In early April, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit became the first Federal Circuit Court to hold that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination and, therefore, prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). The Seventh Circuit’s decision sides…
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A recent decision issued by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals provides support for employers seeking to avoid broad and seemingly irrelevant Requests for Information by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). While an employer’s response to Requests for Information is usually an avenue to support its defenses, in the rare instance of overreaching or…
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President Donald Trump appointed Victoria Lipnic (“Ms. Lipnic”) as the new Chairwoman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). Ms. Lipnic is not new to the EEOC. She has been an EEOC Commissioner since 2010 and was a President Obama appointee. She has assured the employment community that she will not undo the EEOC’s “pro-employee”…
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As anticipated in light of the split among the Circuits, the Supreme Court agreed to consider whether arbitration agreements in employment contracts may preclude collective pursuit of claims. In a growing trend, employers have included what are effectively class action bans within employment arbitration agreements. The collective action waivers protect employers from the high defense…
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The National Labor Relations Board filed a petition for certiori earlier this month asking the United States Supreme Court to consider the enforceability of class-action waivers in employee arbitration agreements. The arbitration agreements at issue are those that require employees to waive their right to bring or join a class action, instead requiring the employees…
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Last month, in Kimberly Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College, South Bend, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit dismissed Plaintiff Kimberly Hively’s (“Ms. Hively”) lawsuit against her employer for sexual orientation discrimination and harassment under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). Ms. Hively alleged she was denied full-time employment and promotions…
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On July 13, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) proposed additional changes to EEO-1 data reporting requirements, modifying its original proposal from January 2016. The original proposal, intended to enforce the prohibitions on pay discrimination in Title VII, the EPA and Executive Order 11246 regarding Equal Employment Opportunity, required employers to begin reporting pay…
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This week the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals provided greater clarity as to what comments can establish a racially hostile work environment under Title VII. In Mahone v. CSX Transportation, Inc., Case No. 2:14-cv-00535-AKK (June 13, 2016), the Court affirmed the lower court’s grant of summary judgment for the employer finding that that a…
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On May 18, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its final version of the overtime exemption rule applicable to white collar employees. The rule exempts from the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements employees earning above a set salary threshold per year. The new version promulgated by the Department of Labor significantly raises that…
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