Tag – EEOC on Employment & Labor Insider | Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

An injunction of the EEOC's 2012 Guidance on use of criminal background information applies only to the State of Texas . . . but all employers might be able to make use of it. Continue Reading ›

EEOC charges were down in FY2017 . . . but don't celebrate just yet

By Robin E. Shea on January 31, 2018Posted in Discrimination, Harassment, Retaliation, Sexual Harassment, Sexual Orientation

After all, Fiscal Year 2017 ended just about the time that #MeToo began. Continue Reading ›

Company settles EEOC pregnancy accommodation suit for $80K

By Robin E. Shea on January 30, 2018Posted in Discrimination, Pregnancy

A residential care provider has settled an EEOC lawsuit alleging failure to accommodate an employee's pregnancy. Continue Reading ›

EEO-1 Reports for 2017 are now being accepted!

By Robin E. Shea on January 25, 2018Posted in Affirmative Action, Discrimination

Employers have until March 31. No comp data required. Continue Reading ›

Catching up: New NLRB chair, starting over, new minimum wages

By Robin E. Shea on January 2, 2018Posted in Labor Relations, Politics, Wage-Hour

I hope everyone's holidays were happy. While I was out . . . Continue Reading ›

Court vacates parts of EEOC wellness rules, effective 1/1/19

By Robin E. Shea on December 21, 2017Posted in Americans with Disabilities Act, Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, GINA

You snooze, you lose, the court said. (In so many words.) Continue Reading ›

Hello, goodbye

By Robin E. Shea on December 15, 2017Posted in Politics

Welcome back to an old friend, and goodbye to one we wish we'd had longer. Continue Reading ›

10 things for which this employment lawyer is thankful in 2017

By Robin E. Shea on November 22, 2017Posted in Affirmative Action, Affirmative Action Edition, ConstangyTV, FLSA, FOCUS, HR, Labor Relations, Politics, Sexual Orientation, Wage-Hour

What are you grateful for this year? Here is my list. Continue Reading ›

Three hot regulatory issues for employers to watch

By Robin E. Shea on November 17, 2017Posted in Discrimination, FLSA, Harassment, Labor Relations, Politics, Protected Concerted Activity

The feds are talking about NLRB-EEOC coordination, an end to collection of compensation data, and an inflation-indexed salary test for the overtime exemption. Here's the scoop. Continue Reading ›

The ADA: Four issues to watch in 2018

By Robin E. Shea on October 7, 2017Posted in Affordable Care Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, GINA, Pregnancy

Last month, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Federal Bar Association about hot topics under the Americans with Disabilities Act with my blogging buddy Bill Goren, proprietor of the Understanding the ADA blog. If you haven’t visited Bill’s blog, you should — he covers all aspects of the ADA, including Titles II and III, as well as the employment provisions (Title I).

Here are four ADA (or ADA-related) areas that employers need to watch in the coming year: Continue Reading ›

Extended medical leave not a “reasonable” accommodation under ADA, court says

September 29, 2017Posted in Americans with Disabilities Act, Discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act, HR

This week, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that a “multimonth leave of absence is beyond the scope of a reasonable accommodation” under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In doing so, the court rejected longstanding guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that a long-term medical leave is a reasonable accommodation when the leave is (1) definite and time-limited (not open ended); (2) requested in advance; and (3) likely to enable the employee to perform the essential job functions on return. Noting that under the EEOC’s position “the length of leave does not matter,” the court characterized it as an “open-ended extension” of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Continue Reading ›

Trump’s EEOC nominations are rocking along – and here’s what we can expect

By Robin E. Shea on September 22, 2017Posted in Americans with Disabilities Act, Discrimination, Equal Pay, Gender Identity Discrimination, Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, GINA, Labor Relations, Politics, Sexual Orientation

With President Trump in office for nine months now, it is hard to believe that none of his people are yet on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The four current Commissioners, including the Acting Chair, Republican Victoria Lipnic, and former Chair Jenny Yang, were all appointed by President Obama.

But that may change soon. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held hearings this week on the nominations of Janet Dhillon for EEOC Chair and Daniel Gade for EEOC Commissioner.

(The Senate confirmation vote for William Emanuel, whose nomination as a Member of the National Labor Relations Board has been pending for quite some time, is expected to take place imminently.)

