There's a new sheriff in town . . . . . .
so y'all better straighten up.
You probably know by now that the Biden Administration fired Sharon Fast Gustafson, the Trump-appointed General Counsel of the Equal Employment...more
3/12/2021
/ Age Discrimination ,
Biden Administration ,
EEO ,
EEOC General Counsel ,
Employee Training ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Joe Biden ,
Mediation ,
Medical Leave ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Retaliation ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination
Vaccines, unemployment, and more!
I had a COVID return-to-work quiz back in May, but a lot has changed since then, so I thought it might be fun to do an updated version. So . . .
How much do you know about COVID in the...more
2/26/2021
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Biden Administration ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Documentation ,
Employer Mandates ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Incentives ,
Layoffs ,
Masks ,
Quarantine ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Exemption ,
Social Distancing ,
Trump Administration ,
Unemployment ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
The latest.
President Joe Biden has nominated Jennifer Abruzzo, special counsel with the Communication Workers of America union, to be General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board. This is the position that was...more
Just because you can, should you?
As most of our readers know, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in December that employers can legally require employees to get COVID vaccinations, provided that they take a...more
Tougher EEOC and OFCCP, a legal challenge at NLRB, and more.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: In this limited-edition "Biden Time" series, I provide regular updates on the new President's appointments and other actions that will be of...more
1/29/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Cause Determination Finding ,
Conciliation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Mediation ,
NLRB ,
NLRB General Counsel ,
OFCCP ,
Opinion Letter ,
Race Discrimination ,
Tip-Pooling ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Videoconference ,
Wage and Hour
He's not letting the grass grow under his feet.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: When President Trump took office in 2016, I had a series of "Trumpdates," in which I provided regular updates on appointments and other actions he was taking...more
Yippee.
Last May the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suspended its collection of EEO-1 (and EEO-3 and EEO-5) data because of the coronavirus pandemic. According to the agency,
Recognizing the impact that the...more
The EEOC is extending its mediation program until September 30.
I have long been a fan of the voluntary mediation program offered by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. As most of you know, the program allows...more
Some Q and A.
Last week (while I was on vacay), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued proposed regulations on wellness programs and the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information...more
1/15/2021
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Register ,
GINA ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Medical History ,
Risk Assessment ,
Safe Harbors ,
Voluntary Participation ,
Wellness Programs
Predictions from our attorneys in the practice areas that affect employers.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: The following went out as a legal bulletin on Thursday. I'm reproducing it here for those of you who do not subscribe to our...more
12/18/2020
/ Affirmative Action ,
Biden Administration ,
Compliance ,
Congressional Review Act ,
Data Privacy ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Electoral College ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Federal Contractors ,
H-1B ,
Immigration ,
Multistate Employers ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
OFCCP ,
OSHA ,
Presidential Elections ,
Race Discrimination ,
Religious Exemption ,
Sexual Stereotyping ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration ,
Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) ,
Wage and Hour
And employers will like it.
NOTE FROM ROBIN: This is the text of a Legal Bulletin that we sent out today. I am posting it here for those of you who don't subscribe to our bulletins.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity...more
12/17/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) ,
Employee Rights ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ,
GINA ,
Health Care Providers ,
New Guidance ,
OSHA ,
Personal Information ,
Pharmacies ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Title II ,
Title VII
It's official! (Well, close enough.)
This evening, the Electoral College confirmed Joseph R. Biden as winner of the 2020 Presidential election. Congress will not do an official count of the electoral votes until January 6,...more
12/15/2020
/ Discrimination ,
Electoral College ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Equal Pay ,
Harassment ,
Joe Biden ,
NLRB ,
OSHA ,
Personal Protective Equipment ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
The EEOC is inviting us to ask for opinion letters!
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced this week that it will begin issuing opinion letters in response to requests from the public.
Eligible topics...more
12/11/2020
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Opinion Letter ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
I have written many, many, many, many times about the transgender funeral director who was terminated from her job after she told the owner that she would begin presenting as a female.
The Equal Employment Opportunity...more
Here are 10 quick takes.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued on Tuesday a proposed update to the Religious Discrimination section of its Compliance Manual. The current section of the Compliance Manual has not...more
11/20/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Compliance Manuals ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Holidays ,
Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd v Colorado Civil Rights Commission ,
Ministerial Exception ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Undue Hardship ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
And a Republican majority.
This week, the U.S. Senate confirmed the nominations of three individuals to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The five-member Commission has had only three members since January...more
The EEOC updated its guidance this week.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week updated its Q&A guidance on coronavirus and the federal anti-discrimination laws -- primarily, the Americans with Disabilities...more
9/11/2020
/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Personal Data ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Screening Procedures ,
Workplace Safety
An easy-to-read guide that works for all employees using legal meds.*
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently issued new guidance documents on the rights of employees who are legally using opioids, and for their...more
The EEOC has started issuing right-to-sue letters again.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced this week that it had resumed issuing "right-to-sue" letters.
Issuance of the letters, which give charging...more
An ambiguity in the agency's prior guidance has been clarified.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its guidance on COVID-19 issues yesterday and clarified that employers may not test employees for COVID-19...more
And, remember those wellness regulations? New ones are in progress.
Yesterday the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission updated its FAQs on coronavirus and discrimination. For those who are already familiar with the...more
The case is now moot, says the D.C. Circuit.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has dismissed as moot the appeal of the government in the case of National Women's Law Center v. Office of...more
But no word on when the votes will take place.
The five-member Equal Employment Opportunity Commission currently has two vacancies, with a third on the way as the term of Victoria Lipnic (R) expires. Ms. Lipnic has...more
A cautionary tale.
In a decision issued this week, a federal judge in Greensboro, North Carolina, ruled that an employer's policy requiring employees to disclose their legal prescription medications may have violated the...more
The case will go on.
And we should be getting a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court very soon.
Aimee Stephens, the individual plaintiff/intervenor in R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes v. EEOC, died yesterday of kidney...more