Ten years have passed since the Supreme Court of the United States granted all same-sex couples the right to marry and have their marriages recognized nationwide. ...more
7/7/2025
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Rights ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Executive Orders ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
LGBTQ ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On May 15, 2025, a federal court vacated portions of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) workplace harassment guidance, specifically, guidance on harassment based on sexual orientation and gender...more
5/19/2025
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Harassment ,
Judicial Authority ,
LGBTQ ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Vacated
On April 23, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) calling for an end to disparate impact liability for discrimination and ordering federal enforcement agencies to stop enforcement of antidiscrimination...more
Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming recently passed laws aligning with recent executive orders issued by President Donald Trump defining sex as binary and immutable....more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released two technical assistance documents to explain what constitutes illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the workplace. ...more
3/20/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
New Guidance ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
The Supreme Court of the United States recently heard oral arguments in a case to determine whether employees who are part of a majority group must meet a higher standard to prove discrimination....more
3/3/2025
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Evidentiary Standards ,
LGBTQ ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Standard of Proof ,
Title VII
The attorneys general of sixteen states recently released guidance explaining how diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the private sector can remain viable and legal. ...more
On January 28, 2025, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Acting Chair Andrea R. Lucas rolled back much of the EEOC’s Biden-era guidance related to issues of gender identity discrimination and harassment...more
President Donald Trump removed Democratic U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEOC) commissioners Charlotte A. Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, upending the Democratic voting majority on the EEOC. ...more
On July 17, 2024, the U.S. District for the Northern District of Texas rejected the State of Texas’s request that it vacate recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on harassment and...more
7/26/2024
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
Harassment ,
LGBTQ ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
On July 17, 2024, the U.S. District for the Northern District of Texas rejected the State of Texas’s request that it vacate recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on harassment and...more
7/26/2024
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Guidance ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
Harassment ,
LGBTQ ,
New Guidance ,
Pending Litigation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII
Recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) offers best practices for employers in the construction industry to prevent and address harassment in the workplace....more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released proposed guidance seeking to clarify that harassment and discrimination based on LGBTQ+ status—including intentional misgendering, repeated use of...more
10/11/2023
/ Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Biden Administration ,
Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Comment Period ,
Enforcement ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Harassment ,
Proposed Guidance ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Title VII ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
On July 31, 2023, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals revived a Christian teacher’s religious discrimination lawsuit over his refusal to refer to transgender students by their names and pronouns with which they identified. ...more
8/11/2023
/ Bostock v Clayton County Georgia ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Identity ,
Groff v DeJoy ,
Public Schools ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title IX ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Undue Hardship
On November 7. 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to review a case by a Georgia fire chief alleging she was discharged for being transgender in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the...more
12/6/2022
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fort Bend County Texas v Davis ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Verification Requirements
On February 18, 2021, U.S. Representative David Cicilline (D-RI) reintroduced the Equality Act (H.R. 5), a bill that would amend federal law (including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) to prohibit discrimination on...more
On February 4, 2021, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed into law House Bill (H.B.) 2045, which expands protections for pregnant workers under Arizona law. The measure amends the Arizona Civil Rights Act (ACRA) to mirror...more
As government officials at all levels continue issuing guidance on best practices for employers to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19, some jurisdictions are taking the first steps to “reopen” their local economies. Before...more
On October 8, 2019, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument on one core question: does the prohibition on discrimination “because of...sex” in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 include...more
10/11/2019
/ Altitude Express Inc v Zarda ,
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Dress Codes ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Oral Argument ,
SCOTUS ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Split of Authority ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Equality Act, a bill that would amend federal law (including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and...more
5/23/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Chamber of Commerce ,
Civil Rights Act ,
EEOC v RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes ,
Employment Discrimination ,
ENDA ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equality Act ,
Gender Identity ,
LGBTQ ,
Pending Legislation ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
An estimated 9 million adults in the United States are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Eighty-seven percent of U.S. residents report knowing someone who is lesbian or gay, and half report having a close lesbian or gay...more
10/11/2018
/ Appeals ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
LGBTQ ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
OSHA ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Split of Authority ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
THE EVOLVING DEFINITION OF SEX(UAL ORIENTATION) UNDER TITLE VII -
On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its highly anticipated decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, making...more
6/6/2017
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Anti-Retaliation Provisions ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Disability ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Sick Leave ,
Title VII
On April 4, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its highly anticipated en banc decision in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, making the Seventh Circuit the first federal appellate court to find...more
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States answered the two questions it posed in the consolidated same-sex case, Obergefell v. Hodges, No. 14-556 (June 26, 2015). The consolidated case arose from challenges to...more
6/29/2015
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Due Process ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Protection ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Marriage ,
Marriage Equality ,
Obergefell v. Hodges ,
OFCCP ,
Popular ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
Title VII ,
USCIS
On November 7, 2013, the U.S. Senate passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) by a vote of 64-32, with the support of 10 Senate Republicans. ENDA essentially extends workplace protections based on race, religion,...more