Tag: diversity

EEOC issues new guidance concerning employment of veterans with disabilities

By Diane M. Pietraszewski The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued two pieces of revised guidance focusing on the employment rights of disabled veterans under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). One of the documents, titled “Veterans and the Americans with Disabilities Act: A Guide for Employers,” is directed at employers. The other document […]

County hammered with $820,000 verdict for not protecting disabled employee

By Michael Futterman and Jaime Touchstone California’s Fourth Appellate District recently upheld an $820,000 harassment verdict against Orange County for failing to stop or prevent nearly eight months of continuous harassment of a disabled corrections officer by county employees. Let’s take a look at the case. Disabled corrections officer harassed online and at work Ralph […]

Ask the Trainer: Language Learning

A: In today’s multicultural workplace and economy, it is important for many employees to become multilingual. With companies of all sizes connecting with colleagues and clients across the globe via Skype, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, language training is playing an increasingly important role, says Michael Schutzler, CEO of Livemocha (www.livemocha.com), which describes itself as the […]

EEOC Issues “Arrest and Conviction Records” Guidance

By Richard Lehr During the past several years, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has increased its focus on employers’ use of background check information, particularly arrest and conviction records. On April 25, the EEOC issued its revised “Enforcement Guidance on Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the […]

Disability Charges and Enforcement on the Rise

Since the enactment of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) in 2009, commentators have been predicting a rise in disability claims. Statistics recently released by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) show that those predictions have come true. In fiscal year 2011, the number of disability discrimination charges filed under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) […]

EEOC Declares that Title VII Protects Transgender Employees

By Heather Knox The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency that interprets and enforces employment discrimination laws, recently considered whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects transgender employees from workplace discrimination. The case involved an employee who claimed she wasn’t hired by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and […]

Veterans Soldiering On Through Tough Job Market

By Tammy Binford The recession has been discouraging to job seekers of all stripes – those with advanced degrees as well as those without higher education, those in specialized fields and those looking for just any kind of work. Certainly job seekers transitioning out of the military aren’t immune to the difficulties posed by the […]

Clash of the Sash: Miss Universe and Transgender Bias

By Kylie Crawford TenBrook Recently, Jenna Talackova was disqualified from the Miss Universe contest for allegedly lying about her gender on her entry form. Talackova, who was born with male genitalia but underwent a sex-change operation, indicated on the form that she is female. (Seriously, if an operation can make someone look like that, I’m […]

Thou Shalt Not Unreasonably Question Employees’ Religious Beliefs

By Mark G. Jeffries Q: If an employee asks for time off based on her religious beliefs, can I legally question her about her religion (e.g., what her religion is and why she needs time off)? A: Yes, you may question an employee about her religious beliefs if you have an objective basis for questioning […]