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Photo: Rusty Clark via Flickr (CC by 2.0)
Photo: Rusty Clark via Flickr (CC by 2.0)

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court announced that it had decided not to hear the case of Gavin Grimm – the transgender student who sued his school district seeking access to the restroom and locker room facilities that correspond to his gender identity.  The Court’s  change in course followed the Trump Administration’s rescission of an Obama-era Department of Education policy on the issue of bathroom access.  Although Grimm’s suit involves public school students, private employers have been keeping a close eye on the case for any implications it may have on the rights of transgender employees in the workplace.  The answer to that question will have to wait.
Continue Reading The Problem with Pronouns

Photo: Gonzalo Malpartida via Flickr (CC by SA 2.0)
Photo: Gonzalo Malpartida via Flickr (CC by SA 2.0)

One of the most problematic areas for employers is the balancing act which occurs between managing employee productivity and attendance while taking care not to tread on entitlement to Family and Medical Leave (“FMLA”) and Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) protections.  Intermittent and unforeseeable absences are at the top of the list of challenges, and one particularly challenging issue is migraine headaches.

Individuals who suffer from migraines know they are usually 1) unpredictable and 2) debilitating.  They often result in employees calling in at the last minute, leaving work midday or being out for days at a time without notice.
Continue Reading Are Employee Absences Giving You A Headache?

Photo: Mark Goebel via Flickr (CC by 2.0)
Photo: Mark Goebel via Flickr (CC by 2.0)

As we reported in an earlier blog post, employers have been keeping an eye on the ongoing political fights over the rights of transgender persons to use restrooms that correspond to their gender identities.

Yesterday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Education (DOE) issued a joint “Dear Colleague Letter” withdrawing two statements of policy and guidance issued by the Obama Administration relating to transgender students’ access to restroom and locker room facilities.  The prior guidance documents took the position that prohibitions on discrimination “on the basis of sex” under federal law governing education (Title IX), also apply to gender identity, and require schools receiving federal funds to allow transgender students to use the facilities that correspond to their gender identities.  The new letter from the Trump Administration states that the prior guidance did not contain extensive legal analysis, and did not undergo a formal public comment and review process.  The new letter from the DOJ and the DOE also notes that states and local school districts play a primary role in establishing educational policy.
Continue Reading The Latest Battle in the “Bathroom Wars”

On February 3, 2017, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced that it would extend the notice and comment period for its proposed enforcement guidelines on unlawful harassment under EEOC-enforced employment discrimination laws.  The extension, which provides an additional forty (40) days for public input, gives in-house counsel and human resources professionals a good…

Photo: Public Domain
Photo: Public Domain

Typically with an incoming administration there is a waiting period of sorts before changes in pending and certainly existing regulations kick in.  The current administration, however, appears to be working at an accelerated pace toward upending the status quo.  So, it appears time for a quick check-in on where we are and what to expect.

On Inauguration day, White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus Jan. 20 instructed federal agencies to freeze all pending regulations, a move that seems to include a number of labor and employment initiatives that were in the works under the Obama administration.

This type of freeze is not unusual when a new president takes office.  An action of this nature does not necessarily mean that significant changes are coming, but given candidate Trump’s campaign promise to roll back regulation on business, we can at least predict that the administration will be in no rush to move on the pending matters.
Continue Reading Two Weeks Into the Trump Administration: Where are we with Labor and Employment Regulations?

Megyn Kelly
Photo: Robert Deutsch, USA TODAY

Words spoken yesterday morning by Fox News personality Megyn Kelly during an interview by George Stephanopoulos on Good Morning America.  Kelly was asked about the lawsuit filed by her former Fox News colleague Gretchen Carlson against former CEO Roger Ailes and Kelly’s own experiences with Ailes…

Photo Credit: smlp.co.uk via Flickr (CC by 2.0)
Photo Credit: smlp.co.uk via Flickr (CC by 2.0)

In October, the EEOC unveiled its four year Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP).  The SEP provides employers insight into areas the EEOC plans to focus on in the coming years.  This heads-up plan allows companies to take steps to ensure their businesses are

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Open to the PublicEffective October 1, 2016, “places of public accommodation” in Massachusetts are prohibited from discriminating against persons based on their gender identity.  Under this new anti-discrimination law signed by Governor Charlie Baker this summer, places of public accommodation must allow individuals to use or access gender-segregated areas such as bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their…

Co-written by: Jacqueline Botchman, a third year law student at the University of New Hampshire School of Law

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 publicized a revised proposal to expand pay data collection through the Employer Information Report (EEO-1). The proposed revision would require private employers and federal contractors with…

Employers have a new resource document to use when determining when and how to grant employees leave as a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The document, published by the EEOC, is entitled Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The ADAstock-photo-disability-medical-message-background-health-care-poster-design-121187878 applies to employers with 15 or more employees.  It requires…