EEOC
EEOC Issues New Guidance on Religious Discrimination and Accommodation of Religious Beliefs
Whenever there is a change in federal administrations, employers must be aware of how various employment laws, rules and regulations will change. One hot topic in employment law, which has seen significant change in recent years, is religious discrimination and accommodation of religious beliefs in the workplace. This issue is pertinent, not only because of…
Read MoreIt’s Time Again for Employers to Ensure Handbook Compliance
It is early in 2021 and already the NLRB has before it ALJ determinations that employee handbook policies conflict with the NLRA. When analyzing employee handbook policies, the Board generally applies the Boeing test, whereby a handbook policy’s potential interference with employee rights under the NLRA is balanced against an employer’s legitimate justifications for the policy, when…
Read MoreEEOC: IHOP Manager Conditioned Leave, Scheduling on Accepting Sexual Advances
A manager at a Frederick, Maryland, IHOP restaurant subjected women, including teen workers, to sexual harassment in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charged in a lawsuit. EEOC said the manager subjected female employees to unwanted advances and touching, sexual comments and intrusive questions about their…
Read MoreEmployers Paid $439M to Resolve EEOC Discrimination Claims in 2020
Employers paid more than $439 million to resolve U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) discrimination allegations. That number includes both private sector and state and local government workplaces during the agency’s 2020 fiscal year, according to a Feb. 26 statement. Retaliation claims constituted more than half of all charges filed with the agency last year, while disability-related claims and…
Read MoreCheck Your Call-In Policies
A recent Third Circuit Court of Appeal decision provides great guidance on what a good call-in policy can look like. In this case the employer, Penn State Health, utilized a call-in policy that required employees to make twocalls when they wanted to request FMLA leave: First, an employee had to call to a designated “call-off” line,…
Read MoreDoctor’s Note Failed to Prove Worker’s Disability, Court Finds
A doctor’s note about a worker’s physical limitations couldn’t prove the worker had a disability because the doctor had not been properly identified as an expert witness, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled (Tesone v. Empire Marketing Strategies, No. 20-1093 (10th Cir., Feb. 5, 2021)). Empire, a marketing company, assigned a worker to…
Read MoreGender Stereotypes Undermine Sexual Harassment Investigations, Study Says
Women who do not conform to societal stereotypes of femininity may experience bias when seeking legal protections against sexual harassment, according to a study published Jan. 14 in the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. In recognizing the barriers to legal rights, it’s crucial to understand misperceptions about victims of sexual harassment, according to the…
Read MoreVirtual Posters – New DOL Guidance on Federally-Mandated Notices in a Virtual Workplace
Recognizing that remote work is here to stay for many employers, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued guidance on how employers can use virtual means to distribute and maintain the various posters required by federal employment laws. Background Several federal laws, including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave Act…
Read MoreEmployers Can Require Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination — With Some Exceptions, EEOC Says
Employers can require proof that employees have received a COVID-19 vaccine — with some exceptions, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) said in Dec. 16 guidance. COVID-19 vaccinations approved by the Food and Drug Administration do not constitute medical examinations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), EEOC said, but certain inquiries could implicate the…
Read MoreWorkers Taking Suboxone, Methadone Protected by ADA, Feds Caution
Workers undergoing methadone, Suboxone or similar addiction treatments are protected from discrimination by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reminded employers Nov. 16, announcing a lawsuit alleging such bias. The commission said it sued an Indiana-based transportation company for refusing to hire an applicant because of her Suboxone treatment for…
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