The Supreme Court’s June 5, 2025 decision to revive a heterosexual woman’s discrimination suit on the basis of sexual orientation against her employer could open a floodgate of future litigation. In a unanimous ruling...more
In the first week of the Trump administration, along with a flurry of executive orders, the President appointed Andrea Lucas as the Acting Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Within days, he...more
Less than 24 hours after assuming the presidency, Donald Trump announced significant changes in the leadership and focus of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), as well as other policy changes which will...more
1/23/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Deregulation ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Labor Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
With 2025 having arrived and a new President known for shattering norms about to assume office, employers are eyeing the inevitable enforcement changes that the new administration will bring. But employers must remember to...more
1/13/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
California ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Data Privacy ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Exempt-Employees ,
Minimum Salary ,
Minimum Wage ,
New York ,
Over-Time ,
Paid Leave ,
Parental Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Social media has truly changed our world, both in and outside of the workplace. It has evolved into a daily habit for many of us; the way we get news about the world and our friends, the way we shop, gossip, and much more. It...more
8/12/2024
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Social Media ,
Social Media Policy ,
Social Networks ,
Title VII
A U.S. Supreme Court with a conservative majority is still capable of surprising us. In Muldrow v. St. Louis, the Court lightened the burden on employment discrimination plaintiffs by lowering the legal ‘bar’ for an employee...more
The Legal Landscape -
As we reviewed in earlier posts, the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA) promised to be a game changer not just...more
It has been less than a month since the Supreme Court’s June 29 decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA), and the decision is already creating controversy....more
7/28/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina
On June 29, 2023, amid a flurry of other newsworthy opinions, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Groff v. DeJoy, modifying the legal standard which courts now must use to determine when an employer has to grant a...more
7/13/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
De Minimus Doctrine ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Substantial Burden ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
USPS
As PRIDE month concludes, we look back at a historic year for the rights of LGBTQ+ employees, and ahead for what this means for employers as they manage their workforce....more
On the heels of the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, the EEOC updated its Technical Assistance Q & A to help employers navigate the latest pandemic related challenges. ...more
12/24/2020
/ 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 ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title VII ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
In a long awaited landmark ruling by Justice M. Gorsuch, the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII protects gay and transgender workers. The Opinion provides...more
6/17/2020
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
In a decision that could have wide-ranging implications for all employers, the Fourth Circuit recently held that an employer’s failure to stop a false rumor that a female employee slept with her male boss to obtain a...more
In the past two weeks, we saw two major decisions in the area of LGBTQ rights in the workplace.
First, the Second Circuit in New York held that Title VII does prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Zarda v....more
3/16/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
In a precedent-setting decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled on July 28th that Title VII does not protect against sexual orientation discrimination. The case is Kimberly Hively v. Ivy Tech...more