In a recent decision about an appeal from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) left no question it views sexual orientation discrimination as falling within the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC stated its intent to treat all sexual orientation discrimination as sex discrimination, actionable under Title VII.
More about the Biden vaccine mandate
Several weeks ago, I suggested that you stay tuned for the latest developments—that we wouldn’t know much about the Biden vaccine mandate until we had actually read any Presidential executive orders. Well, we can now read two of these: Presidential e
Update on worker classification: employee or independent contractor?
On May 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a final rule withdrawing the Trump independent contractor rule. In the waning days of the Trump Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new final regulation about classifying
New mandatory minimum wage required for Government contractors
On April 27, 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order requiring Federal Government contractors to pay at least $15 an hour to certain employees. The order will go into effect on January 30, 2022. Before the order will go into effect, the U
Religious rights trump transgender rights
Update on EEOC v. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc.: On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision involving in this case. The court held that an employer who fires a person merely for being gay or transgender violates Title VII. On August 18,
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27
Jun
24
Teachers and other school employees are not allowed to collect unemployment benefits during holidays, spring break, fall break, or summer vacation, because everyone knows that such breaks are an ordinary part of their seasonal work. But what about employees of a private staffing agency who work alongside school employees on a daily basis? Do they get to collect unemployment even though everyone they work with does not?
Jun
11
June is upon us, and with June comes controversial U.S. Supreme Court decisions. This year, that will include a decision on same-sex marriage. At this time of year, it’s always good to prepare your managers for dealing with coffee-break conversations about these controversial employment-related topics. If they become heated, such conversations can cause hurt feelings. Although those hurt feelings are no big deal from an employment perspective, hostile-work-environment allegations can start with a few words about the latest decision. Employers should be careful to monitor such discussions—especially the ones having to do with rights of same-sex couples or transgender employees.
Jun
10
Last month, Lanier Ford attorney Lauren Smith wrote about the EEOC’s federal-sector decisions involving application of the anti-discrimination protections of Title VII to transgender employees. The blog post noted that the federal-sector decision was not binding on private employers, but nonetheless gives important insight into the EEOC’s position on this issue.
Jun
09
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously provided some guidance about whether conciliation efforts between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and an employer accused of employment discrimination can be judicially reviewed. This guidance came in the case of Mach Mining, LLC, v. EEOC, decided on April 29, 2015.