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
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
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.
Virginia: the Next State to Protect LGBTQ Employees from Discrimination?
If you’re a regular reader of our blog, you probably know that the question of whether federal law prohibits employment discrimination against employees on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity remains open, which the Supreme Court may (or may not) resolve this year. While the EEOC continues to move forward in processing
Supreme Court Hears Argument in LGBT Discrimination Cases: What’s Next?
As regular readers of our blog will already know, the issue of whether Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on an employee’s sexual orientation or gender identity has been a hot topic in federal litigation for several years. Our blog has regularly covered these developments and often expressed that this question will likely require clarification
Fifth Circuit Says EEOC Cannot Use 2012 Criminal Background History Guidance — What Does this Mean?
On August 6, 2019, in State of Texas v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) overstepped its limited rulemaking and enforcement power when it issued its 2012 Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment
Reminder: Sex Discrimination is NOT the Solution to Sexual Harassment
A new article in Bloomberg details an unusual (to put it diplomatically) strategy that some male executives in the financial sector are using to avoid claims of sexual harassment:
No more dinners with female colleagues. Don’t sit next to them on flights. Book hotel rooms on different floors. Avoid one-on-one meetings.
In fact, as a
Latest Updates: Title VII and Gender Identity
It’s been a busy month for those keeping an eye on one of the most pressing questions in employment law: whether Title VII, which prohibits sex discrimination in employment, also inherently prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
Last week, the US Department of Justice argued to the Supreme Court that workplace discrimination on
Reminder: Religious Discrimination and Harassment Is Still A Serious Issue
When I get asked about non-discrimination and harassment prevention in the workplace, a significant proportion of these questions focus on race discrimination and sexual harassment. Still, employers should be mindful of other protected characteristics under federal and state law, even if charges and lawsuits on those bases are, statistically speaking, less frequent than others.
While