Update to this post:  On December 1, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor filed a notice of appeal in this case.  We will now have to "stay tuned" for a decision by the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

See update to this post.

On August 18, 2016, a U.S. District Court in Michigan ruled that religious rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) trump transgender rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. EEOC v. Harris Funeral Homes, Inc., 2016 WL 4396083 (E.D. Mich., August 18, 2016).

On July 14, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a revised proposed rule about collecting equal-pay data. The biggest difference between the initial proposed rule and the revised proposed rule is the date for filing the required form.

Small business owners are often surprised to learn that the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) provides for very specific architectural standards applicable to the physical locations where businesses operate. These standards are prescribed by the Department of Justice in a manual referred to as the “ADAAG,” or ADA Accessibility Guidelines. They are incredibly detailed, with down-to-the-inch requirements for things such as urinals and toilet paper dispensers. They prescribe the appropriate slope and dimensions of parking spaces, and the type of permissible door handles and locks. They even prescribe the range of appropriate heights for signs and the size of the lettering on signs used at small businesses. There is no funding available to help small businesses meet the requirements of the ADAAG, but violations can be quite costly, as set out below.