Last week, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made headlines by filing its first lawsuits against private-sector businesses challenging sexual orientation discrimination as sex discrimination. Meanwhile, yesterday, another federal court in Christiansen v. Omnicom Group, Inc. (opinion here) concluded just the opposite: sexual orientation discrimination is “reprehensible,” but does not violate Title VII of the…
We have an extra-special guest blogger today. It’s my mentee, Meaghan Londergan. (Sorry, folks, all of The Karate Kid images were copyright protected). Sadly, I no longer work with Meaghan. But, in her defense, there’s only so much Meyer that a young impressionable associate can take. Since then, Meaghan’s been…
A temporary disability isn’t an Americans with Disabilities Act “disability;” except, when it is. In Clark v. Boyd Tunica, Inc. (opinion here), the plaintiff suffered a fractured ankle on the job. Her employer had a policy that employees were subject to drug tests following an on-the-job injury or illness requiring medical…
In this press release, the EEOC announced yesterday that it has a new guide for small businesses to comply with federal anti-discrimination laws. And if some of you bigger businesses want to check it out too, I won’t tell anyone. Well, unless you count the illuminati. By Mary and Angus…
Yesterday, I blogged here about the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission‘s first lawsuits challenging sexual-orientation discrimination as sex discrimination. While part of the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan to address emerging and developing issues, getting federal courts to agree that sexual-orientation discrimination is unlawful under Title VII is an uphill battle. But, that doesn’t…
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is officially stepping into the ring and taking the fight to private-sector employers whom the EEOC believes has discriminated against workers on the basis of sexual orientation. Yesterday, the EEOC announced (here) that it had filed two complaints in federal court against employers whom it…
So, do we have a gender pay gap? Or is it a myth? Well, first let’s talk about this study. Recently, “more than 3,200 workers and more than 220 human resource managers in the private sector across industries participated in a nationwide survey, conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of…
The Family and Medical Leave Act allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of leave in a 12-month period for, among other reasons, to care for a parent with a serious health condition. Most FMLA serious health conditions are plainly obvious: Cancer, HIV, dementia. But, then again… The…
If you’ve ever had to address a Charging Party’s EEOC Charge of Discrimination, you know that drafting a good Position Statement, in which the specific claims of discrimination are addressed and supported with documents and facts is hella-key. This especially holds true now that the EEOC has announced new nationwide procedures that provide…
Watch this video of Stevie Wonder at the Grammy’s. Ignore the tragic wardrobe selection. Instead, listen to the message about increasing accessibility to people with disabilities, and make sure that it carries over into your workplace. Remember it before… Your company insists that a job candidate with renal disease must…