Despite numerous travelers traversing the "yellow-brick road" to a more diverse workforce, diversity continues to present challenges. Materials that companies create relating to their diversity initiatives can potentially be deadly flowers in the fields along the yellow-brick road.
To place this adventure into context, in addition to an ever-vigilant plaintiffs bar, in December 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) adopted a new strategic enforcement plan (SEP) setting forth its priorities and methods of enforcement for the next four years. The SEP demonstrated the EEOC’s intent to continue to focus on systemic discrimination, which it classified as one of its top priorities. Underscoring this continued emphasis is EEOC guidance that provides that when pursuing litigation, system charges and cases should be given priority over other types of actions.
