Harassment

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

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

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 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

Welcome back to Ballard Spahr’s New York Minute.  Below are some of the latest developments impacting employers in the fast-paced and ever-evolving New York market.  Please contact us with questions regarding the topics below or for any other guidance related employment laws covering New York employers.

Electronic Employee Monitoring Law Effective May 7, 2022

Beginning May 7, 2022, New York employers that electronically monitor phones, emails, and/or internet usage (among other sources) will be required to give written notice of that monitoring to new employees upon hiring, and must also post a notice of those monitoring efforts in the workplace.… Continue Reading

President Biden has signed into law the “Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021,” which we previously discussed here. During the signing ceremony, President Biden celebrated the legislation, stating it was a “momentous day for justice and fairness in the workplace.”

What still remains to be seen is how this law will be interpreted and applied.… Continue Reading

The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill aimed at preventing employers from requiring workers to arbitrate sexual harassment and assault claims. The bill will now go to President Biden for his expected signature.

The bill, known as the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021, will amend the Federal Arbitration Act to prohibit enforcement of contract clauses that require arbitration of workplace sexual harassment or assault claims.… Continue Reading