Just days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit stayed a preliminary injunction blocking executive orders that refer to the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion as “illegal DEI,” the U.S. Equal...more
3/24/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Title VII
On Friday, February 21, 2025, a federal judge issued a Preliminary Injunction in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, et al. v. Trump, blocking significant portions of two Executive Orders (EOs)...more
2/25/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Trump Administration
In one of his first acts as President in his second term in office, Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 21, 2025, entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (“Order”)....more
1/29/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Trump Administration
The rise of workplace wearable technology has opened new possibilities for employee efficiencies, safety, and health monitoring....more
Is the developer of an AI resume-screening tool an “employment agency” or “agent” subject to liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act for its customers’ allegedly discriminatory employment decisions? According to the...more
4/26/2024
/ ADEA ,
Algorithms ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Resume ,
Title VII
On August 9, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and iTutorGroup, Inc. and related companies (collectively, “iTutorGroup”) filed a joint notice of settlement and a request for approval and...more
8/18/2023
/ ADEA ,
Algorithms ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Disparate Impact ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Machine Learning ,
Settlement ,
Software
Since late October 2021, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) launched its Initiative on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Algorithmic Fairness, the agency has taken several steps to ensure AI and other...more
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, employers found themselves in uncharted territory – a new virus, public health emergency declarations, and legislation. Against this onslaught of emerging circumstances, the Equal...more
On Tuesday, April 25, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division (“DOJ”), and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”)...more
4/26/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Systems ,
Bias ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Opportunities ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Statements ,
Machine Learning ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Unfair Competition
Over the past several years, workplace artificial intelligence (“AI”) tools have matured from novel to mainstream. Whether facilitating attracting, screening, hiring, and onboarding job applicants or charting the career path...more
Prompted by the widespread adoption and use of video-conferencing software following the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers have shifted toward video interviews to evaluate potential hires. Even as employers have begun to...more
On Monday, October 25, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued updates to its online technical assistance for employers, providing guidance for managing workplace issues arising from the ongoing...more
10/28/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced the release of updated guidance regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, providing welcome clarity around a number of vaccine-related issues for...more
It’s #WorkforceWednesday! This week, we discuss how employers are navigating COVID-19 vaccination policies and new worker organization and whistleblowing risks.
Legal Considerations for COVID-19 Vaccination Policies (see...more
5/5/2021
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disparate Treatment ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Vaccine Passports ,
Workplace Safety
Recruiting qualified applicants and hiring top talent have always been time-consuming endeavors that come with constant worry about making a wrong hire. Added to this, the COVID-19 pandemic effectively put a halt to...more
It's our first #WorkforceWednesday of 2021! The past year tested our resilience, and COVID-19 forced everyone to think creatively and adapt quickly. Nowhere was that seen more clearly than in the workplace.
Workplace Safety...more
1/6/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Business Closures ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cybersecurity ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Furloughs ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Labor Regulations ,
NLRB ,
Paid Leave ,
Personal Information ,
Re-Opening Guidelines ,
Remote Working ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Sick Leave ,
Social Distancing ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
As the first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations are being administered across the United States, employers are considering whether to mandate and/or administer the COVID-19 vaccine to employees. On December 16, 2020, the U.S....more
It’s #WorkforceWednesday! This week, the next big challenge for employers—vaccine policy readiness. We also look at how the U.S. Supreme Court might rule on two employee benefits-related issues.
It’s Time to Ready Your...more
11/25/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Interactive Process ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
While the country remains focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. employers cannot ignore the ongoing opioid epidemic or how it may affect their workforces. On August 5, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission...more
8/11/2020
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Care Providers ,
Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) ,
New Guidance ,
Opioid ,
Pain Management ,
Prescription Drugs ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Substance Abuse
Welcome to #WorkforceWednesday. Here’s the week’s top workforce management and employment law news:
The COVID-19 Labor Market Imbalance (video below)
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a sudden imbalance in the labor market....more
4/22/2020
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Furloughs ,
Health and Safety ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Layoffs ,
OSHA ,
Return-to-Work Agreements ,
Shared Work Program ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Workplace Safety
As Gordon Gekko famously pronounced in the 1980s classic movie Wall Street, “The most valuable commodity … is information.” Those words have never rung truer than in today’s world and in today’s workplaces. And as the old...more
5/30/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Big Data ,
Corporate Social Responsibility ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Popular ,
STEM ,
Voluntary Self-Audit
Addressing Workplace Sexual Harassment in the Wake of #MeToo -
Revelations of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and those that have followed, have ignited sexual harassment complaints against employers across all industries....more
12/27/2017
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Harassment ,
Minimum Salary ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Wage and Hour ,
White-Collar Exemptions
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) opened its doors on July 2, 1965, exactly one year after President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII of that act (“Title VII”) prohibits...more
6/23/2015
/ Background Checks ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Discrimination ,
EEOC v Abercrombie ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Popular ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Young Lawyers
In a case that has implications for every employer and respondent on each charge in which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) finds reasonable cause to support the allegations, the U.S. Supreme Court...more