The United States Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (found here) providing guidance to field staff regarding the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). We previously summarized the requirements of the PUMP Act in our alert here.
The Field Assistance Bulletin provides detailed guidance on the PUMP Act and includes information and examples as to what employers must do to comply with the new law.… Continue Reading
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and three other federal agencies issued a joint statement vowing to use existing laws to protect employees and the general public from discrimination and bias arising from the use of artificial intelligence (AI). The agencies joining the EEOC in the April 25, 2023, statement include the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division (Division), and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). … Continue Reading
On February 24, 2023 the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York held that a former employee’s arbitration agreement with his former employer was unenforceable under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”) because the former employee’s amended lawsuit included plausible sexual harassment claims. … Continue Reading
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that a disabled Florida resident has standing to sue a Maryland hotel under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), despite that Florida resident (the “plaintiff” ) never intending to stay at the hotel.
In Laufer v. Naranda Hotels, LLC,the plaintiff alleged that Naranda Hotels, LLC (“Naranda”) violated Title III of the ADA because a third-party hotel reservation website did not provide sufficient information regarding the accessibility of Naranda’s hotel rooms.… Continue Reading
On December 29, 2022, as part of the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Spending Bill, President Biden signed into law two pieces of legislation that will benefit pregnancy and nursing mothers – the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act). … Continue Reading
Last week, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission ordered, and the state Independent Regulatory Review Commission approved, safeguards against discrimination for LGBTQ individuals and individuals with traditionally Black hairstyles and textures. Specifically, the regulation expands protections in employment, housing, and public accommodations.
The regulation is consistent with recent Supreme Court and other federal case law holding the term “sex” includes protection based on one’s gender identity and sexual orientation, including being perceived, presumed, or identified by others as having such an affectional or sexual orientation.… Continue Reading
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published a new “Know Your Rights” workplace poster, which replaces the “EEO is the Law” poster and informs employees of their rights to be free from unlawful workplace harassment and discrimination under federal law.
Like the old poster, the new poster summarizes federal law prohibiting job discrimination based on based on race, color, sex (including pregnancy and related conditions, sexual orientation, or gender identity), national origin, religion, age (40 and older), equal pay, disability or genetic information (including family medical history or genetic tests or services), and retaliation for filing a charge, reasonably opposing discrimination, or participating in a discrimination lawsuit, investigation, or proceeding.… Continue Reading
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has rejected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s appeal seeking to overturn the trial court’s decision that Walmart did not violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act when it accommodated all workers injured on the job, but denied all pregnant women a similar accommodation.… Continue Reading
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued proposed regulations under the nondiscrimination provisions of Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The proposed rules restore and augment a number of the nondiscrimination requirements in regulations that were published in 2016, but later stripped away in rules published in 2020.… Continue Reading
Joseph Kennedy coached football at Bremerton High School, a public school in Washington State. After football games, Kennedy led prayers at the 50-yard line among players, coaches, fans, and, sometimes, politicians. The Bremerton School District, believing that Kennedy’s prayers might be coercing students, suspended Kennedy after he continued conducting post-game prayers.… Continue Reading