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What is the EEOC interested in now?

Accommodations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act can look very familiar at first glance. The PWFA requires the same interactive process as the Americans with Disabilities Act and religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The PWFA allows employers to reject specific accommodations if they can demonstrate an undue hardship. The similarity ends there.

We have a comp-time policy, but we’re encountering some pushback from employees. They believe that any time worked over eight hours qualifies for comp time. How should we determine the threshold for comp-time eligibility?

You have workplace rules for a reason, and you can require employees to follow them. If someone breaks your rules or violates your policies, feel free to discipline them. As long as you enforce your rules evenhandedly and impose discipline consistently, courts are unlikely to second-guess your decision to punish employees.

Training provided by other vendors might not stand up to legal scrutiny. And not all outsourced anti-harassment training programs are of equal quality. It’s up to HR to make sure training materials are accurate, reliable and legal. Remember, whether you created the training or outsourced it, your organization is responsible for it.

While family caregiver discrimination is not a new protected category (and no federal law expressly prohibits employment discrimination against caregivers), the FMLA and the ADA specifically protect employees with caregiving responsibilities.

The EEOC has issued new guidance “focused on educating the public about unlawful discrimination related to ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’ in the workplace.” It’s the latest salvo in the Trump administration’s ongoing effort to stamp out DEI initiatives not just in the federal government but also in the private sector.

Tempted to play loose with the overtime rules to save money on labor? Bad idea. You will attract the Department of Labor’s attention.

Most claims of hiring discrimination are sparked by inconsistencies in the interview and selection process. That can include the types of people interviewed, the questions asked and even the length of the interview. That’s why it’s best to inject as much consistency into the interview process as possible.

Almost all managers know they can’t fire someone because they’re Christian, Jewish, Muslim or any other mainstream religion. But Title VII also protects less well-known belief systems. Make sure bosses know that, too.