Ver la versión en español aquí Employers can breathe a sigh of relief: The EEOC’s initiative to collect summary pay and hours worked data in the new EEO-1 form has ended … for now, at least. Just last year, on September 26, 2016, the EEOC announced that the annual EEO-1 reporting process would change for … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí In last week’s blog, I highlighted Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement that he’ll be taking 2 months off work following the birth of his daughter later this year (even though, presumably, he would be entitled to 12 weeks under the FMLA, and 4 months under Facebook’s policy). Well, paternity leave … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Is it prudent for employers to require employees to sign mandatory arbitration agreements? There is no right or wrong answer to that question . . . just a long list of pros and cons. Proponents of mandatory arbitration often focus on factors such as confidentiality, the ability to remove … Continue Reading
techVer la versión en español aquí In January, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) brought suit in a San Francisco administrative court against Google, Inc. to require Google, as a federal contractor, to allow the government to inspect Google’s pay records. While the DOL was demanding various documents regarding employees’ compensation history for compliance purposes, it was clear the underlying reason was … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí We all love factoids-right? So if you are heading out to a New Year’s Eve Party this weekend and need a few icebreakers to get the conversation going, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has come to the rescue. The EEOC recently provided a brief review of its fiscal year … Continue Reading
Salary history is one of the most commonly asked questions on employment applications. Knowing what a prospective employee currently earns or what they’ve earned in the past can provide you with valuable information to guide your decision as to whom ultimately to hire: It allows you to determine whether the candidate is in the same salary … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Transgender Status and the Bathroom Question With North Carolina recently passing a state law which requires a transgender person to use the restroom that matches their sex at birth, the question many Floridians are asking now is: If a person is transgender, or has a gender identity or expression different … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí I am not a fan of reality TV. However, in this reality TV election season, it is hard to tear my eyes (and ears) away from the barbs being exchanged primarily between the Republican candidates. Whether you support him or not, you have to admit that Donald Trump says things … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Once in a while, everyone might feel like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day”, wondering whether we are living the same day at work over and over again. A persistent question, though, is whether everyone is being paid lawfully for doing so. Last Friday, seven years to the day that President … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Walter Matthau and Jill Clayburgh were gifted actors. But the new term of the Supreme Court, which opens today, promises to generate some drama of its own as well. Somewhat lost amid the understandable attention received by the historic same-sex marriage and Obamacare rulings last year were several important Supreme … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Legislative efforts have failed repeatedly at the federal level to add “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of protected classifications under anti-discrimination laws. That has not deterred the EEOC in its quest to protect the LGBT community from employment discrimination. On the heels of the Supreme Court’s … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Title VII, through the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), has expressly prohibited pregnancy discrimination since 1978. Thirteen years later, the Supreme Court, in Johnson Controls, told us that even well-intentioned, but facially discriminatory, gender and pregnancy based employment policies — like Johnson Control’s policy of prohibiting fertile women from working … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Two hours at the gym, a full face of make-up and your best feel-good outfit: that’s how many a girls’ night out begins. But this one ended abruptly when a young woman claims she was turned away from a bar whose owner thought she was pregnant. Last month, a … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Women may not yet have achieved equality in the corporate boardroom, but women have broken through the glass ceiling to take-on the CEO position in a handful of the largest U.S. companies, including General Motors (Mary Barra), Xerox (Ursula Burns), Yahoo! (Marissa Mayer), Hewlett-Packard (Meg Whitman), PepsiCo (Indra Nooyi), … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Another sports blunder creates another blogging opportunity. In the 3rd quarter of the Los Angeles Clippers/Cleveland Cavaliers NBA game last Thursday night, the Clippers’ All-Star guard, Chris Paul, received a technical foul after he questioned a rookie referee. The referee happened to be a female, Lauren Holtkamp. Do you … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Title VII does not protect against sexual orientation discrimination (though many state and local laws do). The battle to amend this most prominent of employment laws to protect sexual orientation has been waged for years, unsuccessfully. Yet, seemingly overnight, issues of gender identity or transgender discrimination have leapfrogged to … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Surveys are conducted periodically to compile lists of “best employee benefits.” Those lists have included items such as: free lunch (yes, there is such a thing for some lucky employees); fully-paid insurance premiums; gym membership and fitness classes; flexible schedules, including 4-day workweeks; telecommuting options; transportation subsidies; paid maternity … Continue Reading
Ver la versión en español aquí Title VII and Pregnancy Discrimination Act could protect breastfeeding mothers at work Some women do it in the break room. Other women do it in their office. What about men? Well, they never do it. Pump breast milk, that is. Employers have had the last four years to get … Continue Reading
A little over a year ago we blogged about a Texas federal trial court ruling that Title VII did not cover lactation in the case EEOC v. Houston Funding II, Ltd.. Click here for link to post. Now, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over Texas, has reversed the trial court and … Continue Reading
On May 8, 2013, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) held a meeting with representatives from employers, advocacy groups and insurance providers to discuss issues raised by employee-sponsored wellness programs in the context of the Americans With Disabilities Act and Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act as well as age, national origin, race and sex discrimination. … Continue Reading
As we blogged about in December, the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama) recently found that transgender employees are protected against job discrimination pursuant to the Equal Protection Clause, which only applies to public sector employees. Whether or not the same protection was available under Title VII, which applies … Continue Reading
A federal court in Texas recently rejected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s attempt to bring a Title VII claim on behalf of a worker who claimed she was fired because she wanted to breastfeed at work. Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of gender, pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. The Texas … Continue Reading
The federal appellate court that covers Florida, the Eleventh Circuit, recently decided what lawyers call a case a first impression – a legal issue that has not been previously ruled on by the court. The case is Pereda v. Brookdale Senior Living Communities, Inc., and the issue was whether an employee who is not yet … Continue Reading
Last week, the federal Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (which covers Florida, Georgia and Alabama) ruled in favor of Vandiver Elizabeth Glenn, an employee who was fired after informing her employer, the Georgia Legislature, that she was a transsexual and planned on undergoing a complete gender transformation from male to female. Glenn sued the Georgia … Continue Reading