Here’s what we have learned about Ms. Dhillon and Dr. Gade from this week’s HELP Committee testimony, according to an article in Bloomberg BNA’s Daily Labor Report: Continue Reading ›

LabCorp settles with OFCCP for alleged bias in hiring and compensation

By Cara Yates Crotty on September 14, 2017Posted in Affirmative Action, Discrimination, Equal Pay, Settlements

Laboratory Corporation of America has agreed to pay approximately $200,000 to resolve a matter with Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. According to the Conciliation Agreement between the parties, the OFCCP

found statistically significant adverse impact against females in the selection process for Lab Assistant and that Asians were paid less than similarly situated non-Asian White employees in the Lab Assistant position.

The alleged hiring discrimination resulted in a shortfall of only two females, and the amount of statistical significance was redacted from the Conciliation Agreement posted online by the OFCCP. To resolve this claim, LabCorp will distribute more than $51,000 to the affected class of female applicants. In addition, the company agreed to revise its selection process, “including the criteria used in each step of the hiring process, any application screens, interviews, tests, credit checks, review of criminal history, reference checks, testing, or other selection procedure;” to review and revise the job description for Lab Assistant “to minimize the potential for gender stereotyping”; and to list the minimum requirements for the Lab Assistant position on all job postings.

To resolve the allegations of compensation discrimination, LabCorp will pay almost $150,000 to Asian Lab Assistants who were allegedly paid less than their White counterparts, even after controlling for legitimate, non-discriminatory factors. In addition, the company must conduct its own regression analysis in six months, and if it reveals statistically significant adverse impact against Asians, LabCorp has agreed to increase their salaries.

Of course, LabCorp’s settlement with the agency is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing. Continue Reading ›

Are the OFCCP and the EEOC merging? Signs point to “No.”

By Cara Yates Crotty on September 12, 2017Posted in Affirmative Action, Discrimination

Based on a recent Senate appropriations bill, it appears that the Trump Administration’s plan to merge the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has stalled. The

Senate bill would fund the OFCCP for Fiscal Year 2018 at approximately $103.5 million, which is more than the House’s proposed funding of $94.5 million. Congress would not be proposing funds for the agency if it planned to eliminate it.

This legislative action follows a letter from Acting OFCCP Director Thomas Dowd to the Institute for Workplace Equality on August 24, “acknowledg[ing] that the consolidation proposal includes several challenging transition issues.” Although Mr. Dowd did not expressly state that merger plans were on ice, he noted that any consolidation was unlikely to occur until Fiscal Year 2019 and that the agency would focus on “contemporaneous opportunities to improve effectiveness and efficiency.”

Perhaps Congress is listening to its constituents. The proposed merger was opposed by both civil rights advocacy groups and employer organizations, and my colleague Angelique Lyons cogently summarized the pros and cons here.

We will continue to monitor this issue for further developments. Continue Reading ›

For “Labor Day” (get it?): Three pregnancy cases from the EEOC

By Robin E. Shea on September 1, 2017Posted in Discrimination, Equal Pay, HR, Pregnancy

BREAKING: EEO-1 “pay survey” reporting deadline suspended

By Robin E. Shea on August 29, 2017Posted in Affirmative Action, Discrimination

This just in, from Randel Johnson, Vice President of Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

Members of the Chamber’s Labor Relations and Employee Benefits Committees:

We have just learned that the deadline for compliance with the new EEO-1 form reporting requirement for data on hours and compensation will be stayed indefinitely. According to our sources, [the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the Office of Management and Budget] based their decision on two grounds, one of which was the appeal submitted by the Chamber that highlighted the new form’s problems with cost, utility, and confidentiality. [The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission] will be publishing further details about what actions they will be taking and any future deadlines and timelines in the Federal Register.

This is a victory, not just for the business community, but for common sense in the world of regulations and information collection. As you know, the Chamber was at the forefront throughout the development of the revised form in crafting arguments opposing EEOC’s gross overreach in expanding the existing EEO-1 form to unmanageable proportions without any discernable benefit. . . .

We will provide more details on this important development as they become available.

Hopefully you’ll find this good news as the summer comes to an end!

I was not a fan of this new EEO-1 reporting requirement, so I am happy as a clam. Continue Reading ›