Yesterday, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated Enforcement Guidance on employer use of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Title VII is the federal statute that prohibits discrimination in the workplace based on race, color, religion,…
Do you know what to do if an employee comes into your office asking for a shift change or some other workplace accommodation because of a sincerely-held religious belief? A short lesson from a recent federal-court decision and a few tips after the jump… * * * In Jackson v.…
The Americans with Disabilities Act explicitly forbids discrimination against those who are actually disabled or “regarded as” disabled. As a NJ court once recognized, “Distinguishing between actual handicaps and perceived handicaps makes no sense.” Indeed, “prejudice in the sense of a judgment or opinion formed before the facts are…
Over the weekend, I read this story by Laura Hibbard at the Huffington Post about a phony job flyer handed out by two men in red blazers posing as Chick-Fil-A employees [link to video] on the campus of New York University. The phony flyer states: Remember Chick-Fil-A is a Christian…
When an employee sues his former employer alleging a religiously hostile work environment, he must prove, among other things, that he was subjected to harassment based on his religion and that the harassment was either severe or pervasive. What do you think? Is the email below from a company General…
Note: The original working title for this post was “Yo! A-Yo! Federal courts in Philly and NYC get all catty and stuff”. I mention this not because it’s a recycled New Yorker headline, but because it puts into context the gratuitous shots I take at NY sports teams sprinkled into…
Religious discrimination claims are skyrocketing. A supervisor at a local shoe store didn’t get the memo. Guess how that turned for him…
Your employee wears a head-covering. The employee’s head-covering is part of her religious practice. You’re not one to interfere with an employee’s religious expressions, but you’re concerned that this head-covering creates a safety risk for both the employee and others. And maybe you run a prison and the head-covering could…
Quick! Name three people with dreadlocks. Easy. Gary Oldman as Drexl Spivey in “True Romance” Jon Favreau as Gutter in “PCU” Bob Marley Of the three, how many practice the Rastafarian religion? How the hell does this relate to employment law..let alone a security job? Find out after the jump……