There’s just no rest for employment lawyers this summer. We had another exciting week. The biggest news was the
EEOC’s ruling that Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The agency found that an air traffic controller could maintain a claim alleging that he was passed over for a promotion because he was gay. Basing its decision in part on
Justice Scalia’s opinion in Oncale v. Sundowner, the agency wrote, “Sexual orientation discrimination also is sex discrimination because it necessarily involved discrimination based on gender stereotypes.”
The EEOC’s ruling did not surprise agency-watchers. Commissioner Chai Feldblum has
previously made statements about her desire to address sexual orientation discrimination, saying “I think it would benefit everyone, the agency, the development of the law if we got a case that presented the sexual orientation issue as clearly as the transgender issue.”
It remains unclear whether or not courts will adopt the EEOC’s view and extend Title VII’s protections to individuals claiming discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Discrimination
Technology
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Uber is using games to find savvy drivers in another example of
gamification in the workplace.
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Wage and Hour
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The U.S. Department of Labor outlined a new “
economic dependence” test for the classification of workers.
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The lawsuit brought against Apple by
retail employees over the unpaid time spent going through bag checks received class action status.
