On June 15, and just in time for LGBTQ+ Pride month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual...more
6/16/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On February 6, 2020 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld a Philadelphia pay equity ordinance banning employers from inquiring into prospective employees’ prior pay or relying on prior pay in making...more
Effective May 10, 2020, New York City employers may no longer test prospective employees for marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinols (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana. ...more
On February 18, 2019, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) announced new enforcement guidance deeming certain actions taken based on an individual’s hair or hairstyle – whether at work, at school, or in...more
In Chance v. Kraft Heinz Foods Company, a Delaware state court recently held that a private cause of action exists under the state’s Medical Marijuana Act (DMMA) and confirmed that the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA)...more
Joining New York City, Westchester, and Albany, the Suffolk County Legislature, on November 20, 2018, adopted its own variation of a salary history ban.
...more
12/18/2018
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
Wage and Hour
Employers across the country should dust off their background check policies and forms and be mindful of recent developments related to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)....more
A federal court in Connecticut recently granted summary judgment to a prospective employee on an employment discrimination claim brought under Connecticut’s Palliative Use of Marijuana Act (PUMA)....more
The New York City Commission on Human Rights has released the Fact Sheet and mandatory Notice referenced in the recent Stop Sexual Harassment in NYC Act (the “Act”). ...more
8/13/2018
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Rights ,
Local Ordinance ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Posting Requirements ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State and Local Government
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy is poised to sign into law the Act Concerning Pay Equity bill, which has been passed by both the Connecticut House and Senate General Assembly. ...more
5/16/2018
/ Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Pay ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Pay Gap ,
Pending Legislation ,
Salary/Wage History ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Newton’s Third Law of Physics states that “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” A recent Complaint filed in the Southern District of New York suggests that this principle may also hold true for the...more
On April 21, 2017, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) ruling that an employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act) when it discharged a catering...more
On April 5, 2017, the New York City Council passed an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law prohibiting employers or their agents from inquiring about the salary history of an applicant. The law also restricts an...more
On September 28, 2016, the SEC announced that Anheuser-Busch agreed to pay $6 million to settle charges of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and Dodd-Frank whistleblower violations. The SEC’s order stated that AB InBev violated...more
9/30/2016
/ Anheuser-Busch ,
Beer ,
Books & Records ,
Breweries ,
Bribery ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Misconduct ,
Disgorgement ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Controls ,
Joint Venture ,
Popular ,
Prejudgment Interest ,
Retaliation ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Separation Agreement ,
Whistleblowers
The “cat’s paw” doctrine, a concept first coined by Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner in 1990 and adopted by the Supreme Court in 2011, applies when an employee is subjected to an adverse employment action by a decision...more
On June 29, 2015, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law the Fair Chance Act (the “Act”), which prohibits employers from inquiring into the criminal backgrounds of certain job applicants in the initial stages of...more
On September 2, 2015, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR or Commission) issued Enforcement Guidance (Guidance) on the New York City Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act (SCDEA), which took effect on...more
10/7/2015
/ Credit History ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Hiring & Firing ,
National Futures Association ,
NFA ,
NYCCHR ,
NYCHRL ,
Police ,
SCDEA ,
Self-Regulatory Organizations ,
SRO
In its June 26 split decision in American Baptist Homes of the West d/b/a Piedmont Gardens and Service Employees International Union, United Healthcare Workers- West, 362 N.L.R.B. No. 139 (Case No. 32-CA-063475) (“Piedmont...more
On June 10, 2015, the New York City Council passed the Fair Chance Act (the “Act”), which prohibits employers from inquiring into the criminal backgrounds of applicants in the initial stages of the employment application...more
6/15/2015
/ Ban the Box ,
Best Management Practices ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
NYCHRL ,
Screening Procedures
On April 16, 2015, the New York City Council, by a vote of 47-3, approved legislation that would prohibit the use of credit checks in employment decisions except in limited circumstances. The bill, which is expected to be...more
In Khazin v. TD Ameritrade, No. 14-1689, 2014 WL 6871393 (3rd Cir. Dec. 8, 2014), the Third Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision compelling arbitration of a Dodd-Frank whistleblower retaliation claim. This is the first...more
12/12/2014
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Employment Contract ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Popular ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
TD Ameritrade ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
For the second time in less than two months, a federal district court judge has dismissed a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) challenge to an employer’s separation agreement due to the agency’s failure to...more
Resolving a split among the circuits, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a “supervisor” for Title VII harassment liability is limited to those who have the power to take a tangible employment action against the alleged victim...more