Our colleagues Susan Gross Sholinsky, Lauri F. Rasnick, Jennifer Barna, Gretchen Harders, Nathaniel M. Glasser, and Nancy Gunzenhauser Popper of Epstein Becker Green have recently published an Act Now Advisory that will be of interest to our readers: "EEOC Updates Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccination Policies, Including Mandates, Incentives, and Accommodations."
The following is an excerpt:
On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced the release of updated guidance regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, providing welcome ...
Our colleagues Jennifer Barna, Scarlett L. Freeman, and Nathaniel M. Glasser of Epstein Becker Green have a new post on the Workforce Bulletin blog that will be of interest to our readers: "EEOC Updates COVID-19 Guidance on Employer Administered or Mandated Vaccinations."
The following is an excerpt:
As the first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations are being administered across the United States, employers are considering whether to mandate and/or administer the COVID-19 vaccine to employees. On December 16, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or ...
We encourage our readers to visit Workforce Bulletin, the newest blog from our colleagues at Epstein Becker Green (EBG).
Workforce Bulletin will feature a range of cutting-edge issues—such as sexual harassment, diversity and inclusion, pay equity, artificial intelligence in the workplace, cybersecurity, and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on human resources—that are of concern to employers across all industries. EBG's full announcement is here.
Click here to subscribe for email notifications—you’ll receive a confirmation email to click.
(And if you haven't ...
In a major decision sure to provoke controversy and legislative attempts to overrule it, the en banc Seventh Circuit, by a vote of 8 to 4, has held in Kleber v. CareFusion Corp., (No. 17-1206, Jan 23, 2019), that Section 4(a)(2) of the federal Age Discrimination In Employment Act ("ADEA") does not provide rejected external applicants with a cause of action.
The case was brought by Dale Kleber, a 58 year old applicant who applied for a position at CareFusion. The job description allegedly “required applicants to have ‘3 to 7 years (no more than 7 years)’” of relevant experience.
The ...
State attorneys general from Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Michigan, Nebraska, and South Dakota have joined Arkansas (collectively the “States”) in an amicus brief to the Eighth Circuit, urging the court not to join the Seventh Circuit and Second Circuit in interpreting Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination.
The States submitted this brief in a case brought by Mark Horton against Midwest Geriatric Management LLC (“Midwest Geriatric”) in which the plaintiff alleges sexual orientation and ...
In a significant decision on Wednesday, March 6, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in EEOC v. R.G. &. G.R. Harris Funeral Homes that discrimination against a worker on the basis of gender identity or transitioning status constitutes sex discrimination that violates Title VII.
In R.G. & G.R., the funeral home’s owner fired funeral director Aime Stephens after she informed him she intended to begin a gender transition and present herself as a woman at work. In finding gender identity to be covered by Title VII, the Sixth Circuit also upheld the EEOC’s claim that ...
In a move that could have broad national effects on gay rights in the workplace, the Second Circuit ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, deciding in favor of the estate of a deceased skydiving instructor who was allegedly fired for telling a client he was gay.
On Monday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit became the second federal appeals court to rule that Title VII encompasses sexual orientation discrimination in Zarda v. Altitude Express, joining the Seventh Circuit in its decision last year. This ...
Almost ten months into the Trump Administration, the executive and legislative branches have been preoccupied with attempting to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) – but each attempt has thus far proved fruitless. While the debate rages over the continued viability of the ACA, as we stated in our previous Take 5, employers should remember that obligations to comply with Section 1557 (the non-discrimination provision of the ACA) and the final rule implementing that provision remain. But there have been developments regarding which characteristics are ...
In an October 4, 2017 letter to all United States attorneys and heads of federal agencies, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) will no longer interpret Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) to provide employment protections to transgender individuals. This statement reversed former Attorney General Eric Holder’s position, who previously concluded that Title VII does protect transgender individuals from employment discrimination.
Although this letter from the Attorney General is a departure from the ...
When: Thursday, September 14, 2017 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Where: New York Hilton Midtown, 1335 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019
Epstein Becker Green’s Annual Workforce Management Briefing will focus on the latest developments in labor and employment law, including:
- Immigration
- Global Executive Compensation
- Artificial Intelligence
- Internal Cyber Threats
- Pay Equity
- People Analytics in Hiring
- Gig Economy
- Wage and Hour
- Paid and Unpaid Leave
- Trade Secret Misappropriation
- Ethics
We will start the day with two morning Plenary Sessions. The first session is kicked off ...
In a decision impacting the interactive process, the Northern District of Texas held in EEOC v. Methodist Hospitals of Dallas, No. 3:2015-cv-03104 (N.D. Tex. Mar. 9, 2017), that employers do not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by requiring individuals with disabilities that need reassignment as a reasonable accommodation to compete for vacant positions.
Plaintiff, a former patient care technician, requested an accommodation after an on-the-job injury precluded her from performing the required duties of lifting and transporting patients. Though she ...
How will the Trump administration handle discrimination cases involving transgender employees? The EEOC’s pursuit of a sex discrimination claim on behalf of Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman who was terminated by a Michigan funeral home for expressing her intention to dress in conformance with her gender identity, will be an early indicator.
In a brief filed with the Sixth Circuit on January 26, 2017, Stephens argues that the interests of transgender individuals will not be adequately represented under the new administration. Under the Obama administration, the EEOC sued ...
With flu season quickly approaching, health care employers may be considering mandatory influenza vaccinations for their workforce. Mandatory vaccination policies may dramatically increase patient safety, but they may also cause friction within the workforce when employees object on religious grounds to being vaccinated.
