Search
The Employer Handbook BlogRead this before firing an employee for having an Only Fans account
Is this post safe for work? Yes, it is. Did I write it in Incognito mode, just in case? Yes, I did.
Articles Posted in Sex
A coworker’s racist, sexist, and homophobic comments weren’t enough to create a hostile work environment. Here’s why.
Employers don’t have crystal balls.
Last week, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the well-settled rule that when one coworker accuses another of creating a hostile work environment, that claim will fail ten times out of ten unless the employer knew or should have known about the harassment but failed to take prompt and adequate remedial action. It’s otherwise known as respondeat superior liability.
I’m pretty sure I found Exhibit “A” in a new EEOC pregnancy bias lawsuit. It will blow your mind 🤯
Yesterday, the EEOC announced that it had sued an employer for allegedly denying a new hire request to leave training early for an urgent medical evaluation related to her pregnancy and rescinded her job offer.
These are just allegations. However, according to the EEOC complaint, the federal discrimination watchdog appears to have the receipts to back them up. Continue reading
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.
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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