Employer's DEI mandate scores a win. A white guy refused to take his employer's mandatory "unconscious bias" training, and he was fired. He sued the employer for retaliation, his lawsuit was dismissed, and this week an...more
7/12/2024
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity ,
Employee Training ,
Insubordination Policy ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Termination ,
Title VI ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Employers who (allegedly) didn't file are being sued. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Wednesday that it has filed suit against 15 employers in 11 states and in a variety of industries for failing to...more
Pregnancy regs, harassment guidance under fire. Not long ago, I reported that a number of state attorneys general had filed suit seeking to block the final regulations interpreting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Their...more
A lot has changed since Mother's Day 2023. Happy Mother's Day weekend, all, including you dads and kids (we couldn't have done it without you)!
How much do you know about pregnancy in the workplace in 2023? Take our quiz...more
5/10/2024
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Documentation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII
*And are sorry you asked. Last Friday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published its final regulations on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The regulations will take effect on June 18, just under a year since...more
4/26/2024
/ Abortion ,
Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reproductive Healthcare Issues ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship
Just a little harm will do. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Title VII does not require a plaintiff to show that a discriminatory transfer to another position caused her to suffer “significant” or...more
4/19/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
What's good for the goose . . . A person who is discriminated against for not being transgender can have a valid claim under Title VII for “sex” (really, gender identity) discrimination.
In McCreary v. Adult World, Inc., a...more
What's legal, and what's not? Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in employment are increasingly being challenged in the courts. How much do you know about the legalities? Take our quiz and find out! This is a hard...more
After last week’s Supreme Court decision in Groff v. DeJoy, employers should prepare to seriously entertain, and grant, more employee requests for religious accommodation.
Gerald Groff, an Evangelical Christian postal...more
7/5/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship
I am pumped! Are you?
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a Field Assistance Bulletin to its staff on how to enforce the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which was signed into law at the end of 2022 and is currently...more
Happy Mother's Day weekend.
How much do you know about the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which will take effect only six short weeks from now? Take our Mother’s Day quiz and find out! You don’t have to be a mother (or...more
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Groff v. DeJoy, a case I blogged about in January. The case is about what standard of "undue hardship" should apply in religious accommodation cases.
Under every...more
4/21/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USSERA) ,
USPS ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
Mental illness can cause problems at work, and keep employees from getting help.
If my experience is typical (and it may not be), it seems that a significant percentage of employers’ legal and Human Resources problems come...more
3/31/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Attendance ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Mental Health ,
Performance Reviews ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Social Media ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
This is a G-rated post. PG at worst.
Toronto-area shop teacher Kayla Lemieux -- you know, the one with the famous Z-cup breasts -- has been placed on a leave of absence now that the New York Post has reported that she is...more
3/3/2023
/ Appearance Policy ,
Canada ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dress Codes ,
Gender Dysphoria ,
Leave of Absence ,
Popular ,
School Boards ,
Teachers ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Wage and Hour
"Undue hardship" defense is likely to become tougher.
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the undue hardship standard in religious accommodation cases. We expect the standard to become more difficult for employers...more
1/27/2023
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USSERA) ,
Wage and Hour
The lawsuit that transformed Title VII is over.
Remember Gerald Bostock?
He filed suit against Clayton County, Georgia, alleging that he was fired because of his sexual orientation....more
And opens up a can of worms.
In June 2021, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (or, to be more precise, EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows, a Democrat*) issued non-binding guidance about LGBT workers. ...more
So misunderstood!
NOTE FROM ROBIN: Earlier this year, I began a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. The first installment covered discrimination in general, and the second...more
9/16/2022
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
At-Will Employment ,
Discrimination ,
Documentation ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour
Second post in our series.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: Last month, I posted the first in what will be a series of very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace.
I could not resist having religious...more
A new series.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: For months, I've been thinking about doing a series of posts with very basic explanations of the federal laws that govern the workplace. I think the series would be helpful to people who are...more
3/25/2022
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
GINA ,
Race Discrimination ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Of course it is!
Every time I think I’ve heard everything, I hear another thing.
Melinda Abbt was a firefighter for the City of Houston. On her own personal computer, she had a video of herself dancing nude. She made the...more
Somebody say "Amen."
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has added a new section to its COVID-19 guidance, related to religious objections to vaccine mandates.
I am happy (OK, relieved) to say that the latest...more
10/29/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
De Minimis Claims ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
I'm not sure the ADA will let you do that.
There has been a lot in the news lately about job applicants who include their COVID-19 vaccination status on their resumes, employers who ask applicants for that information, and...more
10/8/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Medical Examinations ,
Medical History ,
OSHA ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
What should employers be watching for?
Since COVID hit in full force in March 2020, many employees started working from home and having work-related discussions -- and even parties -- via videoconference.
Now that people...more
8/6/2021
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Furloughs ,
Remote Working ,
Secret Recordings ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Videoconference ,
Wage and Hour
Here's what's been going on this week.
Some noteworthy labor and employment developments from the past week, in no particular order:
Court rules against Christian teacher who wouldn't use kids' names, preferred...more
7/16/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
First Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
Hostile Environment ,
LGBTQ ,
Ministerial Exception ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Schools ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII