Category: Diversity & Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) is an important and ongoing strategy of any HR plan. Ensuring that your company supports hiring, engaging, and retaining diverse workers with varied backgrounds will set your company up for long-term success and an increased bottom line. This topic offers the latest strategies for talent management, key insights from diversity leaders, case studies on D&I in the workplace, and more.

Miss Utah and the Equal Pay Act

by Boyd Byers She didn’t win the crown, but Miss Utah, Marissa Powell, made the most news during the Miss USA pageant this summer. Her bungled response to a question about the gender pay gap went viral and was seen by millions on the Internet. But her response also generated serious discussion about equal pay.  […]

Disability developments: the shape of things to come?

by Christopher J. Pyles Employers often face difficult challenges when they’re called on to determine if employees are “disabled,” especially when considering characteristics like height and weight.  It’s up to you Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a person is considered “disabled” if he has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one […]

Resources available for employers trying to recruit people with disabilities

As October nears, employers may be hearing a lot about how people with disabilities can benefit the workplace. Every year, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) designates October as a time to raise awareness about the value of employing people with disabilities. This year’s theme–“Because We Are EQUAL to the […]

Same-sex couples stand to receive benefits after DOMA provision’s demise

by Scott Evans On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pair of decisions favorable to the gay rights movement. In United States v. Windsor, the Court ruled that same-sex married couples are entitled to federal benefits, and by declining to decide a California case, the Court effectively allowed same-sex marriage in the state. […]

Who is GINA, and why should I care about her?

by Mark Jeffries Those of us in HR and the field of employment law sometimes feel like we’re being force-fed a veritable alphabet soup of federal statutes. We have to mind our p’s and q’s under the FLSA, FMLA, ADA, ADAAA, and ADEA, just to name a few. But there’s a relatively young law that […]

EEOC steps up enforcement of genetic information nondiscrimination

by Roberta Fields Each year, scientific advancements in the field of genetics broaden our understanding of health issues and, specifically, the impact heredity plays on a person’s chances of developing certain medical conditions. Such research has led to more and more genetic tests designed to help people understand their risks for getting cancer, diabetes, heart […]

Transgender employee, sex stereotyping, and a heart attack

by Steven T. Collis Do an employer’s criticisms of a transgender employee’s unruly hair, disheveled clothing, poor writing and speaking skills, and negative client interactions support a discrimination claim based on her failure to conform to a gender stereotype? The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado recently said no to that question. However, […]

Finding a way to drive gender diversity in STEM fields

Most employers would agree that STEM careers—jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—are on the upswing in both numbers and importance. Most also would agree that there are far more men than women in STEM jobs. A 2011 report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, “Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation,” signals a […]

Sex, religion, and retaliation

by Mark I. Schickman I keep waiting for the day that employment discrimination claims disappear. We spend a ton of time training employees to prevent and avoid discriminatory conduct, and the proper behavior is pretty intuitive. So, logically, employment discrimination should have been eradicated, like polio and smallpox. It would be terrible for my business […]

Lessons from an office ‘kick me’ prank

by Robert P. Tinnin, Jr. Q I recently read a newspaper article concerning a lawsuit filed in federal court in Albuquerque by an Intel employee who is suing his employer for race-based harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Coworkers secretly taped a “kick me” sign to his back and then kicked him as others […]