Soon the name Bostock will join those of Brown (v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas), Miranda (v. Arizona) and Obergefell (v. Hodges) in the annals of US Supreme Court history as the Court on June 15, 2020 issued its decision in the case of Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia. The court decided in an opinion incorporating a trio of cases asking whether Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) status.[1] The Court concluded in a 6-3 opinion that an employer who fires a worker for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Continue Reading US Supreme Court Rules That Title VII Protects Gay and Transgender Employees
Employers Get Green Light for One-on-One Arbitration Clauses in Employment Agreements
In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court has held that employers may enforce arbitration agreements signed by employees that bar class-action lawsuits and require individualized arbitration. In so holding, the Court found that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) instructs courts to enforce the terms of arbitration agreements, including terms requiring one-on-one arbitration proceedings. It also found that the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) says nothing about how legal disputes must be resolved. “Far from conflicting, the Arbitration Act and the NLRA have long enjoyed separate spheres of influence and neither permits this Court to declare the parties’ agreements unlawful,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch for the majority.Continue Reading Employers Get Green Light for One-on-One Arbitration Clauses in Employment Agreements
Supreme Court Expands FLSA Exemptions to Include Auto Dealership Service Advisors
The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that covered employees who work more than forty hours in a week be paid overtime. However, the statute contains a number of exemptions removing certain groups of employees from the law’s protections. These “exempt” employees are not entitled to overtime pay when they work more than forty hours in a week, whereas “non-exempt” employees must be paid at the higher overtime rate for excess hours.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Expands FLSA Exemptions to Include Auto Dealership Service Advisors
US Supreme Court Blocks Transgender Bathroom Ruling
On August 3, 2016, the US Supreme Court voted 5-3 to put on hold a lower federal court ruling that a transgender male student be allowed to use the bathroom of his gender identity.
The Virginia student, who was born a girl and
EEOC Proposes New Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation
As has been the case since 2009, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission again reported that retaliation remained the most frequently filed discrimination charge in fiscal year 2015. With the continued upward trend of these claims, the EEOC has issued new proposed guidance which broadly