On April 29, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued final guidance on workplace harassment subject to federal employment discrimination laws. Aptly titled, “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace” (915.064), this guidance addresses how harassment based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information is defined under EEOC-enforced statutes and provides the analysis for determining whether employer liability is established. … Continue Reading
Back to Basics: A Primer on EEO-1 Reporting
October 31, 2023 opens the reporting period for private sector employers and federal contractors who are required to report workplace demographic data on an annual basis to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). These submissions are known as EEO-1 Component 1 reports (“EEO-1 reports”). EEO-1 reports must be submitted by the close of the reporting period on December 5, 2023.… Continue Reading
EEOC Proposes Guidance on Workplace Harassment Enforcement
On October 2, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published its proposed guidance on workplace harassment claims, Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace. The proposal is open for comment through November 1, 2023, in the Federal Register.
Employers will want to prepare for the EEOC’s new standards for employer liability, and review its examples of workplace harassment.… Continue Reading
Supreme Court Heightens Standard for Employers to Deny Religious Accommodations
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a unanimous opinion, authored by Justice Alito, in Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General, 600 U.S. ___ (2023), in which it “clarified” decades-old precedent regarding an employer’s obligation to accommodate the religious beliefs of its employees. The unanimous Court held that, under Title VII, an employer is required to accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs unless doing so would result in substantial increased costs in relation to the conduct of its particular business.… Continue Reading
Federal Agencies Issue Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence in the Workplace
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
Pregnant and Nursing Workers Benefit from Expanded Employment Protections
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
New EEOC Required Workplace Poster
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
EEOC Releases Information On Caregiver Discrimination
On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released several pieces of guidance aimed at addressing discrimination against caregivers, including:
- A technical assistance document entitled “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Caregiver Discrimination Under Federal Employment Discrimination Law”;
- Updated COVID-19 guidance, entitled “What You Should Know,” which explains what may constitute discrimination against employees and job seekers with family caregiving responsibilities; and
- A short video explaining caregiver discrimination in both English and Spanish.
EEOC Updates Technical Assistance Manual To Include COVID-19 as a “Disability”
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
EEOC Updates Technical Assistance Manual To Include COVID-19 Related Retaliation
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.