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Two More States Enact CROWN Act Laws Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Hair Texture and Style

Louisiana[1] and Massachusetts[2] recently became the latest two states to pass laws on Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair (CROWN Act). CROWN Act laws generally prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles and hair textures that are associated with race or national origin. Currently, eighteen states and numerous municipalities have now enacted laws expanding […]

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Beware of the Use of Artificial Intelligence Recruitment and Hiring Tools

As the use of artificial intelligence recruitment and hiring tools becomes more prevalent, it is important to remember that such processes are subject to anti-discrimination laws. Employers have an obligation to inspect such tools and processes for bias based on any protected class (including disability and age) and should have plans to provide reasonable accommodations […]

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Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Law – Recent Developments

2020 brought employment law practitioners several federal court decisions that proved to be interesting, instructive and, at times, entertaining. Some decisions were victories for employees, and others were victories for employers. No matter the outcome, however, all the opinions continue to shape the employment landscape. Here are summaries of nine of these key cases, along with […]

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Supreme Court Confirms LGBTQ Employees Are Protected Under Title VII

Courts have struggled to uniformly decide whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate because of a person’s “sex,” protects employees from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or transgender status. Specifically, courts have not consistently interpreted Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination “because of . […]

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RB
Former Associate

EEO-1 Deadline: Reporting Wage Information

Pay data reporting is on the way for employers. This is particularly true as momentum around equal pay continues to build. At the federal level, on September 30, 2019, the EEOC is requiring employers to provide additional employment data on EEO-1 reports, including information on pay and hours worked, broken down into 12 pay bands, […]

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EW
Former Partner

The Customer is Not Always Right: Sex Museums and Harassment

New York City’s Museum of Sex (“the Museum”) is facing a lawsuit from a former employee who alleges that the Museum failed to protect her from sexual harassment by her co-workers and the Museum’s patrons.  The plaintiff’s complaint alleges that “[p]atrons and co-workers of the Museum grope its employees, use utterly inappropriate sexual language, and […]

SP
Former Associate

Fort Bend County v. Davis: SCOTUS Bends Employers’ Defense to Title VII Claims, But Doesn’t Break It

On June 3, 2019, the United States Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) unanimously held in Fort Bend County v. Davis that federal courts may be able to hear claims brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) without the complainants having first brought their claims to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission […]

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Supreme Court to Consider Whether Title VII Covers LGBT Bias

On Monday, April 22nd, the U.S. Supreme Court said that it will hear three cases that turn on whether existing civil rights bans on discrimination in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 include discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status. The decision will determine the issue that has […]

The EEOC Releases Enforcement and Litigation Data for Fiscal Year 2018

Yesterday, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its Enforcement and Litigation Data for Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2018, which began October 1, 2017 and ended September 30, 2018. According to the data, the EEOC received 76,418 charges of workplace discrimination in FY 2018, with retaliation the most frequently filed charge, followed by sex, […]

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JL
Partner