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After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bostock decision in June 2020, which found discrimination because of someone’s transgender status is prohibited under the umbrella of sex discrimination, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance expanding on the practical implications. The guidance highlights one form of harassment that can contribute to creating a hostile work environment […]
Pay equity has become an important issue in California employment law. It is now a concept of both general fairness and discrimination. For example, employers may not ask about prior salary history because it has been linked to discriminatory factors and reliance on it perpetuates that discrimination. Similarly, the California Equal Pay Act (EPA) requires […]
Today, more HR managers and organizations understand the need for diversity and inclusion in the workplace, but we still have a way to go. We must be the change we want to see in the world. This starts with increasing your awareness, respecting one another, listening to one another, and focusing on the power of […]
Although supervisory favoritism toward a paramour may be unfair and ill-advised, it isn’t illegal sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, according to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Washington employers). Facts William Maner worked in a medical research laboratory operated by Dignity Health […]
A female employee wasn’t discriminated against for receiving less compensation than her male coworkers when she voluntarily chose to complete tasks that weren’t required of her, according to the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Nebraska employers), upholding a Nebraska federal district court decision. Facts Barbara Perry, a former employee […]
For movie lovers, February is known for the Academy Awards, the star-studded event where Oscars are handed out and the speeches drag on and on. This year, a documentary on Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s work confronting sex discrimination, titled RBG, is up for Best Documentary. Whether the film wins or loses the Oscar, […]
by Molly DiBianca In a memo issued on October 4, 2017, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions formally declared that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not prohibit discrimination based on transgender status. The memo directly conflicts with the position of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has long argued that […]
by Tammy Binford U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement changing his department’s position on transgender employment discrimination marks a change in the legal landscape, but it doesn’t alter employer obligations under various state and local laws or the position taken by other federal agencies. In an October 4 memo to U.S. attorneys titled “Revised Treatment […]
by Ryan B. Frazier Since the civil rights movement of the 1960s, state and federal laws have been enacted to prohibit employment discrimination against individuals on the basis of their race, ethnicity, age, disability, religion, and gender. Until recently, virtually none of those antidiscrimination laws covered employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. […]
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed an amicus (friend-of-the-court) brief in a case in which an employee claims his employer violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by discriminating against him based on his sexual orientation. The DOJ’s brief asserts that Title VII’s prohibition of sex discrimination does not extend […]