Recall that just last year, the EEOC updated its Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace for the first time in 30 years. We blogged about it here. Earlier this year, President Trump issued Executive Order 14168...more
5/23/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gender Identity ,
Judicial Authority ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Texas ,
Title VII
As everyone in Human Resources knows by now, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires employers to reasonably accommodate employees because of pregnancy and conditions related to pregnancy. In case you missed it, we...more
5/8/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Compliance ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Pregnancy ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Reasonable Accommodation
In early April 2025, the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recognized that employers could be held liable for monetary damages and other relief for violating the medical inquiry and examination limitations of the...more
Can you compel arbitration with an employee who is alleging sexual harassment? You may recall that in 2022, Congress enacted the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (EFAA), which precludes...more
4/25/2025
/ #MeToo ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Statutory Interpretation
Even just a few years ago, the concept of using artificial intelligence (AI) in everyday life was a novel, if somewhat intimidating, concept. But from Google’s AI overview to Microsoft’s Copilot, many of us use AI daily to...more
4/17/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
New Legislation ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Technology
As you know, there’s been a frenzy around DEI initiatives this year in the of wake President Trump’s executive orders regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. We addressed the executive order titled “Ending...more
President Donald Trump’s “Return to In-Person Work” executive order (EO) mandates that federal employees return to full-time office work. This EO effectively ended the widespread hybrid and remote work arrangements that had...more
2/12/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Priorities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Labor Reform ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration
Can you still have DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs? How about affirmative action plans? The Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard garnered national attention in holding...more
2/6/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
State Attorneys General ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Trump Administration
What does the EEOC have to do with smart watches, rings, glasses, helmets and other devices that track bodily movement and other data? These devices, known as “wearables,” can track location, brain activity, heart rate, and...more
1/21/2025
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Protection ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Smart Devices ,
Technology Sector ,
Title VII ,
Tracking Systems
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released long-awaited Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace, No. 915.064. The EEOC also published a “Summary of Key Provisions,” FAQs for employees, and a...more
Does it seem like you are dealing with more mental health issues in your workforce? If so, you are not alone. Recent mental health claim statistics show an alarming increase in chronic illnesses since the pandemic. For adults...more
If you transfer an employee to a job with no loss in pay or title but the employee thinks it is less desirable, can that employee sue you for discrimination under Title VII? While it depends on the facts, in Muldrow v. St....more
5/2/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Transfers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lateral Transfers ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
Changes in supervision may result in fresh ways of doing things. Certain rules that were never fully enforced may now come to the forefront. Can a new supervisor’s radical change in a long-term employee’s performance rating...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently introduced proposed enforcement guidance aimed at further clarifying and strengthening measures against harassment in the workplace. The 144-page guidance outlines...more
11/17/2023
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Regulations ,
New Guidance ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
Recently, the EEOC announced its top priorities for the coming years in its Strategic Plan for 2022-2026. We hit the highlights of the goals and plans for implementation below so that you can start preparing for the upcoming...more
No-fault attendance policies may be on a watchlist for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
A recent matter before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, EEOC v. Eberspaecher North America Inc.,...more
Do you have to pay an employee on military leave? Generally, you only have to pay for military leave if you pay employees on “comparable” leaves. So what is a comparable leave? In Clarkson v. Alaska Airlines, Inc., the Ninth...more
2/15/2023
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Military Leave ,
Military Service Members ,
USERRA ,
Wage and Hour
This year brought substantial progress in the way of slightly fewer positive COVID-19 cases and/or transmissions and increased vaccinations. Consequently, in the employment world many of you reopened your offices and invited...more
11/23/2022
/ Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Classification ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Posting Requirements ,
Safe Harbors ,
State and Local Government ,
Unemployment ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour
A familiar sight behind the scenes at many employers is the mandatory publication that describes employee rights and remedies under various federal statutes. The EEOC has a new version of the poster entitled “Know Your...more
If a letter from the EEOC is in your virtual mailbox but you never open it, have you received it? Most of us are familiar with the requirement that a claimant who files an EEOC charge has 90 days to file a lawsuit after...more
The EEOC first issued enforcement guidance: Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers with Caregiving Responsibilities in May 2007. Given that the EEOC issued some new guidance regarding pandemic-related caregiver...more
This week, the EEOC issued new guidance regarding pandemic-related caregiver discrimination. The EEOC assumes (probably rightly) that caregiving obligations are more likely to fall on women so discrimination against...more
Many of us are understandably anxious to put another tumultuous year of the pandemic behind us. But before we sit down at the table to fill our plates and bellies to overflowing to celebrate the holiday, we can all find some...more
11/24/2021
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Harassment ,
Multidistrict Litigation ,
OSHA ,
Paid Family Leave Law ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Stays ,
Termination ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The EEOC has released its annual report on discrimination charges filed across the country for the fiscal year 2020. So, how does the data line up with the 2019 data...more
It was a mess of times. It was the masked of times. We all probably agree that 2020 presented unexpected and unwanted challenges to employers. It certainly made all of us address unprecedented issues. Let’s look back at some...more
12/30/2020
/ Business Closures ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Dress Codes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Financial Stimulus ,
Political Speech ,
Relief Measures ,
Title IX ,
Vaccinations ,
Wage and Hour