It seems like a pretty basic and commonsense rule: Pay people equal pay for equal work – regardless of their gender. But if the allegations presented in a just-resolved EEOC lawsuit are true, it’s a rule that not all employees…
Employment Law
Your frontline managers probably know the company has a legal obligation to protect employees from sexual harassment from co-workers. But what if it's a customer crossing the line? Just how far do employers have to go to protect employees from…
The EEOC claims in a newly filed lawsuit that an Idaho employer responded to a bias allegation by telling the reporting employee to “be the bigger person” and then denying her a promotion. The target of the new suit is…
Front and center among a small slew of bombshell U.S. Supreme Court holdings that emerged last week was this one: Race-based admissions systems in higher education are unconstitutional – and thus prohibited. “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it,”…
As you’ve probably heard, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect late last month. The EEOC has since released PWFA guidance to help companies comply with the new law until it issues compliance regs. What you need to…
As we predicted, the U.S. Supreme Court has expanded the duty of employers to provide religious accommodation to employees under Title VII. The high Court did so via a unanimous decision that essentially redefines the concept of “undue hardship” in…
As an HR professional, you know that words matter – a lot. And you’re probably mindful of how you speak about employees and applicants to avoid making a questionable comment. That’s important because the wrong words can make employees feel…
When it comes to accommodation of employee disabilities, you would think employers would learn from others’ mistakes. But it just doesn’t always happen. Here’s a case in point: A North Carolina employer has agreed to pay $42,000 and provide other…
Remember the Georgia employer who dumped 500 pounds of oily pennies on the driveway of a former employee who complained to the DOL after he didn't receive his final paycheck? Did that amount to FLSA retaliation? As you might've guessed,…
Is it possible for music played at work to constitute discrimination based on sex? Yes, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled in a new decision. Music that has “sexually derogatory and violent content, played constantly…
When employers have to make the difficult decision to fire employees, they need to make sure that they do not act in an unlawful manner -- they need to avoid wrongful termination. Generally, employment in the U.S. is “at will,”…
When employers decide to part ways with employees, they often choose the route of offering up a severance agreement. A severance agreement is a contract that provides departing employees with extra benefits (such as a lump sum monetary payment), typically…
The move toward a federal ban on non-compete agreements inched forward with the issuance of a new government memo that says the use of these agreements usually violates the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Jennifer Abruzzo, who is general counsel…
Expressing a hiring preference for a particular gender can be a very dangerous thing for employers to do. Why? Because there is a good chance it will lead to a claim of unlawful discrimination – and that the claim will…
A new NLRB decision means employers must proceed very carefully before disciplining employees who get a little heated while engaging in union activity. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) gives employees the right to form labor organizations and “to engage…
A recent lawsuit provides a case study on what NOT to do when handling employee complaints. How bad was it? A jury awarded an eight-figure payout to a fired worker. To avoid similar mistakes, download our Practical Tools guide on…
