Employment Discrimination

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As an employment attorney, I am, of course, deeply interested in which personal characteristics are protected from discrimination under law, and it is fascinating to see which new characteristics are deemed to warrant such protections. In recent years, CROWN (Create a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Acts have seen success in many states. This past year, Maryland and New Mexico added military status to their respective lists of protected characteristics. But a recent attempt to expand discrimination protections in Britain certainly caught my attention – fox hunters??!!Continue Reading No Discrimination Against… Fox Hunters?

So, in my first week of work at my current law firm, I discovered I was pregnant. Obviously, the timing wasn’t great. And frankly, I was terrified to tell my new bosses that, gosh, in about 8 months, I would need parental leave. (And by the way, the only other female attorney at that time was also pregnant, and due around the same time). But when I finally did, the partners (including the other pregnant attorney) were all incredibly supportive. Which is one of the reasons why, after many years, I’m still here. Continue Reading But The Applicant Didn’t Tell Me They Were Disabled…

As the federal court said, “This is a case about a dental appointment in Qatar, an international romance, national security, and a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. It is also a case about Title VII.” (Really, I could not come up with a better lede myself). And so begins the latest entry in our sporadic series of extreme cases of bad workplace judgment.Continue Reading Extraordinary Workplace Misconduct: With this drill, I thee wed…?

The Olympics are coming! And there were two interesting Olympic-related articles in the New York Times yesterday involving star competitors who “withdrew” (voluntarily?) from their countries’ teams based on some bad behavior. One involved a gold-medal winning equestrienne who was filmed repeatedly whipping a horse, which she characterized as an “error in judgment.” (Um, hitting a horse 24 times in less than a minute – People Magazine had more of the salacious details – seems rather more than a simple error in judgment…). Her decision not to compete makes sense. The other involved the teenaged captain of the Japanese women’s gymnastics team who committed the unspeakable crime of … smoking a cigarette and drinking alcohol. Twice. I’ve gotta say, forcing her to withdraw from the Olympics over common teenaged conduct (even if it is illegal under Japanese law for those under age 20) seems excessively harsh (and undoubtedly devastating to a young woman who likely has spent her entire life training for this opportunity). And there’s a lesson there for employers about imposing discipline. Continue Reading Hey Employers – Let the Punishment Fit the Crime

Last month, many of us took a few moments out of our day to view the solar eclipse (with the proper eyewear, of course – which made me wonder about the workers’ compensation liability for eye injuries incurred from deficient protection during “watch parties” at work – but I digress). As you’ve no doubt heard, there are even some folks who will travel in order to experience “totality.” I’m sure work productivity across the nation took a bit of a hit that day. But what is not ok is to totally blow off a deposition in order to chase the eclipse – which is what happened in a discrimination case.Continue Reading No, the Solar Eclipse Is Not a Good Reason to Skip a Deposition

On April 29, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued its long-promised Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace. The document updates and replaces existing EEOC resources on workplace harassment and unsurprisingly (under this pro-worker administration) takes a very broad approach to the topic. Of particular interest to employers, the EEOC also provides specific direction on what it would consider to be best practices for employers in preventing and addressing workplace harassment, including as to policies, training and investigations.Continue Reading The EEOC’s New Harassment Guidance: What Employers Need to Know

The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, has ruled that adverse employment actions need not be “significant” in order to constitute a violation of Title VII’s prohibition against discrimination. This ruling undercuts decades of court decisions that applied a heightened standard of harm, although recent federal appellate court rulings already showed a trend away from that standard.Continue Reading Supreme Court Lowers the Bar for Title VII Discrimination Claims

On April 15, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a Final Rule and Interpretive Guidance to implement the relatively new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which was enacted by Congress in December of 2022 and which already took effect on June 27, 2023. The Final Rule and Interpretive Guidance provide guidance, with many illustrative examples, on how the EEOC plans to interpret employers’ obligations under the PWFA – and in some cases, expands the obligations beyond even the heightened standards under the Americans with Disabilities Act.Continue Reading The EEOC Releases Onerous Final Rule Implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The Maryland General Assembly’s 2024 session ended at midnight on Monday, April 8. A number of employment bills that were passed will have a significant impact on employers, including another delay to the forthcoming paid family and medical leave insurance (FAMLI) program, a new wage range posting mandate, expanded pay stub notice requirements, and additional discrimination protections, including an expansion of the equal pay law. Employers will also face increased penalties for occupational safety and health violations. Additionally, there was a revision to the law restricting the use of non-compete agreements to make it applicable to certain health care providers and veterinarians.Continue Reading New Employment Laws in Maryland – Changes to Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance, Wage Range Posting Requirements, New Discrimination Protections and More (and a Webinar!)