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.

9 Months into 2022, What Are the HR Trends That Are Here to Stay

Over the years, HR teams have changed drastically, and it’s hard to find your next step in today’s competitive labor market and the increasingly hybrid world of work that demands more flexibility than ever. How HR teams find the right talent, hire and onboard remote staff, and process information has undergone a massive transformation, and […]

No Favorable Treatment of ‘Similarly Situated’ Individuals Dooms Gender Discrimination Claim

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination based on certain protected categories (e.g., gender) in any aspect of employment. Discrimination can present itself in the form of “hostile work environment,” “disparate treatment,” or the “disparate impact” of a particular employment practice. Disparate treatment cases involve claims in which an employee alleges […]

Time to Revisit and Update Your COVID-19 Policies

During July 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its COVID-19 workplace guidance. The new standards set forth important updates and clarifications regarding COVID-19 testing, vaccine mandates, and disability and religious accommodations in the workplace. Employers should familiarize themselves with the new guidance and, if necessary, update their existing COVID-19 policies.

Case Study: Employee Fails to Connect Racial Acts to Adverse Action

A factory worker sued her employer, alleging the company discriminated against her based on her race by allowing a hostile work environment to pervade its manufacturing plant. She also claimed it retaliated against her for accusing a coworker of tampering with her machine. Let’s take a look at how the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of […]

3 Ways to Hire From Diverse Demographics, Not Just Recent College Grads

Running a forward-thinking company isn’t possible if you leverage only old-school recruitment methods. Yet that’s exactly what far too many hiring managers do when trying to fill new positions. Too many companies hold the antiquated belief that solely relying on college graduates to fill their talent pipelines will produce long-term fruit—but this thinking needs to […]

Unique Passion Drives Broad and Meaningful Impact

While many of the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) leaders we speak to as part of our ongoing series on DEI executives came into those roles almost fortuitously, our subject for this iteration has been involved in DEI efforts since his college days. Darrell L. Johnson, Jr., MBA, is the manager of diversity and inclusion programs […]

Appellate Court Rules for Employer on Interactive Process Issue

In a recent decision, the Appellate Division, Second Department ruled an employer’s alleged failure to engage in the “interactive process” wasn’t an independent element of a disability discrimination claim under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL). Read on to understand what this decision means for your business and why it is normally always […]

Case Study: Fired Employee with Bad Attitude Fails on Religious Discrimination Claim

A car salesman who was terminated following customer complaints of a bad attitude cannot get to a jury on his religious discrimination claim according to the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Oklahoma employers). The appeals court affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) in […]

Pay Equity Is a Basic Right. Here’s What You Need to Do Next

Like many new grads starting out in their career, I was hungry and eager. I wanted to perform well in my new role, with the hope of reward and recognition for my hard work—the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, if you will. But rather than that pot of gold—be it a […]