Close

Articles Posted in Discrimination and Unlawful Harassment

Updated:

If you permit Black Lives Matter apparel at work, does that mean White Lives Matter is ok too?

Image by Mr Salih from Pixabay Yesterday’s post about employees wearing Black Lives Matter apparel at work was a bit of a lightning rod. While all of the comments I received were respectful — thank you! — some questioned whether allowing employees to wear BLM face masks, pins, and insignia…

Updated:

Is it legal to forbid employees from wearing Black Lives Matter face masks or insignia at work?

The All-Nite Images from NY, NY, USA / CC BY-SA If you’ve read the news recently, you may have seen stories like this one and this one about large businesses that had policies against employees wearing pro-BLM clothes and apparel. In those two examples, each of the companies has since changed…

Updated:

COVID-19 antibody testing as a condition of returning to work? Bwahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

free images I’ve got something to tell you. I’m coming clean. Are you ready? Here it is. I don’t know squat about antibody testing for COVID-19. And guess what? You don’t either. Look, I’ve met plenty of people who think that they know about antibody testing for COVID-19: friends, colleagues,…

Updated:

The five quotes that define and transcend yesterday’s landmark Supreme Court LGBT rights ruling

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash As you’ve no doubt heard by now, yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that an employer who fires an individual merely for being gay or transgender has violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII is the federal workplace law…

Updated:

It’s okay to invite employees to request disability accommodations, plus other brand new EEOC COVID-19 guidance!

Image by Oberholster Venita from Pixabay As a best practice, and in advance of having some or all employees return to the workplace, are there ways for an employer to invite employees to request flexibility in work arrangements? That’s the first of six coronavirus-related questions that the EEOC answered yesterday…

Updated:

There’s no maybe about it. Here’s why, for sure, COVID-19 is an ADA disability. Probably.

Photo by cottonbro from Pexels On March 27, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hosted an “Ask the EEOC” webinar exclusively addressing the EEO laws in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the questions asked was whether COVID-19 is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.…

Updated:

Can your business require a customer to wear a mask? What if she has trouble breathing?

Image by Viktor Ivanchenko from Pixabay Good questions? And, not coincidentally, the subject of a lawsuit just filed in a Pennsylvania federal court. The plaintiff, who claims to have respiratory issues, alleges that a supermarket in Pennsylvania refused to let her enter the store without a mask, even though she…

Updated:

This case has nothing to do with COVID-19. But, it could prevent a return-to-work lawsuit.

Image by Okan Caliskan from Pixabay As part of return-to-work from COVID-19, sadly, some employees are not going to return to work. I’m not talking about those situations in which an employee refuses to return. That’s a different post for a different day. No, I’m thinking about a situation in…

Updated:

Here’s that new CDC guidance for re-opening your business. Plus, we’ve get one heckuva Zoom chat coming on Friday!

Before we talk about this new CDC guidance, mark your calendars for Friday at Noon EDT. That’s when I’ll be back with another HR COVID-19 Zoom chat. Go ahead and register now (here) while space is still available. My special guest this week is an accomplished HR professional, author, and…