With the first tropical storm of the season bearing down on the Gulf Coast, it is a good time to dust off your HR Department’s Hurricane Plan and make sure it is up to date. If you don’t have one, it is an even better time to...more
This week, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit became the first Federal Court of Appeals to hold that discrimination based on sexual orientation is actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This decision...more
First, let me say that most shootings (including the recent incident in Virginia) are random acts of violence by crazy people. It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict when an employee will snap, or whether an...more
8/31/2015
/ Background Checks ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Defamation ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Mass Shootings ,
Negligence ,
Popular ,
Reference Checks
On its face, federal law does not list sexual orientation or trans-gender status as protected categories. Some states or cities have passed their own laws offering such protections, leaving a patchwork of laws across the...more
The City of Houston recently joined a number of cities that have passed their own anti-discrimination ordinances in an attempt to add coverage for sexual orientation and trans-gender discrimination, which are not explicitly...more
Late in the evening on May 28th, the Houston City Council passed a city ordinance that prohibits discrimination against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or trans-gender status. ...more
According to the EEOC, the answer to that question is not only “Yes,” but that any severance agreement which limits the employee’s right to file a charge of discrimination is unenforceable and illegal. This week, the EEOC...more
On April 8, President Obama issued two executive orders which will impact employers who do business with the federal government. First, the President made it unlawful for contractors to retaliate against employees who discuss...more
In This Issue:
Message from the Chair; Social Media and the Workplace: 2013 and Beyond; Unpaid Internships: Training Ground or Legal Landmine?; Supreme Court’s Nassar Decision Sets Higher Causation Standard for a...more
1/7/2014
/ Affirmative Action ,
Background Checks ,
Big Data ,
Causation ,
D.R. Horton ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Disability ,
Discrimination ,
ENDA ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Minimum Wage ,
OFCCP ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Social Media ,
Unpaid Interns ,
US v Windsor ,
UT Southwestern Medical v Nassar ,
Veterans ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)