Discrimination

On December 14, 2021, the EEOC updated its COVID-19 Technical Assistance manual Technical Assistance manual to address when employees who contract COVID-19 are covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The ADA generally prohibits discrimination against (1) a person with disability; (2) a person who has a record of impairment; or (3) an employee who is regarded by the covered entity as an individual with a disability.… Continue Reading

On November 17, 2021, the EEOC, as it has done throughout the pandemic, updated its COVID-19 Technical Assistance manual. The additional questions and answers clarify that applicants and current and former employees are protected from relation for exercising EEO rights in connection with COVID-19. The guidance identifies particular examples of protected activity, which employees may engage in without fear of retaliation, including:

  • Filing a charge, complaint, or lawsuit, regardless whether the underlying discrimination allegation is successful or timely.
… Continue Reading

On Monday, as it has done periodically throughout the pandemic, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) updated its now-lengthy technical assistance related to COVID-19. This new guidance comes as U.S. employers increasingly have abandoned encouraging or incentivizing vaccinations for their workforces in favor of vaccine mandates, in an effort to get their employees back to work on site (for those who have been working remotely) and in a determined effort to curb the spread of the disease among those who have been working throughout the pandemic or who are just returning to the workplace.… Continue Reading

On Tuesday, October 5, 2021, Governor Phil Murphy signed legislation expanding state law protection against age discrimination for those employees who are 70 years of age or older.  The legislation amends the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (“NJLAD”) in a several important ways.  First, the amendments remove language from the NJLAD that previously permitted employers to forego hiring individuals or offering them promotions if they were 70 or older.  … Continue Reading

On September 7, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed a lawsuit claiming an employer discriminated against disabled employees by failing to provide workplace accommodations related to COVID-19. Specifically, the EEOC has accused ISS Facility Services Inc. a Denmark-based facilities management company, of unlawfully denying its employee’s reasonable request for an accommodation for her disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), and then firing her for making the request.… Continue Reading

On August 5, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania ruled, in a case of first impression, that the Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Act (“MMA”) permits a private right of action for employees who claim that they were discriminated against or terminated for use of medical marijuana in violation of the MMA.  The court held that such a discharge from employment can form the basis of a claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy.… Continue Reading

As we previously reported here, the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from the Gloucester County, Virginia School Board in a transgender bathroom case. As a result, the underlying opinion from the Fourth Circuit, which aligns with guidance from the Department of Education under the Biden Administration, stays intact.… Continue Reading

Last week the Supreme Court denied certiorari in Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board, a case involving transgendered students and schools’ discriminatory bathroom usage policies. In the case, plaintiff Gavin Grimm attempted to use the boys’ bathrooms but Gloucester High School in Virginia barred him from doing so because he was assigned female at birth.… Continue Reading

June is Pride Month and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued timely guidance on the protections extended to LGBTQIA+ workers under Title VII.

In June 2020, the Supreme Court determined that Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination based on sex extended to sexual orientation and gender identity.  Bostock v. Clayton County was a landmark case with immediate import, as fewer than half of the states had laws protecting LGBTQIA+ workers from employment discrimination.… Continue Reading

The Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education (DOE) made back-to-back announcements regarding the implementation and application of Title IX. On April 5, 2021, the DOJ released a three-page memorandum (the Memorandum) confirming that Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in educational settings, adopting the Supreme Court’s reasoning from the landmark Title VII case, Bostock v.… Continue Reading