A job candidate allegedly asked to reschedule an interview due to severe menstrual symptoms. She didn’t get the job. But she did get the EEOC’s attention—and a settlement. TL;DR: The EEOC alleged that a national fitness company violated the ADA and Title VII when it rejected a female applicant after…
If you’ve been staring at the words “EEO-1 Component 1” and thinking they sound like a rejected Star Wars droid, you’re not alone. But if you’re an HR pro at a private company with 100+ employees (or a federal contractor with 50+ employees and a contract over $50,000), you’ve got…
A Texas federal court has weighed in on how far the EEOC can go when interpreting Title VII. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go well for the EEOC. TL;DR: A Texas federal court just vacated the parts of the EEOC’s new harassment guidance that deal with gender identity. The judge held…
This week, lawmakers in both the House and Senate reintroduced the Equality Act, a bill that would explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity across numerous areas of federal law. Although the bill has strong Democratic support, it lacks bipartisan backing—and given the political composition of Congress…
Some employers think they’ve found a silver bullet: delegate the tough call to someone else and—boom—problem solved, liability dodged. But as the Ninth Circuit recently reminded us, an “independent” reviewer isn’t a shield if they’re just channeling someone else’s bias. TL;DR: The Ninth Circuit reinstated a discrimination claim after finding…
Employers striving to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have faced stiff headwinds recently from the federal government. The EEOC’s latest release, “What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work,” is more about what employers can’t do than what they can to promote DEI. Underscoring the importance of caution, the…
And Kendrick Lamar and Drake may co-host a TED Talk on conflict resolution, the Dallas Cowboys may win the Super Bowl next year, and a job applicant may answer the “What’s your biggest weakness?” question honestly. Let’s talk about why training on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is unlikely to…
For several weeks, employment law and HR professionals have been hearing about the term “illegal DEI.” But what did “illegal DEI” actually mean—especially to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal discrimination watchdog? Until recently, that was anyone’s guess. That changed yesterday when the EEOC issued guidance clarifying…
Despite two deciding judges expressing support for DEI, the Fourth Circuit unanimously ruled on Friday that two Executive Orders issued by President Trump, which seek to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from federal grant and contract processes, will remain in effect while legal challenges proceed. The Executive Orders claim…
Recently, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has garnered headlines (and blog posts) over a shift in enforcement priorities to issues such as “anti-American” bias in hiring and defending women’s rights to single-sex spaces, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, in the workplace. To say these were previously on the backburner would be…