The Sixth Circuit’s recent decision in Bivens v. Zep, Inc. set forth a significant departure from circuit precedent regarding employer liability for third-party harassment and signaled a potential opening for other courts to challenge the authority of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidance in this area. On August 8, 2025, the Sixth Circuit … Continue Reading
Since its enactment in 2023, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and its 2024 implementing regulations have drawn a firestorm of criticism from religious and faith-based employers over its employment-related protections for employees seeking or obtaining an abortion. If the recent spate of decisions from within the Fifth Circuit is any indication, the legal tempest … Continue Reading
A New York federal court recently ruled in Cecilia Prichard v. Long Island University that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) must conduct a fulsome investigation of an employee’s allegations of discrimination before authorizing the employee to file a lawsuit in federal court. The decision directly conflicts with decisions issued in the Second, Ninth, … Continue Reading
Data collection for 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 filing opened on May 20, 2025. Employers have until Tuesday, June 24, 2025 to submit their data to the agency. Each year, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) collects workforce data from private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees … Continue Reading
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled on February 20, 2025, in Tennessee v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, that seventeen (17) State attorneys general have standing to challenge the EEOC’s Final Rule interpreting the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (the “PWFA” or “the Act”). In the first federal appellate court decision to consider … Continue Reading
In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, smartwatches and other wearable technology devices have progressed past being a great holiday gift for your family member with the perennial New Year’s resolution to hit the gym and are increasingly prevalent in the workplace. These devices, ranging from smartwatches to powered gloves, can enhance employee productivity and improve … Continue Reading
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which became effective in June 2023, requires covered employers to provide job-related accommodations to employees for work limitations they experience due to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. (See our prior coverage here.) Since the PWFA’s enactment, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued regulations explaining employer obligations … Continue Reading
May 5-11 is National Pet Week. You may be work from home with your constant cuddly companion always nearby, or you may work at one of the growing number of companies offering pet-friendly in-office policies. But if you are or work for one of the many employers with a strict policy against bringing Fluffy or … Continue Reading
For the first time in 25 years, on April 29, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published final guidance on harassment in the workplace, updating the federal workplace guidelines to provide protections for transgender workers related to misgendering and the denial of bathroom access. This new guidance reflects the 2020 U.S Supreme Court’s … Continue Reading
Congress passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) on June 27, 2023. The law requires covered employers—which, in the private sector, includes those with 15 or more employees—to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, unless … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs Labor & Employment Partner Laura Lawless and Summer Associate Esther Gold cover a recent opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit addressing the extent to which sexually offensive music played in the workplace may violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “These tunes are … Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs Intern Ruzanna Mirzoyan discusses the EEOC’s focus on artificial employment tools in employment recruitment and hiring decisions. Job applicants might be surprised to learn that their resume may need to impress an artificial intelligence (“AI”) algorithm before they can score an interview. A significant (and growing) number of employers currently use AI … Continue Reading
Hearing impairment probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about workplace discrimination. In fact, it’s probably not even in the top ten. With hearing impairment affecting about 15% of adults, however, this is a topic that has recently moved its way up the EEOC’s priority list.… Continue Reading
Earlier this year, we reported that Congress amended the Federal Arbitration Act to preclude compulsory binding arbitration of sexual assault and sexual harassment claims. This past week, Congress went a step further, passing the Speak Out Act, S. 4524, which is aimed at prohibiting prospective, pre-dispute non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements that prevent employees from discussing … Continue Reading
On July 12, 2022, the EEOC updated its informal COVID-19 guidance to employers in a number of significant and surprising ways, most of which call for more nuanced assessment of community risk and consideration of evolving public health guidance:… Continue Reading
Many businesses use artificial intelligence (“AI”), algorithms, software, and other forms of technology to make employment-related decisions. Employers now have an array of computer-based tools at their disposal to assist them in hiring employees, monitoring job performance, determining pay or promotions, and establishing the terms and conditions of employment. As such, many employers rely on … Continue Reading
Each year, all private employers that are covered by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and that have 100 or more employees must file EEO-1 Component 1 data, which consists of demographic information – such as race, gender, and ethnicity information – of the employer’s workforce by job category with the U.S. … Continue Reading
On March 14, 2022, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new technical assistance document, “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Caregiver Discrimination Under Federal Employment Discrimination Law,” reminding employers that caregiver obligations continue notwithstanding our gradual return to normal. The 10-page document warns that, even as pandemic conditions change, many employers, schools, and daycare … Continue Reading
This past summer, we reported that President Biden expressed in a speech commemorating the enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that his administration believes “long-haul” COVID may constitute a disability. Unlike mild cases of COVID-19 that resolve in days or weeks, long-haul COVID is marked by chronic symptoms that continue weeks or months … Continue Reading
UPDATE (10/29/21): On October 28, 2021, the EEOC supplemented its updated guidance on religious accommodation from employer vaccine mandates by making public its own internal accommodation request form. The agency explained: “Although the EEOC’s internal forms typically are not made public, it is included here given the extraordinary circumstances facing employers and employees due to the … Continue Reading
Since the start of the pandemic, the EEOC has periodically updated its informal guidance to address emerging topics related to COVID-19, include regarding vaccination, which is top of mind for many U.S. employers. This week, the EEOC updated its informal guidance to address questions regarding COVID-19 vaccination and vaccination incentive programs. Takeaways from the updates … Continue Reading
From our Capital Thinking blog, here are the latest federal employment law developments in in the legislative and executive branches during the week of August 23, 2021. *** This is a weekly post spotlighting labor topics in focus by the US legislative and executive branches during the previous week. In this issue, we cover: COVID-19 Updates Biden … Continue Reading
From our Capital Thinking blog, here are the latest federal employment law developments in in the legislative and executive branches during the week of July 26, 2021. *** This is a weekly post spotlighting labor topics in focus by the US legislative and executive branches during the previous week. In this issue, we cover: US Economy Update … Continue Reading
From our Capital Thinking blog, here are the latest federal employment law developments in in the legislative and executive branches during the week of June 28, 2021. *** This is a weekly post spotlighting labor topics in focus by the US legislative and executive branches during the previous week. In this issue, we cover: June Jobs Report … Continue Reading
