On March 14, 2024, a bill to restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in Kentucky’s public universities cleared the House by a vote of 68-18. Senate Bill 6 (An Act Relating to Postsecondary Institutions) is...more
Strike One…
In 2021 Florida passed a unique law known as the Individual Freedom Act (IFA), or “Stop-WOKE” law (the state’s acronym for “Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees”). The IFA contains two parts, one directed to...more
3/12/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bias ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Florida ,
Freedom of Expression ,
Injunctions ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Woke Act
On August 24, 2023, over a year after Florida’s Individual Freedom Act (IFA) (commonly referred to as the “Stop-W.O.K.E.” law) went into effect, and about one year after a Florida federal court partially enjoined the new law,...more
8/29/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bias ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Florida ,
Freedom of Expression ,
New Legislation ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Woke Act
Governor Ron DeSantis has signed Senate Bill (SB) 266, officially prohibiting the state’s public colleges and universities from spending state or federal money on programs or campus activities that advocate for Diversity,...more
5/17/2023
/ Bias ,
Colleges ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Florida ,
New Legislation ,
Race Relations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Students ,
Teachers ,
Universities
Florida’s most recent anti-“WOKE” legislation places diversity-related work and diversity-focused positions on state campuses under threat.
House Bill 999 (Postsecondary Educational Institutions), which was approved in a...more
3/17/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bias ,
Colleges ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Florida ,
Freedom of Expression ,
Governor DeSantis ,
Race Discrimination ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Reform ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Woke Act ,
Universities
Following a series of stops and starts, Florida’s Individual Freedom Act (IFA), or the so-called “Stop-WOKE” law, was partially enjoined on August 18, 2022. The law, which went into effect July 1, 2022, had dramatically...more
On June 27, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida denied a request to enjoin the provisions of Florida HB 7, named the Individual Freedom Act (“IFA”) or the so-called “Stop-WOKE” law (the state’s...more
6/29/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bias ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Florida ,
Freedom of Expression ,
Governor DeSantis ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
New Legislation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Woke Act
As we reported previously, Governor DeSantis signed the “Stop WOKE” Act into law on Friday, April 22, 2022. Ten minutes later, five individuals, including three teachers, a student, and an individual consultant who provides...more
4/26/2022
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bias ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Due Process ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Florida ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Freedom of Expression ,
New Legislation ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Woke Act
On April 22, 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law so-called “anti-woke” legislation, amending the Florida Civil Rights Act and potentially limiting the ability of employers to include discussions of “implicit...more
Dear Littler: I am the VP of Culture, Inclusion & Belonging at a mid-size firm in the financial sector. With a pending Return to Office (RTO) date for most of our workforce just a few weeks away, I want to get ahead of an...more
3/14/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Culture ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Rights ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Harassment ,
Health and Safety ,
Hostile Environment ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Masks
On Friday, February 25, 2022, President Joseph Biden nominated D.C. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer on the Supreme Court. The commitment to nominate a Black woman to the Bench...more
For the past several years, companies have been focused on creating and executing meaningful diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) programs to address the multi-faceted challenges—and opportunities—of diversifying their...more
11/1/2021
/ Business Strategies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Punitive Damages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Wrongful Termination
This report summarizes and analyzes data gathered from 1,160 in-house lawyers, C-suite executives and HR professionals. The survey covers the wide-ranging issues facing employers as we look toward a post-pandemic future –...more
Dear Littler: I am General Counsel at a large, well-known company. We handle all Diversity & Inclusion initiatives for our company within our Legal Department, which I oversee. Our HR team is really pushing us to approve...more
Our boss is really pushing for us to increase our number of diverse employees. I see his point—we are a predominantly white and male workforce, though we have more than 150 workers. My managers had a meeting to set some...more