EEOC

Three Key EEO Cases to Watch on the SCOTUS Docket This Term

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The Supreme Court is set to weigh in on several key questions for employers this term related to employee discrimination.  When does an employer have to accommodate a pregnant employee?  How about a job applicant who wears a head scarf in an interview but does not make it clear she is doing so for religious reasons and needs an accommodation?  Can a court decide whether the EEOC has done enough to resolve your case?  Here are three key EEO cases to keep your eye on in the coming months. READ MORE →

EEOC Won’t Get its Prescription Filled at CVS: Case Challenging its Releases Dismissed on Summary Judgment

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On October 7th, a federal district judge granted summary judgment against the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in its lawsuit against CVS. The EEOC had challenged the nation’s largest integrated provider of prescriptions and health-related services for its employee separation agreement. The EEOC’s Chicago office had filed the suit in February, alleging the company’s separation agreement violated its employees’ Title VII rights to communicate with the EEOC and file discrimination charges. READ MORE →

Let’s Talk About Sex: U.S. Department of Labor Targets Transgender & Gender Identity Discrimination

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On Tuesday, August 19, 2014, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a directive to “clarify that existing agency guidance on discrimination on the basis of sex . . . includes discrimination on the bases of gender identity and transgender status.”  This directive follows President Obama’s Executive Order 13672, issued on July 21, 2014, amending existing orders to specifically prohibit federal contractors from discriminating based on gender identity.

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Home Sweet Home: 6th Circuit Rules that Showing up for Work is not Required

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Changes in telecommuting practices may be around the corner for many employers, as the recent 2-1 decision in EEOC v. Ford Motor Co., 2014 FED App. 0082P (6th Cir. 2014) may usher in significant changes in what constitutes a reasonable accommodation for an employee with a disability under the ADA. According to the Sixth Circuit, given the advances in technology, employers need to be more open to telecommuting arrangements and cannot assume that coming to work is always an essential job function. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warns—in an amicus brief filed in early June—that these changes may have a “devastating” effect on employers by allowing employees to choose “where and when” they want to work. READ MORE →

The EEOC Takes Aim, Once Again, at Employers’ Separation Agreements

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On April 30, 2014, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit against a private college, charging for the second time in two months that an employer’s severance agreement was unlawful. The EEOC alleged that CollegeAmerica, Inc.’s Separation and Release Agreements violated federal law by conditioning the receipt of severance payments and benefits on the employee’s promise not to file a charge with, or cooperate in investigations by, the EEOC against CollegeAmerica. READ MORE →

Did the EEOC Try Hard Enough to Resolve Your Case Before Filing Suit?

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March, 2014, three powerful business groups urged the U.S. Supreme Court to consider an important issue at stake for employers in Mach Mining LLC v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission—can courts review the adequacy of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (“EEOC’s”) conciliation efforts prior to filing suit? In Mach Mining, the Seventh Circuit held “no,” although six other circuits to address this issue have acknowledged an employer’s ability to raise failure to conciliate as an affirmative defense. If the Supreme Court grants Mach Mining’s February 25, 2014 petition for review, the ruling could have significant impact for employers facing potential litigation with the EEOC. READ MORE →

EEOC Cut Short for Shortcutting Path to Court – Again

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Last week, the EEOC suffered another major loss when a New York district court found that the EEOC once again shirked its pre-litigation obligations under Title VII. READ MORE →

U.S. Supreme Court Adopts a Narrow Definition of a Supervisor in Harassment Claims

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Resolving a split among the circuits, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a “supervisor” for Title VII harassment liability is limited to those who have the power to take a tangible employment action against the alleged victim (e.g., hire, fire, demote, promote, transfer, or discipline). Merely overseeing and directing the alleged victim’s daily work is insufficient to meet this heightened standard.   READ MORE →

The EEOC Aggressively Pursues Criminal Background Check Policies

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On June 11, 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) filed two separate lawsuits against Dollar General and BMW Manufacturing Co. LLC, accusing each company of discriminating against Black job applicants through the improper use of criminal background screens. The aggressive positions taken by the EEOC in these cases demonstrate the agency means business with respect to cracking down on criminal background check policies that it feels are not consistent with its April 25, 2012 enforcement guidance on the use of criminal conviction and arrest records in employment decisions. The lawsuits also underscore the importance of reviewing existing policies in light of the EEOC’s emphasis on this issue.

For decades, the EEOC has taken the position that criminal background check policies pose a particular threat of adverse impact discrimination against Black and Hispanic job applicants in light of statistics showing that they are convicted at a rate disproportionally greater than their representation in the population. The agency’s first written policy guidance on the use of criminal background screens, published in 1987, explains that “the Commission has held and continues to hold that [criminal background check policies are] unlawful under Title VII in the absence of a justifying business necessity.” In April 2012, the EEOC issued new guidance on the topic (click here to read our April 30, 2012 blog entry on the EEOC’s guidance). Technically, the new guidance did not establish new rules. It undoubtedly illustrates, however, the increased scrutiny under which EEOC is reviewing criminal background check policies such as those at issue in the Dollar General and BMW lawsuits. READ MORE →

Prisoner 24601 May Report For Duty, Says the EEOC

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Can the EEOC require employers to hire convicted criminals? Last April, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a policy guideline that calls into question the extent to which employers can incorporate a check of criminal records into a hiring decision without risking legal liability.[1]  READ MORE →