Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
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 Dinita L. James Last July, the nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The focus rightly was on how far we have come as a society in eliminating discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. Close on the heels of that celebration, however, recent […]
by Kaitlin L. Hillenbrand Q One of our employees recently told the HR director that she “prays for death every night.” Is there anything we are legally required to do in response? A A condition that causes an employee to become suicidal may be covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In that case, […]
by Charles S. Plumb On Monday, June 1, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and against Abercrombie & Fitch Stores Inc. in a religious discrimination lawsuit involving a Muslim job applicant at its Tulsa store. In some ways, the Supreme Court’s decision may have the unintended result […]
In a quest for workforce diversity, employers go to great lengths to reach out to people of various races, ethnicities, genders, ages, and backgrounds. But they’re not so likely to reach out to those who have spent time in prison. Yet employers often express a desire to be good corporate citizens that “give back” to […]
by Mary Pivec Employers face a high cost if they are accused of engaging in discriminatory employment verification procedures. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Discrimination (OSC) in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has made it a priority to pursue employers that allegedly misuse or abuse their access […]
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 Joseph Cooper Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination on the basis of national origin in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, and job assignments. Because an employee’s accent or language skills are often associated with her national origin, employment decisions based on those characteristics are scrutinized closely by […]
by Christopher J. Pyles According to newly released statistics from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the state in which the most administrative charges were filed in fiscal year (FY) 2014 was Texas, which had more than 8,000. Where did your state rank? Discrimination by the numbers In February, the EEOC released enforcement and litigation […]
Nobody expects climbing the corporate ladder and earning a top-tier paycheck to be easy for anybody. But an array of statistics shows that fewer women than men get to the top rungs and that accounts for part of the reason women earn less. Statistics showing that women make up half the workforce without achieving half […]