I had planned to blog today about yesterday’s oral argument before the Supreme Court in Young v. UPS, the case about when an employer must accommodate a pregnant employee.

But…

The Philadelphia 76ers stole the spotlight — and my evening — with their first win of the season, an 85-77 victory over the Minneapolis Timberwolves, whose team colors of white, blue, and black have officially been replaced with shame, ignominy, and more shame.

Under federal law (Title VII), employers cannot discriminate because of one’s sex. While Title VII does not explicitly coverage transgender employees (i.e., someone born female who presents male, and vice-versa; also known as gender identity), the EEOC’s position is that transgender employees are protected too. Indeed, they’ve begun filing federal lawsuits on behalf of transgender employees who claim to have been discriminated against.

But, Courts have not uniformly accepted the EEOC’s position. Indeed, the state of the law here is very much unsettled.

Just before Thanksgiving, a Texas federal court considered whether an employer can discriminate under Title VII based purely on gender identity…and get away with it.

More after the jump…

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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is obsessed with wellness programs.

Or, as the EEOC likes to describe them “‘so-called’ wellness programs.” And not in a “yay, so-called wellness programs are super” kinda way.

No, in recent months, the EEOC has initiated litigation against companies (example, example, example) claiming that they violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Genetic Information Non-Disclosure Act by both requiring medical examination and penalizing employees who decline to participate.

Or maybe it’s the good karma from yesterday’s Social Media @ Work giveaway.

Whatever it may be, I’ll just smile and say thank you to the ABA Journal for honoring The Employer Handbook (again) as one of the top blogs in America.

Special props also go out to the other blogs honored in the Labor and Employment Category:

Frankly, I’m disappointed, you guys.

To the 10,002 of you who read this blog, only 1 showed up at the Social Media @ Work event my firm hosted earlier in the month at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.

Ok, even my parents and kids skipped this one. (I almost had two of my kids in the audience. I offered some yellow post-it notes and a blue highlighter, but they bargained hard for an extra Jell-O cup, and I wouldn’t cave).

“Doing What’s Right – Not Just What’s Legal”
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