Employment Law Navigator – Week in Review: May 2017 #2

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Last week, The Wall Street Journal broke the news that code written by female engineers at Facebook gets rejected much more frequently than code written by male engineers at the company. Five years of data collected by a longtime engineer at Facebook purportedly shows that code submitted by female engineers was rejected 35 percent more often than code added by men, suggesting that work submitted by women is more heavily scrutinized. Facebook performed its own internal review and publicly stated that the analysis is “incomplete and inaccurate” and any discrepancy is attributable to employee seniority, rather than gender bias. Meanwhile, an internal memo that was leaked to The Guardian advised employees that leaking information about gender bias damages the company’s “recruiting brand” and makes it more difficult for Facebook to hire women.
 
Discrimination
 
Quartz examined why corporate hotlines for reporting sexual harassment don’t work.
 
The EEOC sued a Minnesota design, printing, and packaging company on behalf of an employee who claims he was unlawfully required to submit to medical exams and then fired because he suffered from depression.
 
Sterling Jewelers announced an agreement with the EEOC to settle claims of widespread pay and promotion discrimination against female employees.
 
The EEOC announced that a Florida insurance brokerage firm has agreed to pay $100,000 to resolve allegations that the company rescinded a job offer when it learned that a prospective employee was pregnant.
 
Harvard Business Review offered advice for reacting to biased comments at work.
 
An Alabama staffing agency agreed to pay $50,000 and furnish other relief to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit in which the EEOC alleged that the staffing agency’s recruiter refused to interview or consider a female for a shipping-and-receiving position, telling her “This is a man’s job,” the job is “not suitable for women,” and “the work is difficult.”
 
Technology
 
Fortune covered a new app that allows employees to access mental health advice in real time.
 
Infosys announced that it will open four US tech centers and hire 10,000 American workers to focus on developing cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence.
 
Artificial intelligence failed to correctly predict this year’s Kentucky Derby winner.
 
In Other News
 
SHRM reported on a recent Ninth Circuit court decision allowing an employer to use salary history to set an employee’s pay, a decision that creates a split among appellate courts.
 
Quartz explained why it’s hard to concentrate while working at a standing desk.
 
A New York Times Opinion piece offered a sharp critique of employment non-compete agreements.
 
NPR reported on efforts by private business groups to fight against the growing number of state, city, and county ordinances mandating paid sick leave.
 

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Attorney Advertising.

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