When people use the term equal employment opportunity (EEO), they are focusing on reducing discrimination. The main piece of legislation related to EEO is the Civil Rights Act. First signed into law in 1964, and amended in 1991, the Act protects employees from discrimination on the basis of their membership in protected classes.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act provides that people be treated equally in compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment. Training and development activities fall within this list, and training is specifically mentioned in the act. The potential to discriminate is present in both formal and informal training and development activities. Either by who is selected to participate in a given training activity, or by how someone is treated or evaluated within the program.

As its names implies, adverse treatment occurs when employers treat their employees differently based on some protected class status and results in a negative outcome for the person making the charge of discrimination. Common reasons that people get sent to training include their performance rating. This can be either positive, in that they qualify for advanced training, or negative, in that they require some level of remedial training.

Organizations should be aware that the method of delivery has the potential to create adverse impact. This is primarily a concern with training or development provided online. Once someone raises a concern about adverse treatment or adverse impact, an organization needs to be careful that it doesn’t engage in retaliation by punishing someone who has made a claim of discrimination.