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The Employer Handbook BlogThe Sixth Circuit “won the lottery” and will decide the fate of the OSHA vax-or-test mandate
Image by Alejandro Garay from Pixabay
Filed Under: Every Employment Law Blogger Will Be Blogging About This Today.
Employer wigs out over an African American employee’s hair; EEOC claims race discrimination
Image Credit: Wig by Daniela Baptista from the Noun Project
In recent years, some states and municipalities have made it unlawful to discriminate based on an individual’s hairstyle because certain protected classes — usually Black women — receive unfair treatment based on inherent hair texture and protective hairstyles, like braids, locs, and twists. Why, yesterday, Tempe became the second city in Arizona to pass a hair discrimination ban.
There’s nothing explicit under federal antidiscrimination law, like Title VII, that outlaws hair discrimination. But, that hasn’t stopped the EEOC from pursuing related claims for race discrimination. Continue reading
The Fifth Circuit just dunked hard on OSHA’s vax-or-test mandate
Image Credit: slam dunk by Andrew Doane from the Noun Project
On Friday afternoon, when four of my FisherBroyles employer law partners and I were dissecting the OSHA vax-or-test Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) on Zoom — ICYMI, you can watch the replay here on The Employer Handbook YouTube Channel (https://bit.ly/TheEmployerHandbookYouTube) — I asked them to raise their hand if they thought that the ETS would ultimately survive judicial scrutiny.
No one did. Continue reading
Drop that COVID-19 religious accommodation exemption form says one EEOC Commissioner
form by Jason Tropp from the Noun Project
Before I tell you which COVID-19 religious accommodation form you need to trash right away, don’t forget that today is the big, free live Zoom on the new OSHA vaccine-or-test mandate. Join me and my partners Amy Epstein Gluck, David Renner, Sid Steinberg, Gordon Berger at Noon ET. Register here (https://bit.ly/OSHAETSZoom). Continue reading
Three federal agencies want to end retaliation by hosting a “virtual dialogue” with employers next week.
Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a joint initiative to raise awareness about retaliation issues when workers exercise their protected labor rights. Continue reading
Is indefinite unpaid leave irreparably harmful to employees that don’t get vaccinated?
Image by Dominic Wunderlich from Pixabay
On Monday, a Texas federal court dealt with a nuanced issue relating to vaccine mandates. Continue reading
Lawsuits opposing OSHA’s vax-or-test mandate will be decided by lottery, apparently.
I’ve been doing this employment law thing for over 20 years now.
And just like that, a federal appellate court has stayed the Biden vax-or-test mandate for now
fast by Alice Design from the Noun Project
Damn! That was fast! Continue reading
A federal court says certain religious employers may discriminate against LGBT employees
Image Credit: PublicDomainPictures.Net (Judge Gavel)
Do you remember back in 2020, when the Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids employment discrimination based on LGBT status? But the court did leave one issue open, namely, the implications for religious liberties and other matters arising from its decision.
Last week, a Texas federal court filled that gap by concluding that certain religious organizations are permitted to refrain from employing those who engage in conduct that violates their sincerely held religious beliefs. Continue reading