Everybody's favorite subject. Last week, Karla Miller -- the workplace advice columnist of The Washington Post -- had a fascinating letter with this problem: The letter writer is the only female working on a floor with...more
On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, holding that, pursuant to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, covered employers may not discriminate...more
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (the OHS) was signed into law in 1970 and established the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), as part of the U.S. Department of Labor. Under the so-called "general...more
At its meeting on July 17, 2017, the Fair Employment and Housing Council (FEHC) addressed a conflict between its regulations and OSHA’s regulations, regarding gender-neutral restroom facilities. AB 1732, enacted as Health...more
Of late, we have recently written quite a bit about the ever-changing legal landscape regarding protections for LGBTQ employees. Most of the authority we explored involved whether or not sexual orientation (as well as gender...more
As readers of our Education Law Notes blog are well aware, there has been a lot of focus on the rights of transgender students with respect to bathroom access in educational institutions under Title IX. The rights of...more
Dear Littler: We have a transgender employee at work, Sarah, who identifies and presents as a female. She is in the process of transitioning and still occasionally exhibits traditionally “male” physical attributes. A client...more
On February 22, 2017, the Department of Justice and the Department of Education issued a “Dear Colleague” letter withdrawing the statements of policy and guidance issued by the Department of Education on January 7, 2015 and...more
OSHA has long enforced sanitation and accessibility standards for restrooms for workers – an idea that generally makes sense viewed as a health concern. In the last few years, however, new policies at the state and federal...more
Employers are well advised to ensure that they start the New Year on the correct foot as many laws have effective dates in a few short days and weeks. Among the most notable changes are the following: Minimum Wage ...more
Continuing a trend from recent years, the California Legislature passed, and Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law, numerous labor and employment bills in 2016. Each becomes effective on Jan. 1, 2017, unless otherwise...more
Although not typically thought of as a hotbed of OSHA/Employment law activity, access to bathrooms by both employees, as well as members of the public, has become a high profile issue of late. OSHA has always required...more
As most in the healthcare industry know, the United States Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continues its scrutiny of the industry. According to OSHA, more workers are injured in the...more
Newly Enacted California Statutes - Minimum Wage Increases - As of January 1, 2017, businesses with 26 or more employees must pay a minimum wage of $10.50 per hour; the rate increases to $15.00 per hour in 2022....more
The California Legislature completed its substantive legislative work for the year in the very early morning hours of Thursday, September 1, 2016, with the usual frenetic, last-minute flurry of bill-passing, including some...more
Question: There has been a lot of news coverage lately on restroom policies related to transgender employees. Can you provide some guidance on how to structure our restroom-use policies to be both lawful and respectful of...more
Last summer the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its “Best Practices: A Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers.” In a nutshell, the OSHA publication stated that transgender employees...more
It seems like an odd place to wage a civil rights war, but right now across the country there is a serious debate over public bathroom use. The LGBT community, backed by the U.S. Department of Labor (OSHA), has taken the...more
The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act, commonly known as HB2, continues to generate controversy and confusion. The new law has caused many employers to reexamine their policies with regard to restroom use by employees...more
On February 17, 2016, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) announced that it was issuing a guidance on how to comply with the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), which was geared toward...more
NOTE FROM ROBIN: As you know, my main collaborator on HB2-related developments has been my law partner, Jon Yarbrough, who is in our firm’s Asheville Office. Jon has offered his thoughts about Executive Order No. 93, which...more
It seems that not a day goes by without the media reporting on a new “Bathroom Bill.” These bills which have been proposed in a number of states, including Illinois, South Dakota, Washington, and Missouri, aim to restrict the...more
Since 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has taken the position that transgender individuals are protected from discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). The EEOC...more
The July 2015 edition of Employment Flash covers a number of developments, including: the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling that job applicants need only show that a religious accommodation was a factor in denying employment to...more
With the increased government scrutiny of transgender issues in the workplace, employers should be careful not to discriminate against transgender employees and to treat them in accordance with their gender identities. ...more