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.

DSM-5 offers new opportunities for disability accommodations

by Tobias S. Piering and Andrew Moriarty What do menstrual cramps, temper tantrums, and getting old have in common? They’re all symptoms of new mental health disorders recognized in the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)―a controversial but widely used authority on mental health diagnoses. New disorders Published by […]

Sorting out rights for specific disabilities under the ADA

Employers are accustomed to the basics regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but the details can get tricky especially since employers must navigate the changes brought on by the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), which made it easier for individuals with a range of impairments to qualify for protection under the law. Recently, the Equal […]

What’s on the immigration horizon for employers?

by Elaine Young During the month of May, the Senate Judiciary Committee marked up the comprehensive immigration reform bill that the “Gang of Eight” proposed earlier in the year. In June, we saw the House of Representatives debate over what to add or take away from the bill. Here’s a quick Q&A on how some […]

Growing prevalence of severe food allergies may trigger ADA accommodations

by Holly Jones Late last year, a small private university in Massachusetts entered into a detailed settlement related to accommodating food allergies on campus. The settlement was the first of its type in higher education, but could it have broader implications for employers in general? University under fire for mandatory meal plan program In 2009, […]

OFCCP issues new compensation directive

by Melineh Verma The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) formally rescinded the Bush-era guidance on pay discrimination in February, criticizing the 2006 “Voluntary Guidelines and Compensation Standards” as improperly limiting its ability to conduct full investigations of compensation matters. The OFCCP replaced the 2006 voluntary guidelines with Directive […]

National origin discrimination and race discrimination aren’t the same thing

by Kevin McCormick In a recent decision, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland affirmed the notion that discrimination on the basis of race and discrimination based on national origin are distinct legal claims. Moreover, because 42 USC § 1981 only prohibits discrimination based on race, a claim alleging national origin discrimination under […]

Resources help employers bring veterans to workplace

by Tammy Binford It’ll soon be July 4th, a day many employers mark by declaring a holiday so employees can have time for patriotic celebrations. But many of those people so fervently celebrated – the nation’s veterans – would be happier to be earning a paycheck than to be feted with a parade. Recent statistics […]

Atten-hut! Know your USERRA obligations

by Steve Jones Q What are my obligations to employees who are in the military, are called to serve, and then seek to return to their civilian jobs? What if an employee will be deployed for more than a year? A The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) governs the employment of military […]

Military needs more than a few good men

by Mark Schickman Let’s turn the clock back 50 years to the days before Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Sex discrimination was a constant, and sexual harassment was so prevalent that it wasn’t yet a term of art. The notion that a woman had the right to a workplace free from […]

Title VII verdict upheld for Egyptian-American Muslim employed by BSA

by Rosemary B. Guiltinan The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals  recently upheld a jury verdict in favor of an Egyptian-American Muslim employee of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) who claimed the BSA denied him career advancement opportunities based on his national origin and religion. The court upheld the verdict because the employer failed […]