In a recent decision about an appeal from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) left no question it views sexual orientation discrimination as falling within the protections of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC stated its intent to treat all sexual orientation discrimination as sex discrimination, actionable under Title VII.
What’s going on with the new overtime rule?
Updated on July 28, 2017: On July 26, 2017, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a request for information about the overtime rules. This means the public (both employers and employees) have been invited to comment on the rules. Updated on June
EEO-1 Forms: Out with the New and In with the Old?
As many of you know, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission made significant changes to the Employer Information Report EEO-1 (often called “EEO-1 Report”) last year which are currently in effect. The most significant change imposes new obligati
U.S. House of Representative passes comp time bill
On May 2, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow employees to be compensated for overtime with compensatory time, more often referred to as “comp time.” The bill was introduced by Representative Martha Roby, a Republic
Sexual orientation discrimination may be headed to U.S. Supreme Court
Odd, bizarre, contradictory, based on gossamer-thin distinctions—all these words have been used to describe the state of the law about employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Indeed, the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals has recen
Employers must begin using new I-9 Form
As of January 22, 2017, employers must use the new I-9 Form when onboarding new employees. In using the I-9, make sure you follow these steps: Employee accepts offer of employment. (Applicants do not complete the form when they apply.) Employee compl
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Coauthor: David J. Canupp
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Teachers and other school employees are not allowed to collect unemployment benefits during holidays, spring break, fall break, or summer vacation, because everyone knows that such breaks are an ordinary part of their seasonal work. But what about employees of a private staffing agency who work alongside school employees on a daily basis? Do they get to collect unemployment even though everyone they work with does not?
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June is upon us, and with June comes controversial U.S. Supreme Court decisions. This year, that will include a decision on same-sex marriage. At this time of year, it’s always good to prepare your managers for dealing with coffee-break conversations about these controversial employment-related topics. If they become heated, such conversations can cause hurt feelings. Although those hurt feelings are no big deal from an employment perspective, hostile-work-environment allegations can start with a few words about the latest decision. Employers should be careful to monitor such discussions—especially the ones having to do with rights of same-sex couples or transgender employees.
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Last month, Lanier Ford attorney Lauren Smith wrote about the EEOC’s federal-sector decisions involving application of the anti-discrimination protections of Title VII to transgender employees. The blog post noted that the federal-sector decision was not binding on private employers, but nonetheless gives important insight into the EEOC’s position on this issue.