Irene Helsinger was sitting in her office last week thinking about the Sept. 11 attacks when it occurred to her it would be a good idea to remind employees that St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System respects all employees without regard to national origin, religion or race.
Helsinger, senior vice president and chief human resources officer of St. Luke’s, said that while there hadn’t been any complaints of ethnic slurs, she wanted to make sure everyone was reminded that derogatory remarks weren’t acceptable.
She talked it over with Jack Lynch, chief executive officer of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, who issued a statement to all employees several days ago.
Statements were issued all over the country as companies rushed to remind employees they wouldn’t tolerate discrimination against Arabs, Indians, Pakistanis or Afghanis.
In addition to sending out a statement, JP Morgan Chase officials have been using employee meetings to reinforce its message that it won’t tolerate discriminatory behavior. And employees were put on notice that the bank will not hesitate to discipline any employee for such behavior, said Doug Monroe, director of human resources in Houston.
H. Joan Ehrlich, district director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, also has put out the word that employers should be proactive. It’s important for companies to provide sensitivity training for all their employees and provide a strong support system for anxious employees to come forward, she said. So far she hasn’t seen many complaints, but she’s seeing a lot of anxiety in the Arab community.
This outpouring of concern over stereotyping is so different from the Iranian hostage crisis in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Houston employment lawyer Joe Ahmad said. At that time, lots of Middle Easterners were targeted as terrorist sympathizers, said Ahmad, recalling his high school experience in Maryville, Tenn., as the only student with Middle Eastern roots.
This time, President Bush has cautioned people not to take out their frustrations on Muslims, and government agencies have promised they won’t tolerate hate crimes, Ahmad said.
“You wouldn’t dare to go to the police in the 1970s about a hate crime,” he said. “They’d laugh at you.”
