In a unanimous decision due to be published on May 15, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that employers can be held liable for failing to protect employees from harassment based upon sexual orientation. In Patino v. Birken Manufacturing Company, a former employee of the jet engine component maker Birken Manufacturing, Co. accused the company of… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Discrimination
Subscribe to Discrimination RSS FeedEEOC Says That Criminal Screens Must Be Job-Related
Posted in Discrimination, EEOCYesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued ”Updated Enforcement Guidance,” reminding employers that screen applicants’ criminal backgrounds that they must prove that any use of information acquired through such screens is job-related to avoid potential discrimination suits. The Enforcement Guidance states that an employer accused of violating Title VII will have to carry the burden of proving… Continue Reading
“Illegal” job interview questions?
Posted in DiscriminationRecent blog posts highlight the general confusion employers still have regarding the types of questions they may legally ask during a job interview. For example, a recent CBS MoneyWatch post asserted that there are many topics which employers are not “legally allowed” to address in an interview, including race, sex, religion, marital status and age,… Continue Reading
EEOC – 2011 A Record Year
Posted in Discrimination, EEOCThis week, the EEOC released its annual Performance & Accountability Report for its fiscal 2011 year (ending September 30, 2011). In what may come as no surprise in a bad economy, where unemployment is high and more and more employees are being laid off, the EEOC reported that in 2011, it received almost 100,000 new charges of discrimination (99,947, to be exact).
California Enacts Two Trans Rights Bills
Posted in Discrimination, Legislation, State LawLast week, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Gender Non-Discrimination Act (AB 887), which changes the language of the state anti-discrimination law to specifically include gender, gender identity and gender expression as enumerated protected categories. The governor also signed into law the Vital Statistics Modernization Act (AB 433), which streamlines the process by which transgender individuals may correct the gender marker on their birth certificates.
Seventh Circuit Allows Supervisor to be Comparator of Plaintiff in Discriminatory Discharge Case
Posted in DiscriminationIn Rodgers v. White (No. 10-3916), decided on September 2nd, the Seventh Circuit reached the unusual result of allowing a plaintiff to use his supervisor as a comparator in a comparative discipline case alleging race discrimination. The result is important because the Seventh Circuit had previously indicated in several cases that supervisors are typically poor… Continue Reading
New York City Adopts More Stringent Standard for Showing “Undue Hardship”
Posted in DiscriminationNew York City has adopted a new, higher standard that employers must meet if they decline to accommodate an employee’s religious observance or practice on the grounds that the accommodation would constitute an “undue hardship.” On August 30, 2011, Mayor Bloomberg signed Local Law 54, which amended the definition of undue hardship in the New York… Continue Reading
Arizona Must Continue Offering Benefits to Same-Sex Partners of State Employees
Posted in Benefits, Constitution, Discrimination, Legislation, State LawLast Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit upheld an injunction that blocked an Arizona law that would have eliminated health care benefits for same-sex partners of state employees. Before 2008, health insurance benefits for dependents of Arizona state employees were available only to the spouses and children of those employees. In April of 2008, then-Governor Janet Napolitano implemented… Continue Reading
Connecticut Becomes 15th State to Ban Discrimination Against Transgender Employees
Posted in DiscriminationFifteen states prohibit discrimination against transgender people in the workplace now that Connecticut has added gender identity and expression to its existing anti-discrimination law. Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy signed the legislation (HB-6599 or “An Act Concerning Discrimination“) earlier this month, and it becomes effective October 1, 2011. The new law defines gender identity and expression as ”a person’s gender-related identity, appearance or behavior, whether or not that gender-related… Continue Reading
Nevada outlaws job discrimination against transgender individuals
