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Employment Law

Litigation alternatives: While the EEOC is dropping bias cases, other advocates are stepping in

04/04/2025
While the EEOC may not want to move ahead with cases it already filed on behalf of transgender employees, that does not mean employers are free to discriminate based on gender identity. There are still multiple avenues that employees can use to sue over the issue.

Recognize the bright line between harassment and run-of-the-mill personality clashes

03/31/2025
Employees don’t always get along—and you can’t force them to actually like each other. Take solace in the fact that unless workplace animosity creates a truly hostile environment, allegations of discrimination or harassment won’t succeed in court unless an employee can prove that a co-worker targeted him because of protected characteristics such as race, gender, religion or national origin.

Clear violation of your rules? Courts won’t second-guess disciplinary decision

03/28/2025
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.

Review outsourced training to ensure it’s free of risky content

03/28/2025
As an HR professional, you know you must provide anti-harassment training. Otherwise, your employer faces potentially costly liability, because one of the key defenses against harassment lawsuits is the ability to prove you took reasonable steps to prevent harassment and put an end to it if it does occur.

How to prevent family caregiver bias claims

03/28/2025
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.

Never require work during military FMLA leave

03/24/2025
Employers may be tempted to push back against employees’ FMLA military caregiver leave rights, asking them to continue working when they can despite caring for their military family members. That’s an FMLA-interference lawsuit waiting to happen.

Gender pay gap narrows to 85%

03/24/2025
The pay gap between women and men is shrinking—slightly—according to an analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center.

Supreme Court hints it will set one standard for reverse-discrimination cases

03/21/2025
Ames v. Ohio is a reverse-discrimination case—one in which a member of a majority group claims that they were discriminated against because the employer favored a member of a minority group. What the Supreme Court will decide is whether majority group members must overcome additional obstacles before taking their discrimination cases to trial.

Employer’s ‘honest belief’ is enough for FMLA defense

03/19/2025
You are not liable if you fire an employee because you honestly but mistakenly believed they weren’t entitled to FMLA leave. The 4th Circuit said so and the Supreme Court affirmed the 4th Circuit’s decision by turning down the employee’s appeal.

Judge orders reinstatement of fired NLRB member, restoring quorum

03/17/2025
A federal judge on March 6 ruled that President Trump acted unlawfully when he fired National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox in January. Judge Beryle Howell of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered Wilcox’s reinstatement to the board, and she resumed her duties on March 10.