As we most recently reported here and here, as of September 30, 2019, employers with 100 or more employees (and federal contractors with 50 or more employees) were required to report to the federal government pay data for 2017 and 2018 for their workforce (known as “Component 2” data), broken down by race/ethnicity, sex, and job … Continue Reading
If you want to push the concept of protection for philosophical belief under the Equality Act 2010 way beyond its sensible limit, here is just the case for you.… Continue Reading
Employers are generally familiar with the complex web of federal and state statutes that prohibit workplace discrimination on grounds including sex, race, color, national origin, religion, genetic information, age, and disability and they are, by and large, vigilant to prohibit explicit forms of discrimination on these protected bases. But rare is the case where direct … Continue Reading
On October 8, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in three employment discrimination cases involving what protection, if any, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – which prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of, among other things, sex – affords against sexual orientation and gender identity-based discrimination. As we previously discussed … Continue Reading
On 25 September, we were joined at our London office by clients and contacts for a discussion on sexual harassment in the workplace, in particular the proposals set out by the UK government in its consultation document. The event was a great success and we are grateful to our panel of high profile speakers for … Continue Reading
Our colleagues Colter Paulson and Justin DiCharia at the Sixth Circuit Appellate Blog (which covers, as you may have guessed, developments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit) authored the post below discussing the Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in a case in which the Court was tasked with deciding whether an employer … Continue Reading
On 29 August, Attorney General Christian Porter announced a package of draft Bills dealing with religious discrimination. They come in the wake of the termination of Israel Folau’s player contract by Rugby Australia for his social media posts vilifying homosexuals and others, although the issue has actually been simmering away on the Government’s agenda for … Continue Reading
Here is a mildly disconcerting decision issued by the Employment Appeal Tribunal about the calculation of compensation for injury to feelings in discrimination cases. Mr Komeng was found by the ET to have been serially and directly discriminated against by his employer, Creative Support Limited, in relation to opportunities for personal and professional development and the … Continue Reading
For the second in our series on sexual harassment in the workplace, we look at how the law as it currently stands protects individuals from sexual harassment by third parties such as visitors and customers.… Continue Reading
In the employment world, some legislative ideas just don’t work. Some have promise initially but don’t survive their first encounter with the real world – take a look at 2001’s Dignity at Work Bill, for example, to all outward appearances a brilliant spoof of a real piece of legislation but clearly written by someone with … Continue Reading
In the lead-up to the close of the Government’s consultation on sexual harassment in the workplace we will be running a series of blogs on the issue, starting with a look at existing legislation, how it works and how it holds employers accountable for sexual harassment in the workplace.… Continue Reading
On August 9, 2019, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed into law the Illinois Workplace Transparency Act (“WTA”), imposing new requirements and modifying existing laws in ways that will impact nearly all Illinois employers – and may be a signal of things to come in other US states. The WTA aims to address concerns raised through … Continue Reading
In recent months we have been privileged to have sitting with us in our Labour & Employment team Anela Lucic, Employment attorney at leading Swiss commercial lawyers Vischer. After an eye-opening glimpse into English employment law and practice, here is Anela’s brief summary of the Swiss position.… Continue Reading
Hot on the heels of a petition for new legislation aimed at preventing sexual harassment in the workplace, the Government has launched its consultation on the matter. The group behind the petition, called “This is Not Working”, is made up of unions, charities and women’s rights groups.… Continue Reading
In all the hoo-hah around the use of NDAs in settlement agreement, no one yet seems to have asked the question of what happens if you sign such an agreement and are then called as witness to the Employment Tribunal anyway. Can you (or your former employer) rely on the NDA as a reason for … Continue Reading
Minnesota Enacts Criminal Penalties for Wage Law Violations Minnesota governor Tim Waltz recently signed legislation that imposes criminal penalties (including felony charges) on employers who engage in “wage theft.” Effective August 1, 2019, employers will be guilty of a felony if they wrongfully withhold an employee’s pay by virtue of underpayment, misclassification, or refusing to … Continue Reading
I gave a talk last week on constructive knowledge of disability, i.e. the point where the employer didn’t actually know its employee was disabled, but is nonetheless held liable because on the facts it ought to have done.… Continue Reading
On April 30, 2019, we reported that the California State Senate had taken steps toward enacting the CROWN Act (Creating a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of “traits historically associated with one’s race, such as hair texture and protective hairstyles.” The bill passed the Assembly on June … Continue Reading
On January 23, 2019, we reported that the Supreme Court had agreed to review a decision from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Ft. Bend County v. Davis, which would answer conclusively whether the pre-filing administrative exhaustion requirement is jurisdictional (meaning that failure to fully exhaust administrative remedies would bar litigation) or non-jurisdictional and thus … Continue Reading
Here is another case about how far doing your God’s bidding in the workplace protects you from disciplinary action by your employer or, put more prosaically, about the relationship between the unfair dismissal regime and your rights to freedom of religion under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.… Continue Reading
Expanding on her previous post on the subject, on May 1, 2019, Law360 published the following expert analysis authored by Squire Patton Boggs labor and employment attorney Melissa Legault. After 11 private conferences during which the U.S. Supreme Court justices debated whether to hear the cases, the Supreme Court granted certiorari[1] in three cases involving the extent of protection — if … Continue Reading
Both New York City and California have recently taken steps to ban hairstyle-based discrimination. On Monday, April 22, 2019, the California State Senate passed the CROWN Act (Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair), which seeks to amend California’s anti-discrimination statute, the California Fair Housing and Employment Act (“FEHA”). The CROWN Act, if … Continue Reading
After considering the petitions at eleven separate private conferences, on April 22, 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in three cases involving the extent of protection provided by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – if any – against employment-based discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. As we … Continue Reading
According to the most recent data from the Center for Disease Control, more than one-third of American adults are obese. A person is considered obese when their weight is higher than what is considered as a healthy weight for a given height. With obesity impacting such a large portion of the American public, employers are … Continue Reading
