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Employment Law

After Groff ruling, how to accommodate religion at work

07/17/2023
On June 29, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in Groff v. DeJoy that employers must accommodate employees’ religious practices and beliefs unless doing so creates an undue hardship. Now, employers must revamp their religious accommodation process or risk litigation.

NLRB moves to ban noncompetes, but options remain

07/17/2023
In a memo to the agency’s regional directors, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced her conclusion that including noncompete agreements in employment and severance agreements violates the National Labor Relations Act.

Keep it Legal: Beware stereotyping ambition

07/14/2023
While we may all like to think we don’t stereotype based on sex, race, nationality or any other protected class, the truth is that we may. And the number of lawsuits alleging that employers made hiring and promotion decisions based on stereotyping should serve as a warning to self-audit for doing just that.

Prepare to pay up if your DEI policy discriminates

07/14/2023
Sometimes, employers are caught between conflicting workplace priorities. Such was recently the case for pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. In an effort to cultivate a more diverse workforce, it wound up discriminating against a protected class: older workers covered by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

Supreme Court begins setting 2023-2024 docket: One employment-law case makes the cut

07/10/2023
Two employment-law cases were considered for the 2023–2024 docket. One of them will be heard, but the justices decided another didn’t make the cut.

Never tell recruiter to screen by protected status

07/07/2023
If you use a third-party recruiter to screen and refer candidates for open positions, remember this: You’re responsible for any discrimination that may occur. Telling the recruiter you don’t want to consider résumés from members of a particular protected status is a big no-no.

Summer’s here and so are new employment laws

07/07/2023
Summertime is often when new employment laws take effect, and this summer is no exception.

Biased bosses: Beware ‘Cat’s Paw’ liability for discriminatory firing

07/07/2023
Under what’s called the Cat’s Paw Theory, employers can’t defend themselves against employment discrimination claims by saying they didn’t know a supervisor was biased.

Beware impact of Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision on DEI programs

07/03/2023
The decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College said two universities’ affirmative action policies lacked sufficient focus and measurable objectives warranting the use of race as admissions criteria and involved their own form of racial stereotyping to make admissions decisions. For employers committed to diversifying their workplaces, the case offers lessons to avoid similar legal challenges.

Supreme Court raises the bar for denying religious accommodations

06/30/2023
In a unanimous opinion, the Supreme Court on June 29 decided that the appropriate standard for rejecting or making a reasonable accommodation for employees’ religious needs is whether granting an accommodation would substantially increase costs in relation to the conduct of the organization’s particular business.