As previously reported in EmployNews, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has recently taken the administrative and litigation position that the sex discrimination provisions of Title VII directly prohibit...more
When a terminated employee alleges that her firing resulted from discrimination or retaliation, employers often dispute those claims by noting that the employer never hired anyone to take the terminated employee’s position....more
7/26/2016
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Protected Class ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Remand ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Termination ,
Title VII
In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued an Enforcement Guidance stating when employers’ use of criminal background checks to exclude applicants from jobs violates Title VII. The Guidance states the EEOC’s...more
7/13/2016
/ Appeals ,
Attorney General ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Disparate Impact ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Felons ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Justiciable Controversy ,
Remand ,
Standing ,
Title VII
Title VII allows federal courts to award attorneys’ fees to the prevailing party in discrimination suits. While plaintiffs typically receive their fees if they win a discrimination or retaliation claim, defendants can also...more
Most hostile environment harassment claims brought under Title VII involve allegations of offensive conduct by the plaintiff’s supervisors or co-workers. In a few situations, the employee alleges that his or her subordinates...more
Title VII and related federal civil rights laws contain short administrative claims periods that often result in preclusion of actions filed after expiration of these dates. These exclusions lead to frequent litigation...more
5/31/2016
/ Constructive Discharge ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Green v Brennan ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Race Discrimination ,
Resignation ,
Retaliation ,
SCOTUS ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Title VII ,
USPS
The Supreme Court’s 2006 Burlington Northern decision concluded that employers engage in retaliation against protected employees when they take action that would deter a reasonable person from filing an EEOC charge or...more
5/17/2016
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Burlington Northern ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Remand ,
Retaliation ,
Reversal ,
Title VII
As transgender bathroom access legislation continues to generate controversy across the U.S., the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a new Fact Sheet unequivocally stating its position with regard to restroom use...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
In 2009’s Crawford decision, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that an employee who participates in an employer’s harassment or discrimination investigation as a third-party witness, falls within federal anti-retaliation...more
Before filing suit alleging discrimination, Title VII requires plaintiffs to file a charge of discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. If the plaintiff files an EEOC charge, but includes claims in his...more
In recent months, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has stated its position that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or...more
Plaintiffs seeking compensation for sexual harassment must demonstrate that they were subjected to a hostile and offensive working environment. Plaintiffs in same-sex harassment claims have the additional burden of proving...more
Employers understand that once they become aware of allegations of workplace harassment, they are legally obligated to investigate the claims and if appropriate, to take disciplinary action against the harasser. In some...more
Title VII prohibits discrimination based on gender. Employers generally cannot adopt different qualification standards for men and women for the same job. However in some circumstances, federal courts have recognized that...more
In recent years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and federal courts across the U.S. have increasingly agreed that discrimination against transgendered employees is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII....more
Last month, the Seventh Circuit again rejected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s attempt to declare an employer’s standard severance agreement illegal under Title VII. The EEOC and CVS Pharmacy have clashed over...more
In general, once an employee tenders his or her notice of resignation, the employer is under no legal obligation to rescind acceptance of the notice. Last month, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals cast doubt on this rule by...more
When a supervisor engages in sexual harassment in violation of Title VII, the employer can be held vicariously liable for the action even if it takes immediate steps to end the harassment once it learns of the conduct....more
Title VII and related federal anti-discrimination laws prohibit employers from discriminating against persons based on their membership in a protected category. These discrimination prohibitions include pay disparities. What...more
Earlier this year in its Abercrombie decision, the U.S. Supreme Court stated that an employee suing for religious discrimination did not have to demonstrate actual knowledge of an employee’s religious practices to trigger...more
Like most federal labor laws, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from retaliating against employees who oppose unlawful employment practices. However, a number of federal courts have adopted a...more
Most employers using temporary workers from an employment agency assume that they are liable as employers for certain legal claims. While a reasonable assumption, until last week, this status had never been formally...more
8/3/2015
/ Appeals ,
Control Test ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Multi-Factor Test ,
Remand ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Staffing Agencies ,
Supervisors ,
Temporary Employees ,
Title VII
Employers routinely use Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) to notify employees of job performance issues. If an employee believes that they have unfairly been placed under a PIP, can this form the basis for an employment...more
Employers are well aware of their potential liability for workplace harassment claims involving co-workers or third parties. They also understand their heightened legal responsibility when the alleged harasser is the...more