Seyfarth Synopsis: After a federal district court dismissed the EEOC’s unlawful-interference claim against a private college that had sued a former employee for allegedly breaching a settlement agreement by filing an EEOC...more
9/20/2017
/ Breach of Contract ,
Colleges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Defense Strategies ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Interference Claims ,
Mootness ,
Retaliation ,
Settlement Agreements
Seyfarth Synopsis: After an employer circulated a letter to 146 employees discussing an employee’s EEOC Charge that alleged discrimination on the basis of his disability in violation of the ADA, a federal district court in...more
8/29/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Communications ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Reasonable Accommodation
Seyfarth Synopsis: In an EEOC lawsuit alleging that an employer failed to reasonably accommodate its Muslim employees’ requests for prayer breaks, a federal court in Colorado granted the EEOC’s motion for sanctions — as a...more
8/8/2017
/ Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Evidence ,
Motion for Sanctions ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Retaliation
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Fourth Circuit recently affirmed a U.S. District Court’s denial of three post-verdict motions brought by an employer in an EEOC religious discrimination case alleging a failure to accommodate an...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Sixth Circuit recently affirmed a U.S. District Court’s decision granting the EEOC’s application to enforce a subpoena in a disability discrimination investigation, finding that company-wide...more
6/15/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Confidential Information ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Medical Records ,
Retaliation ,
Subpoenas ,
UPS
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a sexual harassment lawsuit brought by the EEOC, the Sixth Circuit affirmed a U.S. District Court’s grant of an employer’s motion for summary judgment after finding that the harassing employee was not a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After the U.S. Supreme Court clarified in McLane Co. v. EEOC, No. 15-1248, 2017 U.S. LEXIS 2327 (U.S. 2017), that the scope of review for employers facing EEOC administrative subpoenas was the...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Following an employer’s reduction-in-force that ultimately led to an ADEA collective action after several employees over 50 years old were terminated, a federal district court in Florida recently granted a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After a Fifth Circuit decision affirming a ruling by a U.S. District Court in Texas allowed the EEOC to seek compensatory and punitive damages in its high-profile Title VII pattern or practice race...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal district court in Illinois recently granted the EEOC’s motion for partial summary judgment in EEOC v. Dolgencorp, LLC, No. 13-CV-4307 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 10, 2017), relative to two defenses advanced...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: A federal court in Tennessee denied the EEOC’s application for an Order to Show Cause why its administrative subpoena should not be enforced. This ruling highlights the importance and benefits of employers...more
3/31/2017
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fast-Food Industry ,
Job Promotions ,
Order to Show Cause ,
Release Agreements ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retaliation ,
Subpoenas ,
Wendy's
Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit recently held that a district court did not abuse its discretion when it declined to enforce a far-reaching EEOC administrative subpoena relating to one...more
3/3/2017
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discovery Disputes ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Pattern or Practice ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Scope of Discovery Requests ,
Standard of Review ,
Subpoenas ,
Unduly Burdensome
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the high-profile EEOC race discrimination litigation against Bass Pro, the Court denied the EEOC’s motion for a ruling that would have allowed it to include in its § 706 claims those individuals who had...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In an ADA action regarding disability discrimination, the Fifth Circuit reversed a District Court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of the employer and against the EEOC, noting that even though the...more
10/17/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Light-Duty Positions ,
Medical Leave ,
Nurses ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Reversal ,
Summary Judgment ,
Wrongful Termination
Seyfarth Synopsis: In an EEOC religious discrimination case, a federal court found that “Onionhead” was a religion for purposes of Title VII. The court also found that the EEOC did not fail to meet its Title VII pre-suit...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: After the EEOC brought an action under the Americans With Disabilities Act against an employer who implemented a wellness program requiring employees to take a health assessment to participate, the Court...more
9/23/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Medical Examinations ,
Retaliation ,
Self-Insured Health Plans ,
Summary Judgment ,
Voluntary Participation ,
Wellness Programs ,
Workplace Communication ,
Wrongful Termination
Seyfarth Synopsis: Following the NLRB’s expansion of the definition of “joint employer” in the high-profile Browning-Ferris case and the employer’s subsequent appeal to the D.C. Circuit, the EEOC filed an amicus brief...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the remand of the high profile Mach Mining litigation that was before the Supreme Court in 2015, a district court denied the EEOC’s motion for reconsideration of a discovery order pertaining to the scope...more
8/30/2016
/ Conciliation ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discovery ,
Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judicial Review ,
Mach Mining v EEOC ,
Mining ,
Motion for Reconsideration ,
Partial Summary Judgments ,
Popular ,
Protective Orders ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
Seyfarth Synopsis: In one of the first two ever transgender discrimination cases brought by the EEOC, a federal court in Michigan granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment, finding the employer met its burden in...more
8/19/2016
/ Burden of Proof ,
Compelling Governmental Interest ,
Dismissals ,
Dress Codes ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Exemptions ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Seyfarth Synopsis: With the publication of a ten-year review of its systemic discrimination program on July 7, 2016, the EEOC seeks to blunt employer and judicial scrutiny of the EEOC’s litigation practices by emphasizing its...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Court granted EEOC’s partial motion for summary judgment on issue of pre-suit conciliation, finding that a declaration submitted by an EEOC official was sufficient evidence to show that the EEOC satisfied...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: In a landmark case for EEOC litigation involving fee sanctions, while employer CRST successfully argued that a ruling “on-the-merits” is not necessary to be a prevailing party, the SCOTUS remanded the case...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Court denied employer’s motion for summary judgment in EEOC race and/or national origin discrimination case involving the termination of non-English speaking employees.
In EEOC v. Wisconsin Plastics,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Court ordered enforcement of the EEOC’s subpoena and authorized the Commission to conduct an on-site investigation without the employer’s consent.
The EEOC has conducted on-site inspections of...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: This Fourth Circuit ruling opens the door for the EEOC to investigate employers as a result of EEOC charges brought by unauthorized employees, even though an illegal alien worker may not be able to seek...more