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The Employer Handbook BlogYesterday’s United States Supreme Court Equal Pay Act decision — in a limerick.
Edward Lear [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Articles Posted in Sex
Sometimes you can favor women over men for a job; other times it’ll cost you $41,000
Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/softball-baseball-ball-sport-game-372979/)
We’re talkin’ softball. Continue reading
Will this time be the charm for some workplace bills recently reintroduced in Congress?
David Maiolo [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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There’s a false rumor going around that a female employee slept her way to the top. Can she sue for sexual harassment?
Image Credit: Pixabay.com (https://pixabay.com/en/yada-yada-board-insignificance-1432923/)
Let’s imagine that one of your female co-workers gets promoted. Shortly afterward, some of your male co-workers spread false rumors about how their recently-promoted colleague must have slept her way to the top.
Do you think that: (a) these rumors are gender-based, or (b) based upon false allegations of conduct?
The former could be the lynchpin to a viable sex-based hostile work environment claim. If it’s the latter, i.e., the rumors could have just as quickly been spread about a man, then the hostile work environment claim gets dismissed. Continue reading
Lower court reminds us that LGBT rights remain limited in the Third Circuit, well, except…
Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/en/pride-gay-nyc-new-york-city-flag-2444813/
A few weeks ago, a Pennsylvania federal judge reluctantly ruled in this case that discrimination based on sexual orientation is not unlawful (or you, could say, permissible) under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Continue reading
Litigating against LGBT rights may win one case, but still be bad for business overall.
By Phillips 66 Company – http://hrcpdocctr.phillips66.com/HR_P66_Comm/Benefits/BenefitHighlights.pdf, Public Domain, Link
Among Fortune 500 companies, 91% prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and 83% prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. [Source] But, under federal law, circuit courts remain split as to whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination based on LGBT status.
So, let’s say you’re a Fortune 500 company accused of LGBT discrimination in a jurisdiction in which the law may permit that type of abhorrent behavior.
Do you defend by arguing that the law permits LGBT discrimination? Continue reading
Justice Kavanaugh’s first SCOTUS opinion may speak volumes on how he’ll decide the next big employment case
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
At least as it relates to a big employment case that could be coming down Supreme Court Boulevard in 2019. Continue reading
The woman who worked for a sex-toy store has … wait for it … a sex-plus claim.
Image Credit: http://www.freestockphotos.biz/stockphoto/14050 (nicubunu acquired from OCAL (Website))
On most days, I blog for you, my readers, to educate you on new legal issues and to keep you ahead of the HR-compliance curve.
This is not most days.
Google ends forced arbitration of sexual harassment claims. Should you? Then what?
Google Inc. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The DOJ says that Title VII does not protect transgender employees, and this should not surprise you.
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By Matt Popovich uh (https://unsplash.com/photos/UVe-5ZyDdAE) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
Chris reported yesterday that the U. S. Department of Justice filed this brief with the United States Supreme Court in this case, in which it argues that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the federal employment discrimination law, does not cover discrimination against an individual because of the individual’s gender identity.
Is this a big deal? Yes. Is it a surprise that the DOJ has taken this position? Heck no. Continue reading