News

The EEOC and the Department of Justice have been stamping out diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federal contractors’ and even private employers’ employment policies. New guidance from the DOJ for federal contractors clarifies how antidiscrimination laws apply to programs or initiatives involving discriminatory practices, including DEI programs.

After the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, it became clear that discriminating against a member of a majority is just like discrimination against a member of a minority group.

Employers who keep detailed personnel records that include objective, fact-driven performance reviews often win discrimination lawsuits soon after the employee sues. Judges hold no desire to become your organization’s HR department and appreciate it when employers have the documentation that backs up their decisions.

Employees are protected from retaliation for reporting discrimination or complaining about other Title VII violations. That’s true even if the employee doesn’t specifically state what kind of discrimination she’s charging, if she has generally been complaining about it over some time.

The only way for an employer to defend an Equal Pay Act lawsuit is to prove that the jobs aren’t substantially similar—or that the pay difference is attributable to some factor other than sex.

Treating military service as a negative factor in any employment decisions can backfire badly. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act makes that illegal.

According to an internal email from the EEOC’s director of field operations, Thomas Colclough, cases will again be processed, with limitations.

If you assign sales territories based even in part on territory demographics that mirror your employee’s protected characteristics, you may end up losing a discrimination lawsuit.

Jonathan Segal, a partner at Duane Morris LLP, tells HR professionals to stay cognizant as he witnesses “an explosion and evolution” of antisemitic views. He advises them to condemn antisemitism as they would other workplace -isms.

You may rightly worry that posting jobs similar to ones that were eliminated could spur a lawsuit. But if you can clearly explain why you decided to reopen positions that were eliminated earlier, courts are unlikely to conclude you intended to discriminate against those who were not retained during the earlier RIF.