Sex Category Archives — Page 4 of 27 — The Employer Handbook Blog Published by Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Employment Lawyer

Should it be harder for straight workers to prove bias than gay workers? How about a heightened standard for white workers to prove discrimination? The Supreme Court will decide.

October 8, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating against employees and applicants based on sex. In 2020, the Supreme Court interpreted Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination to include employer bias based on sexual orientation.

But, did you know that in about half the country, a heterosexual employee who believes that their employer discriminated against them based on their sexual orientation must also establish “background circumstances” on top of Title VII’s other requirements to establish that their employer is the “unusual” one who discriminates against the majority to sustain a claim?

What exactly are “background circumstances”? Continue reading

The EEOC just sued some employers for preventing transgender employees from using restrooms consistent with their gender identity

October 2, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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In 2015, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission determined that a federal agency that denied an employee equal access to a common bathroom/facility corresponding to the employee’s gender identity discriminated based on sex and could not restrict a transgender employee to a single-user restroom. About five years later, the Supreme Court ruled that discrimination based on transgender status is sex discrimination in violation of Title VII.

Yesterday, the EEOC announced a lawsuit against several employers claiming that forbidding transgender workers from using restrooms consistent with their gender identity contributed to a hostile work environment based on their sex.
Continue reading

THIS must be part of your 2025 anti-harassment training if it’s not already,

September 27, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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In the past week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has brought two lawsuits against employers that allegedly violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against transgender employees.

Here’s something you may not know about hostile work environment claims

August 28, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Let’s start with what you probably know already — especially if you are an employment lawyer. Continue reading

875,000 reasons why the customer isn’t always right

August 14, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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A staffing company allegedly fulfilling a customer’s discriminatory hiring practices learned this lesson the hard way. Continue reading

How to investigate claims of harassment — when the accused is part of HR

July 19, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Yesterday, we addressed the risks of not letting HR do its job by investigating sexual harassment complaints. Today, we’ll discuss a recent decision underscoring the importance of thoroughly investigating employee complaints.

Court: Denying coverage for gender-affirming care to transgender employees is sex discrimination

May 14, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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If your business provides a self-funded health insurance plan to its employees, that health plan covers “medically necessary” services, and you’re not keen on defending sex discrimination claims, then keep reading. Continue reading

Must an employer accommodate an employee who won’t use transgender names and pronouns?

May 2, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Readers of this blog know that the EEOC recently finalized its new workplace harassment guidance and that one of the contentious issues in the guidance, according to a dissenting EEOC Commissioner, is the EEOC’s position that misgendering an employee, e.g., by consistently using the wrong pronouns, can violate Title VII. Continue reading

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

April 22, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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Have you ever heard of me-too evidence? Continue reading

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

April 18, 2024 | by Eric B. Meyer

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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?