Posted in DiscriminationNevada is the 14th state to make it illegal for employers to discriminate against transgender people in the workplace. On Tuesday, May 24, Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval signed into law AB211, which adds gender identity and expression to the State’s existing anti-discrimination statute. “Gender identity or expression” is defined by the statute as “a gender-related identity, appearance, expression or… Continue Reading
The Unemployed: A New Protected Group? New Jersey Bans Hiring Bias Against The Unemployed In Employer Want-Ads And The EEOC Is Watching
Posted in Discrimination, State LawBeginning June 1, 2011, New Jersey employers will be prohibited from publishing job advertisements that reflect bias against unemployed individuals. The new law, N.J.S.A §§ 34:8B-1, -2, prohibits employers, directly or through an agent, from knowingly or purposefully publishing (in print or on the Internet) job advertisements stating that: (i) current employment is a qualification for the job;… Continue Reading
The Ever Increasing Size of Class Action Lawsuits
Posted in Discrimination, LitigationRecently, it seems, class action lawsuits against employers are getting bigger. Firms that in representing plaintiffs are targeting companies with class action litigations, in particular lawsuits alleging gender discrimination. These lawsuits allege gender discrimination against a few women combined with evidence designed to show a pattern of discrimination against women throughout the company to create a plaintiff… Continue Reading
Transgender Man Challenges Firing From Male-Only Job
Posted in Discrimination, LitigationA job discrimination suit recently brought under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”) challenges an employer’s decision to terminate a transgender man from a “male-only” position. Urban Treatment Associates in Camden, New Jersey, hired El’Jai Devoureau as a part-time urine monitor, but terminated him after his supervisor discovered that his assigned sex at birth… Continue Reading
Staub v. Proctor Hospital — Supreme Court Creates Uncertainty for Employers When Taking Adverse Actions Against Members of a Protected Class
Posted in DiscriminationIn Staub v. Proctor Hospital, the Supreme Court confirmed that the “cat’s paw” theory of employer liability is valid with respect to claims under USERRA. In doing so, the Court reversed the Seventh Circuit’s decision that an employer is only liable for the bias of a supervisor if the decisionmaker’s action is “singularly influenced” by the biased… Continue Reading
New Employee Protections Under the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act
Posted in Discrimination, State LawIf your company employs an individual who moonlights on the weekend as a volunteer at the new medical marijuana dispensary, can that individual be terminated for that reason? No, at least not in Arizona. With the passage of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, cardholders under the Act are now protected from discrimination. For more information regarding the new Act… Continue Reading
The Trouble With Background Checking
Posted in DiscriminationAn issue arising more frequently recently concerns the use of background check results in making decisions regarding hiring and termination of employees. Some commentators believe the frequency with which the issue has arisen is a result of more regular use of background checks, the greater relative ease in checking individuals’ employment, credit and criminal history,… Continue Reading
Customer Preference Not Justification for Discrimination
Posted in DiscriminationLaws prohibiting discrimination trump patient preference regarding the race of health care providers, the Seventh Circuit recently ruled in Chaney v. Plainfield Healthcare Center, a case decided July 20, 2010. Brenda Chaney, a black certified nursing assistant (CNA), sued her former employer nursing home where a resident in her unit demanded white-only health… Continue Reading
Perverse Workplace Consequences Of New GINA Rules
Posted in DiscriminationThe EEOC has submitted for final publication its regulations interpreting the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits employers from acquiring or using employees’ genetic information. Should employers, the vast majority of whom have never even considered employees’ genetic information, care? Yes. Assume, during a casual conversation with an employee, a supervisor asks “How are you?”… Continue Reading
Discipline of Employees Who Have Engaged in Protected Activity
Posted in Discrimination, WhistleblowerLots of laws prohibit an employer from firing or taking some other adverse action against an employee based on the employee’s protected conduct, status, or activity. But what happens when you discover an employee’s misconduct only because he or she engaged in protected activity? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently answered… Continue Reading
About Us
Join the Discussion on Facebook
View GT's LinkedIn Profile
Follow GT on Twitter
Subscribe to this blog via RSS