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Showing 19 posts in U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”).

ADA “Direct Threat” Defense Just Got a Little Easier

April 22, 2015
Posted In ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (“ADAAA”), Adverse Employment Action, Americans with Disabilities Act, EEOC, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)

The rights and protections afforded to those with disabilities by the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) are not without limitations. Accommodations for disabled employees must be reasonable, and the employee must still be able to perform essential job functions with an accommodation. Additionally, the employee’s disability cannot pose a risk to her- or himself or others in the course of job functions if that risk cannot be eliminated or reduced by a reasonable accommodation. This is known as the “direct threat” defense – adverse employment or hiring actions taken against an employee or applicant were done so to mitigate a direct threat to the safety of the employee or others. More >

Vetting Employees via Social Media – Walking the Digital Tightrope

April 20, 2015
Posted In EEOC, Social Media, Social Media Policies, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)

As Comedy Central is discovering with the new host of The Daily Show, Trevor Noah, failure to fully vet an employee’s social media activity can have unexpected consequences. At the same time, an employee’s social media profiles can yield information that may be harmful to employers in the hiring process. There are potential pitfalls to examining an applicant’s social media profiles both too closely and not closely enough, and the lines are difficult to discern. More >

EEOC Consent Decrees are its Most Powerful Enforcement Mechanisms

April 15, 2015
Posted In EEOC, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)

The vast majority of settlements between an employer and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) take the form of a court-approved consent decree. This document is a public record designed to highlight and account for certain wrongs in a way that sidesteps an admission of guilt in favor of the implementation of remedial measures to prevent further unlawful practices. A consent decree includes certain action and reporting mandates that employers must follow, providing the EEOC with the most powerful enforcement tool in its arsenal. More >

The Law of Mandatory Flu Shot Requirements

March 4, 2015
Posted In Civil Rights, EEOC, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)

The issue of whether United States citizens could be compelled to submit to vaccinations has been the subject of litigation since small pox was an epidemic threatening the health and well-being of the country in the early 1900s. In Jacobson v. Massachusetts, citizens challenged a Massachusetts state law requiring all persons over the age of 21 to be vaccinated against small pox. 197 U.S. 11 (1905). They argued that “a compulsory vaccination law is unreasonable, arbitrary and oppressive, and, therefore, hostile to the inherent right of every freeman to care for his own body and health in such way as to him seems best; and that the execution of such a law against one who objects to vaccination, no matter for what reason, is nothing short of an assault upon his person.” Id. at 26. The United States Supreme Court disagreed, finding “a real and substantial relation to the protection of the public health and safety” and noting that “the police power of a State must be held to embrace, at least, such reasonable regulations established directly by legislative enactment as will protect the public health and the public safety.” Id. at 31, 25. The Court did note, however, that this power should not be exercised in such a manner as to be arbitrary or beyond what is necessary for the safety of the public. Id. at 26. More >

blogs-Employment-Law-Blog,updated-enhanced-eeoc-enforcement-guidance-what-does-it-mean-for-employers-and-pregnant-employees

November 25, 2014
Posted In EEOC, Employee Benefits, Employee Handbook, Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Human Resource Department, Maternity Leave, Pregnancy Discrimination Act, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), Young v. UPS

In our previous blog post, we discussed and detailed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the stringent Enforcement Guidelines distributed by the EEOC this summer. On December 3rd, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Young v. United Parcel Service, and decide whether the EEOC interpreted the Pregnancy Discrimination Act correctly in deciding that an employer is “obligated to treat a pregnant employee temporarily unable to perform the functions of her job the same as it treats other employees similarly unable to perform their jobs, whether by providing modified tasks, alternative assignments, leave, or fringe benefits.” More >

The Equal Pay Act—Is Your Business Helping or Hurting the Cause?

March 20, 2013
Posted In Civil Rights, Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

In 1963, when the Equal Pay Act (“Act”) was signed by President Kennedy, women were earning an average of 59 cents on the dollar when compared to men.[1] Today, women earn about 80 cents on the dollar.[2] President Obama addressed the issue of equal pay in his second inaugural address, “[O]ur journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts.” Where does your business stand on the journey to equal pay? Equal pay may not be something that is high on your radar as an employer, but you should always be assessing if your business is compliant with applicable laws and whether employees are being treated fairly. More >

Tags: Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

Discrimination in the Workplace Continued….

August 24, 2012
Posted In Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Employment Non-Discrimination Act ("ENDA"), Hiring and Firing, Human Resource Department, Kentucky Civil Rights Act (“KCRA”), Labor and Pensions ("HELP"), U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

Following up on our blog post from Wednesday, Progress for Transgender Employees Seeking Protection from Discrimination in the Workplace, the topic really isn’t so far removed from what is going on right in our own community.  In late July the Fayette County Board of Education updated the language of their anti-discrimination policy to include gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes.  The decision was approved unanimously and applies to students, teachers and school district employees. This adds Fayette County to the list of approximately six other public school districts that have specific prohibitions for these protected classes.  Gender discrimination is banned by all 174 public school districts in Kentucky. More >

Progress for Transgender Employees Seeking Protection from Discrimination in the Workplace

August 22, 2012
Posted In EEOC, Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Human Resource Department, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), Workplace Discrimination, Harassment and Retaliation

Kentucky currently has no laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  However, since 1999 Louisville-Jefferson County and Lexington-Fayette County and Covington (in 2003) have had local ordinances banning discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations due to sexual orientation.  In June 2008, Governor Steve Beshear reinstated an Executive Order banning discrimination of state employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity.  On April 23, 2012 the EEOC delivered a landmark ruling, in favor of protection against discrimination for transgender people working for the federal government.  With the introduction of HB 188/ SB 69 Statewide Fairness Act and the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act on the horizon, we are prompted to encourage every employer to give fairness policies and procedures a serious review. More >

High School Diploma Requirements, Potential Violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act?

March 22, 2012
Posted In Employment Discrimination Laws, Employment Law, Informal Discussion Letter (“EEOC Letter”), U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”)

Recently, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued an Informal Discussion Letter (“EEOC Letter”)[1] which opined that employers who require high school diplomas as a minimum standard for job applicants, and who often advertise as such, may be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, because they screening out individuals who are unable to graduate because of a learning disability.  Though Informal Discussion Letters give guidance regarding a particular inquiry and are not binding precedent, this letter serves as a wake-up call for employers of skilled and unskilled workers alike, who have long considered a high school diploma requirement to be a minimal, achievable and useful standard to ensure that its workforce possesses basic reading, writing and math skills. More >

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