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
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
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
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:
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
A three-judge panel for the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed the lower court’s order denying plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction against Maine’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate requiring healthcare workers to be vaccinated. Plaintiffs in the case had argued that exceptions to the mandate must be permitted for religious objections.… Continue Reading
Today, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) substantially augmented its technical assistance questions and answers related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal equal employment opportunity laws. It also released a new document targeted at employees and job applicants that explains how federal anti-discrimination laws apply during the COVID-19 pandemic.… 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
Employers may be interested in requiring or incentivizing their workforces to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to help curb the potential spread of the virus in the workplace. Before undertaking such a program, employers should stop and think about the legal considerations that will influence how such programs are structured.… Continue Reading