Yesterday, April 22, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) granted certiorari in three cases involving the question of whether gay and transgender workers are protected from discrimination by Title VII of...more
4/23/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Certiorari ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On March 4, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled to reinstate Obama-era revisions to the pay data reporting requirements established by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which...more
3/13/2019
/ Data Collection ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Equal Pay Act ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
OMB ,
Pay Data ,
Pay Discrimination ,
Pay Gap ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Wage and Hour
Over the last two months, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract and Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued seven new directives under the OFCCP’s Acting Director and Deputy Director, Craig Leen....more
10/15/2018
/ Administrative Review ,
Affirmative Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
OFCCP ,
Ombudsman ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA)
On August 3, 2018, the head of the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) contractor enforcement office announced that the DOL intends to identify and audit contractors who fail to certify their affirmative action compliance to the...more
8/24/2018
/ Affirmative Action ,
Audits ,
Certification Requirements ,
Cooperative Compliance Regime ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
General Services Administration (GSA) ,
OFCCP ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Regulatory Requirements
The protracted case of Gavin Grimm is set to be heard once again by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. ...more
6/14/2018
/ Appeals ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
School Restrooms ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Transgender
On June 4, 2018, the United States Supreme Court, in a 7-2 ruling, found in favor of Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakes, who refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple. He cited religious beliefs condemning...more
6/8/2018
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
First Amendment ,
Free Exercise Clause ,
Free Speech ,
LGBTQ ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Private Sector ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Reversal ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS
On May 18, 2018, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a press release announcing an Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) Directive that extends by two years the enforcement moratorium pertaining to the...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest to weigh in on the heated debate as to whether sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status and/or gender expression are protected classes under Title VII of the...more
3/20/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
As previously reported by these authors, on July 26, 2017, President Trump announced via Twitter that transgender individuals will no longer be permitted to serve in the military. President Trump issued an official memorandum...more
11/10/2017
/ Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Employee Retention ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
Injunctions ,
LGBTQ ,
Military Service Members ,
Presidential Memorandum ,
Recruitment Policies ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
Whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, transgender status and/or gender expression remains a heated debate in the courts and between...more
10/6/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
On July 26, 2017, President Trump announced via Twitter that the military, arguably the country’s largest employer, will no longer allow transgender people to serve, thus breaking from the Obama Administration’s lift of the...more
8/2/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Military Service Members ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
On March 10, 2017, in Evans v. Georgia Regional Hospital, a split panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that it was bound by prior precedent that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not...more
7/12/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
On May 30, 2017, on the heels of the Seventh Circuit’s ground-breaking en banc decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech. College holding that sexual orientation is a protected trait under Title VII, a unanimous three-judge panel of...more
6/12/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Public Schools ,
School Restrooms ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Students ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
While the Seventh Circuit definitively has held that sexual orientation discrimination is discrimination “because of sex” and, therefore, a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (as reported by...more
6/2/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
On May 18, 2017, in the first decision of its kind, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held that transgender people are not categorically barred from protection by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if they suffer...more
5/30/2017
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Transgender ,
Uniforms
On April 3, 2017, in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc., the Second Circuit held that it was bound by prior precedent in ruling that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit sexual orientation...more
5/9/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
In a landmark decision overruling decades of precedent, the Seventh Circuit en banc declared that sexual orientation discrimination violates Title VII in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College. This comes as the first decision...more
President Trump has signed a Joint Resolution (H.J. Res. 37) disapproving federal agency rules implementing the Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order (EO 13673) (also known as the “Blacklisting” EO) signed by former...more
4/6/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Blacklist ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Executive Orders ,
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces ,
Federal Contractors ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Pay Transparency ,
Sexual Assault ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
As these authors have previously reported, several cases analyzing whether sexual orientation is protected by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have been winding their way through the courts. ...more
4/5/2017
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
En Banc Review ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
School Restrooms ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently issued a decision which clarifies and expands the circumstances under which entities may be held liable as joint employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
There has been much speculation about the Trump administration’s position with respect to LGBTQ rights. We may now have our first glimpse. Just days after Jeff Sessions was confirmed as Attorney General, the government has...more
2/20/2017
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
Educational Institutions ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gloucester County School Board v G.G. ,
LGBTQ ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Public Schools ,
Restroom Legislation ,
School Restrooms ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
As LGBTQ rights have taken center stage in political and social issues, FordHarrison has been following ground-breaking litigation related to LGBTQ rights and providing updates. In the latest decision, a federal judge in...more
1/19/2017
/ Abortion ,
Affordable Care Act ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Mandates ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
Medicaid ,
Medicare ,
Medicare Part D ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Religious Exemption ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Section 1557 ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
TRICARE ,
Trump Administration
Since its enactment, courts have followed the premise that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit sexual orientation discrimination. A changing of the tides began in July 2015, when the Equal Employment...more
12/13/2016
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
En Banc Review ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Full-Time Employees ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Job Promotions ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
On June 23, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court held for the second time that race may be taken into account when public universities and colleges admit students. In a 4-3 decision (Justice Kagan recused herself based on her prior...more
7/6/2016
/ Affirmative Action ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fisher v University of Texas ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Strict Scrutiny Standard ,
Universities ,
University of Texas
In your experience, what's the one legal mistake hiring managers always (inadvertently) make? That's the question we asked labor and employment attorneys writing on JD Supra - and here is what we heard back...more