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Last month, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC’) unveiled its highly anticipated Enforcement Guidance on Workplace Harassment.

After almost a decade of efforts to update its harassment guidelines, the EEOC’s new guidance delves into topics that are most relevant to the modern workforce. The guidance sets forth the EEOC’s position on its definition of “protected characteristics” and identifies workplace behaviors that rise to the level of harassment. These topics include, for example, the #MeToo movement which swept the nation with well-publicized lawsuits involving sexual harassment and sexual violence and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, where the Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects workers from discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.Continue Reading The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Issues New Guidance Regarding In-Office and Virtual Harassment in the Workplace

On August 11, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published proposed regulations in the Federal Register for implementing the PWFA. The EEOC has invited the public to comment on the proposed regulations during a comment period that will close on October 10, 2023. While the regulations are proposed, PWFA has been in full effect since June 27, 2023.Continue Reading EEOC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)

The United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently published an opinion addressing reassignment of an employee with a disability to a vacant position as a reasonable accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). EEOC v. Methodist Hospital of Dallas.Continue Reading Reassignment as an Accommodation Under the Americans with Disabilities Act – Reasonable or Not

On October 20, 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) unveiled a new version of the “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” poster which updates and replaces the previous “EEO is the Law” poster. This poster also supersedes an October 19, 2022, version of the “Know Your Rights” poster.

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As infections during the worldwide COVID pandemic have waxed and waned, and as vaccinations and new treatments for COVID infection have been introduced, employers have begun to see a substantial increase in the number of employees that have returned to work. That, in turn, has caused many employers to re-evaluate their COVID testing protocols to determine who may return to the office and when.
Continue Reading EEOC Limits Permissible Workplace COVID Testing In Its Most Recent Guidance

Ever since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the promise of an effective vaccine has been held out as a key component to a return to normality. Now, with the Pfizer vaccine approved, and the Moderna vaccine on the path to approval shortly, employers have begun struggling to determine what their legal obligations are towards employees who refuse to be vaccinated. While we have addressed these issues recently in a Dec. 16 webinar, the EEOC issued guidance to employers in the form of a Technical Assistance Bulletin to clarify how employers should address employee objections to vaccination that arise under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act, or the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. While that guidance is not binding upon employers or the Courts, it is nonetheless useful to employers contemplating the legal restrictions that may exist in addressing vaccination in the workplace.
Continue Reading EEOC Issues Technical Assistance Regarding Vaccination and Anti-Discrimination Laws

The EEOC has been regularly updating its Technical Assistance Questions and Answers entitled “What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws.” This guidance is only valid during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, and was most recently updated on September 8, 2020. While the full guidance is worth a thorough read by HR professionals and attorneys, the following summarizes ten key highlights from the EEOC’s guidance:
Continue Reading 10 Things You Should Know About the EEOC’s COVID-19 Guidance