Labor & Employment Law: Vermont and Federal Legislative Update
#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS Decision on LGBTQ Employees, EEOC on Older Workers Returning to Work - Employment Law This Week®
In its 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits covered employers from discriminating against employees based on their...more
On July 22, 2024, Solicitor General of the United States Elizabeth B. Prelogar submitted applications to the Supreme Court of the United States for a partial stay of two preliminary injunctions issued, respectively, by the...more
As the temperatures continue to rise, regulations and litigation related to employer-sponsored group health plans have followed suit. As these new rules continue to evolve, we are often asked whether a self-insured group...more
Federal employment protections for LGBTQ+ individuals have greatly expanded over the past four years. While the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) remains committed to preventing workplace discrimination...more
“The rock and the hard place.” How often do employers find themselves here? If employers have LGBTQ employees in certain states, they are now bumping up against the “rock” of federal laws, like Title VII and Title IX, and the...more
If an employer or coworker persistently uses a transgender worker’s wrong name or identified pronoun, can that constitute a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII? In Copeland v. Georgia Department of Corrections,...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) hopped on the bandwagon of employment law updates this week by updating its guidance to prevent workplace harassment. This guidance focuses on protecting covered employees...more
On April 19, 2024, the Biden Administration released its long-awaited overhaul of the Title IX regulations governing investigations of alleged sexual misconduct and sex discrimination in federally-funded education programs....more
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
Late last week the Connecticut State Department of Education (“CSDE” or “Department”) issued new guidance addressing the rights of transgender students in Connecticut schools. Entitled Guidance on Civil Rights Protections...more
A recent Statement of Interest filed earlier this week by the Department of Justice in a federal prisoner lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia should serve as an important reminder...more
The teacher had a religious objection. The Virginia Supreme Court yesterday found in favor of a West Point public school teacher whose employment was terminated because he would not address a transgender student by the...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") released its Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace. In light of recent legal developments, such as the Bostock v. Clayton County decision, which...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published draft enforcement guidance regarding workplace harassment, entitled “Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace.” The proposed guidance sets...more
It's worth a read. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released a proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, and it's quite good. Don't let the length intimidate you. If you aren't an...more
In new draft guidance, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission proposes to recognize broad protections for LGBTQ+ employees in the workplace and allow bias claims premised on abortion-related decisions. It also...more
On July 31, 2023, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals revived a Christian teacher’s religious discrimination lawsuit over his refusal to refer to transgender students by their names and pronouns with which they identified. ...more
Transgender protections and rights in the workplace are currently the subject of much confusion. This issue extends to employer-sponsored health plans. Whether an employer-sponsored health plan must cover gender-affirming...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 15, 2023, the EEOC issued a message from its Chair, Charlotte A. Burrows, for Pride Month that, among other things, highlighted the continuing impact of the Supreme Court’s seminal decision in...more
Employers should review their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and anti-discrimination policies as federal and state laws protecting transgender workers continue to take shape. Earlier this month, the Equal Employment...more
As employers strive to create inclusive and compliant workplaces, you should note that using an employee’s requested pronouns not only conveys respect but also helps you stay in compliance with anti-discrimination laws. In...more
This Insights blog addresses the aftermath of the monumental U.S. Supreme Court opinion of Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S.Ct. 1731 (June 15, 2020) and the ongoing collision of the right to religious freedom enjoyed by...more
Adams v. School Board of St. John’s County, 3:17-cv-00739, 2022 WL 18003879 (11th Cir. 2022) Adams, a transgender boy, sued the board of his Florida school district (“the School Board”) after his high school prohibited...more
On December 5, 2022, the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina held that the North Carolina State Health Plan (NCSHP) constitutes a “Health Program or Activity” under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In so...more
As we discussed in our previous blog post, in 2021 the EEOC issued a technical assistance guidance addressing employers’ obligations under Bostock v. Clayton County, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2020 landmark decision holding...more