As corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives (“DEI”) face increasing legal and political scrutiny, a deep divide is emerging among states on how they view these initiatives. Some states are doubling down on their...more
On June 29, 2023, in the highly anticipated cases Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the...more
6/30/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VII
On December 16, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) expanded on its COVID-19 Q&A guidance to address the interplay of vaccines with employment discrimination laws. While the agency confirms that...more
12/18/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On September 22, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a controversial Executive Order “combat[ting] offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating” by federal contractors and recipients of federal grant...more
9/28/2020
/ Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Colleges ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Training ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Race Relations ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Universities
Today, in Bostock v. Clayton County, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling holding that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender status in the...more
6/15/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act prohibits intentional race discrimination in all forms of contracting including employment. Lower courts have split as to whether a § 1981 plaintiff must prove that race was only one...more
3/30/2020
/ 42 U. S. C. § 1981 ,
Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
But For Causation ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Comcast ,
Comcast Corp. v National Association of African American-Owned Media ,
Commercial Contracts ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Contract ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Race Discrimination ,
Racial Bias ,
Reversal ,
SCOTUS ,
Split of Authority ,
Substantial Motivating Factor Test ,
Television Broadcast Stations ,
Title VII
The Supreme Court announced yesterday that it will address whether federal civil rights laws protect gay, lesbian, and transgender employees from discrimination. The Court will hear three cases—from New York, Georgia, and...more
4/23/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Certiorari ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (which covers Connecticut, New York, and Vermont), became the second federal appellate court to explicitly hold that federal law prohibits employment discrimination...more
3/1/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Just like the leaves turning colors, you can count on a flurry of court filings from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) every September as the agency rushes to get cases on file before the end of its fiscal...more
10/4/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Filing Requirements ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Home Depot ,
Hostile Environment ,
LGBTQ ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Popular ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
Setting the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to tackle the issue, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) yesterday overturned decades of precedent and held that Title VII of the...more
Disney continues to face legal repercussions from the company’s 2014/15 layoffs of numerous American IT workers, and the outsourcing of their functions to two Indian companies employing H-1B workers. On Monday, Dec. 12th,...more
12/20/2016
/ Age Discrimination ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Disney ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Florida ,
Foreign Workers ,
H-1B ,
Layoffs ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Outsourcing ,
OWBPA ,
Popular ,
Race Discrimination ,
RICO ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
Two recent court decisions highlight the ongoing struggle by federal courts to determine whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation....more
12/5/2016
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Colleges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Judicial Appointments ,
LGBTQ ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the statute of limitations for purposes of filing a claim alleging constructive discharge begins to run on the date that the employee resigns, as opposed to the last discriminatory...more
5/26/2016
/ Constructive Discharge ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Filing Deadlines ,
Green v Brennan ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Race Discrimination ,
Resignation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title VII ,
USPS
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) authorizes the award of attorneys’ fees to a party who prevails in a discrimination or retaliation claim brought under that statute. Although this fee shifting provision...more
The end of the federal government fiscal year (September 30) always produces a flurry of activity from the EEOC, and this year was no different. Of the 157 lawsuits filed by the EEOC in fiscal year 2015, approximately 62 of...more
10/22/2015
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Genetic Discrimination ,
GINA ,
LGBTQ ,
Medical Records ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Young Lawyers
This week, a federal district court ruled that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) made sufficient factual allegations of intentional discrimination against a local farming company to survive a motion to...more
Breaking ranks with every other federal appellate court to address the issue, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that an employer cannot defend a lawsuit brought by the EEOC by contending that the...more