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
EEOC’s Proposed Updates to Religious Discrimination Guidance Now Open for Public Comment
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,
Colorado’s CROWN Act Bans Natural Hair Discrimination
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
House Passes Bill with Broader Requirements for Accommodating Pregnant Workers
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
A Cautionary Tale about Same Race Discrimination
A Black employee complains to Human Resources that her supervisor has directed racial slurs at her. The supervisor is Black too. Is this a defense to liability for the employer under Title VII? Hardly.
The Eighth Circuit considered this issue in Ross v. Douglas County, Nebraska. Odis Ross, a Black male, worked at the Douglas
July News from the EEOC
July has brought the announcement of two six-month pilot programs touted by the EEOC for, it believes, expanding opportunities for parties to resolve Charges of Discrimination voluntarily through mediation and conciliation.
While they sound like the same thing, mediation and conciliation actually carry two different meanings in EEOC-world. Here is what the Commission has rolled
Maryland Restricts Use of Facial Recognition Technology in Hiring
Entering a relatively new frontier in employment discrimination law, the Maryland legislature has passed legislation restricting employers’ use of facial recognition technology in the hiring process. The bill becomes effective on October 1, 2020.
Under the new law, Maryland employers may not use a “facial recognition service” for the purpose of creating a “facial template”
Supreme Court: LGBTQ Employees Protected
In an historic decision, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 last week that Title VII’s prohibition on employment discrimination protects employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. In doing so, the Court held that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity necessarily involves discrimination on the basis of sex, which Title VII
For Employers Facing a Discrimination Claim, Being Wrong Can Also Mean Being Right (or, at Least, Being Nondiscriminatory).
What happens if an employer takes adverse action against an employee based on a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason that later turns out to be wrong? Suppose, for example, an employer fires an employee based on a genuine belief that the employee violated the employer’s policies, but it turns out that, in fact, the employee did not.
Appeals Court Rejects Disability Discrimination Claim of Employee with Supervisor-Induced Stress and Migraines
When an employee requests an accommodation or asserts a claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act, an employer’s second question—right after “Are we even covered by the ADA?”—will likely be: “Did/does the employee have a disability?” (Claims from employees who are merely perceived as disabled are a topic for another day.) The definition of a