Diversity Equity and Inclusion

In this podcast episode we cover diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Consumer Financial Services industry. Dee Spagnuolo, a partner in Ballard Spahr’s White Collar Group moderates the discussion, joined by Brian Pedrow, a partner in the firm’s Labor and Employment Group. Dee and Brian are co-leaders of the firm’s DEI Counseling Team.… Continue Reading

On June 30, the Third Circuit ruled that Allegheny Port Authority’s (Port Authority) policy prohibiting political and social adornments on employee uniforms is likely unconstitutional.

In April 2020, Port Authority began requiring its uniformed employees to wear masks at work. When some employees wore masks bearing political or social-protest messages, Port Authority prohibited such masks out of concern they would disrupt the workplace.… Continue Reading

Please join us for the 9th Annual HR Legal Summit, co-sponsored by Ballard Spahr and SEPA SHRM. This year’s HR Legal Summit will be held in the mornings on Thursday, September 30 and Friday, October 1, 2021. We are excited about this year’s virtual conference with cutting edge sessions, top-notch speakers, professional credits, fresh perspectives, career-changing insights, and countless connections!… Continue Reading

Please join us on June 10, 2021 for Ballard Spahr’s annual in-depth program highlighting key issues and developments in labor and employment law from 2020 and 2021. This year’s virtual program will cover the latest state and national legal developments, hot topics related to HR compliance including vaccination challenges, and how HR can be prepared to have a place at the table and make key contributions related to environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) issue. … 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

On March 15, 2021, the FDIC’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) released a Financial Institution Letter regarding diversity self-assessments. In accordance with Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, the FDIC is calling on its supervised institutions with 100 or more employees to submit voluntary self-assessments of their diversity policies and practices.… Continue Reading

President Biden issued a new Executive Order on “Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.” The Executive Order—which he issued on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2021—directs the U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona, to propose policy changes within the next 100 days.… Continue Reading

On March 4th, the SEC sent a very clear signal about one of its chief enforcement priorities by announcing the creation of a Climate and ESG Task Force within the Division of Enforcement. ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. From the labor and employment perspective, the “S” in ESG often relates to diversity, equity and inclusion, human capital development, employee working conditions and whether workers have a voice.… Continue Reading

On February 25, 2021, the House Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets held a hearing entitled, “Climate Change and Social Responsibility: Helping Corporate Boards and Investors Make Decisions for a Sustainable World.”  The hearing invited panelists, including James Andrus, an investment manager for the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), to discuss a variety of topics, including environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosures involving diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) metrics, as well as corporate social accountability.… Continue Reading

It’s no secret that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are at the forefront of the national conversation surrounding social equity.  These same factors are influencing decisions by institutional investors.  A new Ernst & Young survey reports that, when making investment decisions, institutional investors are closely analyzing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the board room, amongst the workforce, and in recruitment initiatives. … Continue Reading