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Can harassment of OTHERS help prove that a plaintiff endured a hostile work environment?

Have you ever heard of me-too evidence? Plaintiffs in discrimination cases may attempt to introduce me-too evidence to the jury to establish that the same harasser directed the same acts of discrimination or harassment against other employees. This evidence helps demonstrate a pattern or practice of misconduct that makes their own…

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Join us today at Noon ET for The Employer Handbook Zoom Happy Hour to discuss the EEOC’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Final Rule

You can still register here to join us today, April 19, 2024, at Noon ET. Along with my partner, Amy Epstein Gluck, I will discuss the final rule that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), released earlier this week.…

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Yesterday, the Supreme Court cleared up when a job transfer may be discriminatory. But not really. Actually, not at all.

Suppose an employer transfers an employee, and that employee believes that unlawful bias fueled the decision. Does that transfer have to significantly disadvantage that employee to give rise to a discrimination claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964? The Supreme Court addressed that issue yesterday in…

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Next week, the feds will vote on whether to ban most noncompetes

Yesterday, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it would hold a “special open Commission meeting” on April 23 to vote on whether to issue a proposed final rule that would prevent most employers from enforcing noncompetes against workers. In January 2023, the FTC proposed a rule generally prohibiting employers from…

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The EEOC has issued its final rules on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. So, let’s Zoom on Friday, April 19, 2024 at Noon ET.

At long last, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), has issued a final rule to implement the new law. The PWFA requires private employers with 15 or more employees (and Congress, Federal agencies, employment agencies, and labor organizations)…

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Man wins $1.5M discrimination verdict. Then the appellate court completely erased it. Here’s why…

I want to tell you about an Army reservist whose employer investigated him for taking fraudulent leave. That investigation spawned a grand jury indictment for theft. The employee was booked, detained in jail, suspended from his job, and eventually fired. Yada, yada, yada, a federal jury awarded the employee $1,500,000.…

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Have you ever heard of an “intersectional” discrimination claim?

A white man filed a lawsuit against a company claiming that it denied him a high-six-figure executive position because of his race, age, and sex so that the company could search for more diverse candidates. Among the causes of action he asserted was one for race discrimination under 42 U.S.C.…

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When is an employer AUTOMATICALLY liable for a supervisor’s sexual harassment of a subordinate?

Often, an employer has affirmative defenses when an employee accuses a supervisor of sexual harassment. But Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes liability automatic in two ways. First, there’s the situation involving quid pro quo sexual harassment. That happens when a supervisor conditions some tangible employment…

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Hair discrimination isn’t unlawful. But, firing a black employee because of her natural hair texture is.

Congress has considered legislation several times that would prohibit employers from discriminating based on an individual’s hair texture or hairstyle if that hair texture or that hairstyle is commonly associated with a particular race or national origin. But it has never passed. Why? Because many believe that this law is…

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Can employers legally favor transgender employees over cisgender employees?

The words “cisgender” or “non-transgender” employee appear nowhere in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal workplace law that outlaws gender discrimination. But, according to a Pennsylvania federal judge, “that does not preclude the possibility that discrimination against both a cisgender male and cisgender female may…