For years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has cautioned employers against adopting strict English-only rules in the workplace. The EEOC considers such policies to constitute race and/or national origin...more
Last year, a panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals held 2-1 that the Americans with Disabilities Act required Ford Motor Company to allow a buyer with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) to possibly telecommute up to four...more
On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision reversing the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ position on employers’ obligations to accommodate employees’ pregnancy-related work restrictions. However, the court...more
Last year, EmployNews reported several cases where the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued employers, claiming that the terms of their employee wellness programs violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the...more
Under federal civil rights laws, one major difference between suits brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and private parties involves liability for attorney’s fees. Losing employers must pay the prevailing...more
Several years ago, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission set discriminatory use of criminal and financial background checks as a top enforcement priority. These cases are brought under the disparate impact theory,...more
Over the past several years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed several high profile lawsuits accusing employers of retaliating against employees by requiring them to waive discrimination claims in return...more
Publically traded companies are required by law to disclose to shareholders pending legal matters that could materially affect their stock price. According to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, an employer’s disclosure of...more
Employers understand that in the event that an employee requests a workplace accommodation due to a disability, they are legally required to explore the accommodation with the employee through the “interactive process.”...more
Over the past several months, EmployNews reported a growing trend of claims alleging that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgendered status violates Title VII if the alleged conduct involves gender...more
Last month, federal agencies released their semiannual regulatory agendas. The agendas list the rules in progress for the various agencies, along with anticipated dates of issuance. New additions or shortened timeframes can...more
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has made emerging issues in employment discrimination law one of its national enforcement priorities. Last week, the EEOC settled a lawsuit brought against a California seed and...more
On Tuesday, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released its annual performance evaluation covering the prior fiscal year which ended September 30. The EEOC received 88,778 private sector charges in FY 2014, a...more
Earlier this year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a new Pregnancy Discrimination Enforcement Guidance, setting forth the agency’s position with regard to litigation against employers accused of...more
Last week, EmployNews reported a lawsuit filed against Honeywell by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission challenging a new wellness program the agency alleged violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the...more
11/10/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biometric Information ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Honeywell International ,
Medical Examinations ,
Popular ,
Wellness Programs
Last month’s EmployNews reported on two new lawsuits filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission challenging alleged excessive financial penalties included in employer-sponsored wellness plans. On Monday, the EEOC...more
Last month, a federal judge in Illinois dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission contending that a standard release agreement used by the CVS drugstore chain violated the anti-retaliation...more
Here is a common workplace scenario: An employee tests positive for use of alcohol following a random screening. As a condition of continuing employment, the employee consults with the company’s EAP, which informs the...more
In order to sue for employment discrimination under Title VII, plaintiffs must first file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within a certain time period after the last alleged...more
At the opening of its new term last week, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s appeal of a lower court decision dismissing a Title VII claim against the Abercrombie clothing...more
In order to sue under Title VII, plaintiffs must first file an administrative charge of discrimination against their employer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In many cases, the charge misnames the actual...more
Last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed two potentially landmark lawsuits against employers accused of terminating employees undergoing gender reassignment procedures. The EEOC alleges that the...more
Employers can begin to breathe a sigh of relief after a federal judge last week dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the CVS drug store chain. In the lawsuit, the EEOC took an...more
Americans’ use of prescription painkillers, anti-anxiety medications and other drugs with psychotropic effects has exploded over the past decade. Many of these medications include warnings for persons who take them with...more
Employers continue to struggle to understand the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s position with regard to their wellness programs. While conceding the lawful use of such programs and the benefits achieved in terms of...more