Articles and Blogs

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently conducted a webinar regarding employment practices amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The EEOC stressed that all equal employment opportunity laws still have to be followed and that the laws enforced by the EEOC don’t interfere with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) or... READ MORE

This week the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued new guidance on how to adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As we discussed here and reiterated in the new EEOC guidance, the ADA and Rehabilitation Act do not interfere with employers following the Centers... READ MORE

This week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) rescinded a nearly 22-year-old policy opposing mandatory arbitration agreements in employment discrimination disputes imposed as a condition of employment. The 1997 Policy In 1997, the EEOC took the position that “agreements that mandate binding arbitration of discrimination claims as a condition of employment are contrary to... READ MORE

In March of this year, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. reinstated the controversial EEO-1 Component 2 pay data reporting requirements. The current reporting deadline is September 30, 2019. The EEO-1 Pay Data Reporting Roller Coaster The EEO-1 is an annual report filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) that has historically collected... READ MORE

On June 12, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit joined the Second, Sixth and Eighth Circuits in determining that without evidence of an underlying physiological disorder, a plaintiff’s weight does not qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). In the Seventh Circuit case Richardson v. Chicago... READ MORE

In an unanimous decision authored by Justice Ginsburg, the U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that Title VII’s charge-filing precondition is not a jurisdictional requirement but instead a mandatory claim-processing rule, which may be forfeited if the party asserting the rule waits too long to raise an objection.[1] This decision emphasizes the importance of timely... READ MORE

The EEO-1 filing website will open in early March. The filing deadline has been extended to May 31, 2019. Both dates were pushed back as a result of the recent, partial federal government shutdown. Luckily for employers, the controversial pay data disclosure requirements remain on indefinite hold, as we previously reported; however, covered employers still... READ MORE

Once again, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) is demonstrating its strong stance against harassment in the workplace. The EEOC recently announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice, allowing for quicker action against state and local government employers in harassment allegations – keep in mind that county hospitals typically fit the definition... READ MORE

As pointed out in prior blog posts—see, for example, this post from 2017 and this 2018 blog post—with the recent #MeToo movement and the sexual harassment allegations that continue to garner media coverage on a national platform, employers across the country should be taking proactive steps to curb sexual harassment and incivility in the... READ MORE

Employers rightfully rejoiced last summer when they learned they would not be required to include pay data on their 2017 EEO-1 report. Indeed, as we reported last August, that new and controversial requirement has been put on hold—perhaps forever. But, covered employers are still required to report workforce race/ethnicity and gender information by job category. The deadline... READ MORE