Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
by Charlie Plumb Last summer, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its “Best Practices: A Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers.” In a nutshell, the OSHA publication stated that transgender employees should have access to the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity rather than to their birth gender. Presumably in response […]
Voters in Houston will decide the fate of the controversial Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) when they go to the polls in November. On August 5, the Houston City Council decided to put the measure on the ballot after the Texas Supreme Court ruled on July 24 that the council had to either repeal the […]
When the Olympian and reality TV star the world knew as Bruce Jenner announced this spring that he identifies as female rather than male, the resulting publicity put a new employment issue into focus: Controversy surrounding gender identity is more than fodder for reality TV. It also poses workplace discrimination questions as well as practical […]
by Ryan B. Frazier The legal landscape related to sexual orientation and gender identity has been shifting in recent years. The impact of same-sex marriage on employers and other topics involving homosexual employees and their partners have been featured in previous issues of this newsletter. Recent lawsuits and statements by key governmental officials have now […]
by Geoffrey D. Rieder Significant expansion of the antidiscrimination protections afforded to members of the LGBT community was accomplished in 2014 through executive action by President Barack Obama, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the attorney general (AG). The push for more protection of LGBT employees culminated in two lawsuits in which the Equal […]
by Leslie A. Sammon Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits workplace discrimination by all private employers, state and local governments, and educational institutions with 15 or more employees. We are all familiar with Title VII’s prohibition against sex discrimination in the workplace. In recent years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), […]
The final rule implementing President Barack Obama’s Executive Order prohibiting federal contractors from discriminating against employees and applicants based on sexual orientation and gender identity has been published in the December 9 Federal Register. The rule implements Executive Order 13672, which Obama signed on July 21. The order directed the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) […]
by Lauren Moak Russell We have addressed the issue of gender identity discrimination several times. As transgender individuals enter the mainstream of popular culture and employees become more comfortable disclosing their gender identity, employers can expect to see this issue arise with increasing frequency. The following is some guidance on how to stay out of […]