This week President Obama announced that he would make recess appointments to fill vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The move allows the White House to bypass the Senate confirmation process, which promised to be extremely contentious.
The appointments will add two Democratic members to the
Today the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) releases new regulations that will define employers’ "reasonable factors other than age" or "RFOA" defense under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The new regulations would reflect two Supreme Court cases interpreting the RFOA defense: Smith v. City of Jackson (2005) and Meacham v. Knolls Atomic Power Laboratories (2008). Click here
Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that allows the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to continue investigating allegations of employment discrimination, and even to issue subpoenas to employers, after issuing a right-to-sue letter to the employee who filed the initial complaint. Click here to read the Ninth Circuit decision in
As the economy rebounds (we hope) and hiring begins again, employers flying out-of-town job candidates in for interviews will need to be wary of new Transportation Security Administration ("TSA") regulations that require anyone booking air travel to provide the passenger’s date of birth and gender. Employers who are not careful about how they implement this rule may increase their exposure to possible discrimination claims from rejected and disgruntled candidates.
49 C.F.R. § 1540.107(b), part of TSA’s Secure Flight program, requires an individual to provide name (as it appears on the ID to be used at the airport), date of birth (DOB), and gender when “the individual, or a person on the individual’s behalf, makes a reservation for a covered flight.” The purpose of the rule is to reduce the number of 4-year old girls and other "false matches" who accidentally end up on TSA “no fly” lists. While the regulation was enacted in December 2008, airlines have been slow to implement the necessary upgrades to their reservation systems. Some airlines may not be asking for the name, DOB and gender information now, but TSA expects all airlines to be in compliance by early 2010.Continue Reading New TSA Regulations Potential “Gotcha” For Employers Interviewing Out-of-Town Candidates
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) takes effect November 21, 2009. Is your workplace ready? Employers will soon be required to post a notice stating that they do not discriminate on the basis of genetic information, under proposed regulations interpreting GINA.
If you don’t already have one, click here to download the full "EEO is the Law"
The H1N1 virus (aka "swine flu") continues to spread. Is your workplace prepared? Are your policies and procedures legally compliant? In order to help employers, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance for employers titled "Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act." (Click title to download). The EEOC guidance answers
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear a challenge to a Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in a case with similar factual overtones to the Ricci case decided earlier this year. Like Ricci, this case involves a firefighter qualification test that had a disparate impact on black applicants; unlike Ricci
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will in today’s Federal Register publish proposed regulations implementing the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA). The public will have 60 days – or until November 23, 2009 – to submit comments. Click here to read the full text of the proposed regulations.
Congress intended that ADAAA, which took effect
Congress did not intend for the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) to be retroactive, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled yesterday, and applied pre-ADAAA law to dismiss an employment discrimination claim. Click here to read the court’s decision in Lytes v. DC Water and Sewer Authority.
Congress passed the ADAAA in 2008 and the
Recognizing that severance agreements are becoming more and more prevailant in the down economy, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) yesterday issued a new technical assistance document titled Understanding Waivers of Discrimination Claims in Employee Severance Agreements (click on the title to access the document). The new document is intended to help both employers and employees navigate