of his age.

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According to the EEOC’s latest lawsuit, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services violated federal law by denying hire to an older applicant and constructively discharging an older employee because of their ages. According to the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, 56-year-old Phyllis DeWaters was a qualified applicant who had been unanimously recommended by an interview panel to be hired as a clinical social worker at the hospital. The 31-year-old clinical services director instead selected a much younger employee, citing a preference for younger workers.

The EEOC lawsuit further suggests the same clinical services director supervised another older worker, 60-year-old Janet Luchies, who worked as a clinical social worker for the hospital. When the clinical services director became her supervisor in November 2015, he “gave Luchies the least desirable assignments, scrutinized her work closer than her colleagues, and wrote her up.” As a result, she took a medical leave of absence and subsequently retired.

The EEOC argues such alleged conduct violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which protects individuals who are 40 years of age or older from employment discrimination based on age. The lawsuit is seeking injunctive relief that prohibits the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services from discriminating against employees based on age, as well as monetary relief including pay and liquidated damages, and other affirmative relief for DeWaters and Luchies.

“Denying hire to an applicant because of age and forcing an employee to quit because of age are unlawful acts,” says Dale Price, trial attorney for the Detroit Field Office of the EEOC. “The EEOC is pursuing this matter because federal law provides specific protections to members of our workforce, like DeWaters and Luchies, who are age 40 and older.”

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