On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.” The Order declares a sweeping new federal policy: “It is the policy of the United States to eliminate...more
4/25/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deregulation ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Protection ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Government Agencies ,
Labor Reform ,
Machine Learning ,
Trump Administration
On March 19, 2025, the EEOC issued two technical assistance documents addressing “DEI-related discrimination” in the workplace. The first document, issued jointly with the Department of Justice, is a one-pager titled “What To...more
3/20/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reverse Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII
On the afternoon of Tuesday, January 28, 2025, media reports confirmed that President Trump has fired EEOC Commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, both Democratic appointees. Samuels confirmed her dismissal via...more
1/29/2025
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Appointments ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Government Agencies ,
NLRB ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
On Day 1 of President Trump’s new administration, he issued a series of Executive Orders. The “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” Order revokes the Biden Administration’s prior DEI efforts...more
1/22/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employees ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Reform ,
Trump Administration
The Trump Administration’s new Executive Order on “gender ideology extremism” signals a dramatic shift in federal policy that will impact workplace policies, benefits, and compliance obligations relating to transgender...more
1/22/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Diversity ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Contractors ,
Gender Expression ,
Gender Identity ,
Labor Reform ,
LGBTQ ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender ,
Trump Administration
Seyfarth Synopsis: On July 12, 2024, the court issued a mixed ruling in the closely watched Mobley v. Workday putative class action, which claims that Workday, a Human Capital Management platform, is directly liable for...more
7/23/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Amicus Briefs ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Innovative Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Title VII
Seyfarth Synopsis: EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling, a Republican who first joined the EEOC in 2020, has announced his departure from the Commission in August 2024. Sonderling’s tenure was marked by his significant...more
7/22/2024
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Resignation ,
Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Machine Learning ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Last week, the administrative state’s foundation shook as the Supreme Court overruled Chevron, holding that federal administrative agencies are not entitled to deference in interpreting statutes and that...more
In a written opinion issued on March 7, 2024, the EEOC confirmed that an employee must not only show a sincerely held religious belief, but that the employee’s religious belief is actually in conflict with the workplace...more
The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) finalized its guidance to federal agencies regarding the risk management steps the federal government must take when using artificial intelligence. OMB’s guidance establishes the...more
3/29/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Innovative Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Risk Management
The Acting Director of OFCCP and the Solicitor of Labor indicated that they are moving full speed ahead on developing guidance regarding employers’ use of artificial intelligence, and that the Department of Labor is working...more
3/27/2024
/ Algorithms ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
Risk Management ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Following President Biden’s comprehensive Executive Order on AI, the White House announced the formation of the “US AI Safety Institute” within the Commerce Department’s technology arm, the NIST. The...more
11/6/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Bias ,
Biden Administration ,
Class Action ,
Draft Guidance ,
Employees ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Machine Learning ,
NIST ,
OFCCP ,
OMB ,
Risk Management
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Senate has confirmed Karla Gilbride as the EEOC’s General Counsel, following an almost two and a half year vacancy. As GC, Gilbride is poised to make her mark on the EEOC’s litigation program by...more
10/19/2023
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Appointments ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Class Action ,
Disabilities ,
Disability Discrimination ,
EEOC General Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan
Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 2, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published notice of its “PROPOSED Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace” (“draft enforcement guidance”) in the Federal...more
10/12/2023
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Reform ,
New Guidance ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
Seyfarth Synopsis: An essential read for any employer, the EEOC’s final Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP), was released on September 21, 2023. The SEP identifies the agency’s enforcement priorities for the next five years,...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The EEOC and the Department of Labor Wage Hour Division (WHD) have taken an important step toward inter-agency coordination, committing to information sharing, joint investigations, training, and public...more
9/19/2023
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EEO-1 ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Information Sharing ,
Joint Employers ,
OFCCP ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (“PUMP Act”) ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 22, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officially adopted its new Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2022-2026. The Strategic Plan outlines the Commission’s major goals and objectives...more
8/24/2023
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
GAO ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Guidance ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Strategic Planning
Seyfarth Synopsis: Recently, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed a settlement agreement in a lawsuit that many are calling the EEOC’s “first-ever” artificial intelligence discrimination in hiring...more
8/23/2023
/ Algorithms ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Automated Systems ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Machine Learning ,
Popular ,
Settlement ,
Software