On April 23, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14281, Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy (the “EO”).
This EO states its purpose as a solution to claims of employment discrimination based on...more
Just days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit stayed a preliminary injunction blocking executive orders that refer to the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion as “illegal DEI,” the U.S. Equal...more
3/24/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Title VII
On Friday, February 21, 2025, a federal judge issued a Preliminary Injunction in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, et al. v. Trump, blocking significant portions of two Executive Orders (EOs)...more
2/25/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fifth Amendment ,
First Amendment ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Trump Administration
President Donald Trump has made several significant and sudden changes at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or “the Commission”), the agency responsible for enforcing Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of...more
2/12/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
NLRB ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
In one of his first acts as President in his second term in office, Donald Trump signed an executive order on January 21, 2025, entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (“Order”)....more
1/29/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
OFCCP ,
Trump Administration
Since late October 2021, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) launched its Initiative on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Algorithmic Fairness, the agency has taken several steps to ensure AI and other...more
On Monday, October 25, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued updates to its online technical assistance for employers, providing guidance for managing workplace issues arising from the ongoing...more
10/28/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Guidance Update ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Beliefs ,
Religious Exemption ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Vaccinations
We previously discussed the EEOC’s proposed new wellness program incentive rules under the ADA and GINA in our post, How Big Can the Carrot Be? The proposed rules were to replace the EEOC’s previous “health-contingent”...more
Welcome to #WorkforceWednesday. This week, we look at the key considerations for offering COVID-19 vaccine incentives and the executive orders President Biden issued last week of note for employers.
EEOC’s Proposed Wellness...more
1/27/2021
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Incentive Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Proposed Rules ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Vaccinations ,
Wellness Programs
Many employers have established wellness programs to promote employee health and, in doing so, help counter the ever increasing costs associated with employer-sponsored health benefit plans. Often employers want to establish...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently announced that its 2019 EEO-1 Component 2 portal is now open and accepting submissions....more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently announced that its 2019 EEO-1 Component 2 portal is now open and accepting submissions. Employers with this requirement have only 50 days from August 11,...more
8/13/2019
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Electronic Filing ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Filing Deadlines ,
IRS ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Portal ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Wage and Hour
On August 22, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (“EEOC”) regulations defining what incentives an employer may use to promote participation...more
8/28/2017
/ AARP ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Incentives ,
Information Reports ,
Medical Examinations ,
Wellness Programs
On December 12, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a new resource document emphasizing that, under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“ADA”), job applicants and employees with mental...more
A Publication from Epstein Becker Green and The ERISA Industry Committee -
Epstein Becker Green and The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) are pleased to release the current issue of the Benefits Litigation Update...more
11/23/2016
/ 401k ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Article III ,
Berkshire Hathaway ,
Class Action ,
Defined Contribution Plans ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Investment ,
Mental Health ,
Mergers ,
Pensions ,
Preemption ,
Retirement Plan ,
Safe Harbors ,
Standing ,
Wellness Programs
Epstein Becker Green and The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) are pleased to release the current issue of the Benefits Litigation Update (“Update”). The Update is a publication which provides four primary...more
7/14/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
De-Risking ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Preemption ,
Safe Harbors ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs
On May 17, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published in the Federal Register its final rule setting forth the EEOC’s interpretation of the extent to which employers may use incentives to encourage...more
A Publication from Epstein Becker Green and The ERISA Industry Committee
Epstein Becker Green and The ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) are pleased to release the current issue of the Benefits Litigation Update...more
3/24/2016
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
CIGNA v Amara ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
NC Board of Dental Examiners v FTC ,
Safe Harbors ,
SCOTUS ,
Telehealth ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wellness Programs ,
Yard Man ,
Zubik v Burwell
In a case that has implications for every employer and respondent on each charge in which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) finds reasonable cause to support the allegations, the U.S. Supreme Court...more
On April 16, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its highly anticipated proposed regulations (to be published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2015, for notice and comment) setting forth...more
4/20/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Covered Entities ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Medical Examinations ,
PHI ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Screening Procedures ,
Wellness Programs
Perhaps never before have employers faced so many challenges when it comes to health care issues affecting their workforce. Congress may try to amend the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). The Supreme Court of the United States is...more
2/26/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Flexible Spending Accounts ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Health Savings Accounts ,
Individual Mandate ,
Preexisting Conditions ,
SCOTUS ,
Tax Credits ,
Telehealth ,
Telemedicine ,
Wellness Programs
Despite promulgating a paucity of guidance on what constitutes a “voluntary medical exam” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), on October 27, 2014, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)...more
On May 15, 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") updated its prior guidance regarding cancer, diabetes, epilepsy, and intellectual disabilities, so as to clarify employers' obligations under the Americans...more
7/11/2013
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cancer ,
Compliance ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Disability ,
DSM ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Healthcare ,
Obesity ,
Supervisors