The EEOC has recently filed an action in the Western District of Wisconsin entitled EEOC v. Baumann Farms, LLP alleging that the employer has an “English-only policy that discriminates against non-English speaking Hispanic employees based on national origin” in violation of Title VII. The complaint does not offer much detail on what’s in the policy—EEOC
Earlier this year, Montana became the first state to make discrimination based on vaccination status in employment illegal. Specifically, House Bill 702, passed as an amendment to the Montana Human Rights Act, prohibits discrimination by employers based on vaccination status or possession of an “immunity passport.” The law defines “immunity passport” as a document
Employers are generally familiar with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), which prohibits discrimination against employees age 40 and older on the basis of age. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court clarified in Gross v. FBL Financial Services that plaintiffs bringing ADEA claims must prove that age was the “but for” cause
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently updated and expanded its guidance regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and federal anti-discrimination laws, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”). The guidance, initially issued in December of 2020, covers communicating with employees regarding their COVID-19 diagnosis or
As we’ve written before, the Supreme Court decided in Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga. that sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination is prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since the Bostock decision, the EEOC has launched a new resource page on sexual orientation and gender identity, which outlines the agency’s
Last June, in Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga., the Supreme Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964 prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation or gender identity. We covered that historic ruling, and you can find our original article here.
Although the Court’s ruling was broad in a
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently issued its long-awaited guidance regarding the implications of mandating COVID-19 vaccinations in the workplace under certain EEO laws. In general, the guidance confirms that employers can require that employees receive a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment in certain circumstances, provides guidance on how to communicate with
On November 9, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) voted 3-2 to release a proposed update to Section 12 of the EEOC Compliance Manual addressing religious discrimination. Section 12 of the Compliance Manual has not been revised since 2008. The public has until December 17, 2020 to issue comments to the proposed update,
Earlier this year, Colorado joined a growing list of states that have banned natural hair discrimination. Colorado’s CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair Act) went into effect on September 14, 2020 with the goal of preventing racial discrimination premised on a person’s natural hair type or race-based hairstyle.
The CROWN
On September 17, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, called the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”), which would require employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers. The bill, HR 2694, passed by a 329-73 vote with bi-partisan support. The bill still needs to be approved by the Senate and eventually signed