Earlier this year, I wrote about a white employee in Colorado who claimed his former employer subjected him to a hostile work environment by requiring him to attend anti-harassment training.
Let’s explore whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees against accusations of racism.
In 2022, Florida passed The Individual Freedom Act. But most people know this law as the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” which stands for “Stop the Wrongs to our Kids and Employees.”
Whatever we call it, the Act says employers cannot subject “any individual, as a condition of employment,” to “training, instruction, or any other required activity that espouses, promotes, advances, inculcates, or compels” a certain set of beliefs. The list of banned subjects generally relates to “woke” teachings on race, color, sex, or national origin. Florida employers can host these trainings but cannot require employees to attend them.
Photo by Brett Sayles: https://www.pexels.com/photo/slogan-black-lives-matter-on-black-board-4665903/
Last week, the National Labor Relations Board decided that a NON-union employer cannot require employees to remove “Black Lives Matter” (BLM) insignia from their work uniform when the BLM marking is a “logical outgrowth” of earlier group protests about racial discrimination in their workplace.
Last week, I wrote (here) about a white college professor who successfully alleged that his employer subjected him to a hostile work environment, at least, in part, because of particular training and conferences he attended about racism. Continue reading
Wait a minute, Eric! Weren’t you just telling us that anti-harassment training is part of the backbone of a compliant workplace?
I did. But, occasionally, employers can step over the line. Continue reading
Folks, I did not have EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas giving billionaire Mark Cuban a public antidiscrimination lesson on my Bingo board.
But, as I was scrolling through X on Monday, here is what I saw:
On Sunday, Mr. Cuban, of Shark Tank fame, the former principal owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, and a proponent of DEI policies, tweeted that he’s “never hired anyone based exclusively on race, gender, religion.”
Remember that AT&T ad campaign a few years ago where the mobile network provider touted how cell phone users should not have to settle for mediocre phone service?
In the workplace, however, “just ok” may be good enough when responding to employee complaints of harassment.
Hey, I’m not saying employers should aspire for “just ok,” but it can defeat a sexual harassment lawsuit.
“Uh, Eric, don’t you mean the superior candidate?” Continue reading
Some people in Dallas do some dumb stuff.
For example, every year, many locals hold out hope into late December or early January that the Cowboys will win the Super Bowl. After their hopes get dashed when the team inevitably chokes, the fans irrationally board the bandwagon the following Summer. It’s crazy!
But not as nuts as what I’m about to tell you.
The Employer Handbook Blog