While no federal and few state statutes address the legality of enforcing mandatory vaccination policies, the EEOC and private litigants recently have moved this issue forward in the courts. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title ...
On November 4, 2016, the Western District of Pennsylvania held that the “because of sex” provision in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In doing so, the court broke from the recent trend of federal courts that have felt compelled by prior precedent to dismiss sexual orientation discrimination claims.
In EEOC v. Scott Medical Health Center, P.C., the plaintiff (a gay male) alleged that he was subjected to repeated and unwelcome offensive comments regarding his sexual orientation and his relationship with a male ...
Featured on Employment Law This Week: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued new guidance on workplace retaliation.
The EEOC’s final guidance on retaliation includes concrete examples of retaliation issues that the courts have largely agreed upon, as well as expanded definitions of “adverse action” and “causal connection.” The guidance also describes “promising practices” for reducing the possibility of retaliation, including anti-retaliation training and proactive follow-up with potential targets. Retaliation has become the ...
On August 29, 2016, the EEOC issued its final Enforcement Guidance on Retaliation and Related Issues (Guidance) to replace its 1998 Compliance Manual section on retaliation, including tips on ADA interference. The Guidance reflects the Commission’s consideration of feedback received on the proposal from about 60 organizations and individuals following a 30-day public input period that ended February 24, 2016. The changes in the Guidance are in line with the EEOC’s efforts to broaden the conduct that would be deemed retaliatory as well as the concept of causation.
Along with ...
Our colleague Linda B. Celauro, Senior Counsel at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Financial Services Employment Law blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the health care industry: “Seventh Circuit Panel Finds That Title VII Does Not Cover Sexual Orientation Bias.”
Following is an excerpt:
Bound by precedent, on July 28, 2016, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that sexual orientation discrimination is not sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The panel thereby affirmed the decision of the U.S ...
The District of Columbia Office of Human Rights recently partnered with the National LGBTQ Task Force to publish a resource guide, “Valuing Transgender Applicants & Employees: A Best Practices Guide for Employers” (the “Guide”), designed to support employers in creating workplace and hiring policies that prevent discrimination against transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. The guide is meant to lay the framework for building a culture of inclusion in the workplace that goes beyond legal obligations.
The suggested best practices include ensuring ...
Our colleague Frank C. Morris, Jr., attorney at Epstein Becker Green, has a post on the Financial Services Employment Law blog that will be of interest to many of our readers in the health care industry: "New Online Recruiting Accessibility Tool Could Help Forestall ADA Claims by Applicants With Disabilities."
Following is an excerpt:
In recent years, employers have increasingly turned to web based recruiting technologies and online applications. For some potential job applicants, including individuals with disabilities, such as those who are blind or have low vision, online ...
Our colleague Laura A. Stutz has a Retail Employment Law Blog post that will be of interest to many of our health industry readers: “EEOC Implements Nationwide Program to Disclose Employer Position Statements and Supporting Documents.”
Following is an excerpt:
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently implemented nationwide procedures for the release of employer position statements to Charging Parties upon request. The new procedures raise concerns about disclosure by the EEOC of non-public personnel and commercial or financial information ...
Our colleague Nancy L. Gunzenhauser has a Technology Employment Law blog post that will be of interest to many of our health industry readers: “Three States Seek to Bolster Fair Pay Laws.”
Following is an excerpt:
Following on the tails of recent updates in New York and California’s equal pay laws, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California all have bills pending in their state legislatures that would seek to eliminate pay differentials on the basis of sex and other protected categories. …
While states are leading the charge with updates to equal pay laws, the EEOC is also ...
One of the featured stories on Employment Law This Week is the EEOC's recent release of two different guides on the rights of HIV-positive employees.
The first guide outlines employees’ rights under the ADA. The second guide is for health care providers with HIV-positive patients. It encourages them to advocate for their patients' rights in the workplace. These documents are also valuable resources employers. Among other takeaways, they break down the process involved in a request for reasonable accommodation from an HIV positive employee.
View the episode below or read more ...
In December 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released new guidance for job applicants and employees with HIV infection that is particularly applicable to employers in the health care industry. This guidance is applicable not only to applicants and current employees with HIV infection, but also to physicians and other health care providers who treat individuals with HIV infection to the extent their assistance is requested in obtaining workplace accommodations.
The first publication, “Living with HIV Infection: Your Legal Rights in the Workplace ...
My colleague Nathaniel M. Glasser recently authored Epstein Becker Green’s Take 5 newsletter. In this edition of Take 5, Nathaniel highlights five areas of enforcement that U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) continues to tout publicly and aggressively pursue.
To register for this complimentary webinar, please click here.
I’d like to recommend an upcoming complimentary webinar, “EEOC Wellness Regulations – What Do They Mean for Employer-Sponsored Programs? (April 22, 2015, 12:00 p.m. EDT) presented by my Epstein Becker Green colleagues Frank C. Morris, Jr. and Adam C. Solander.
Below is a description of the webinar:
On April 16, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its long-awaited proposed regulations governing employer-provided wellness programs under the American’s with ...
My colleagues Frank C. Morris, Jr., Adam C. Solander, and August Emil Huelle co-authored a Health Care and Life Sciences Client Alert concerning the EEOC’s proposed amendments to its ADA regulations and it is a topic of interest to many of our readers.
Following is an excerpt:
On April 16, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) released its highly anticipated proposed regulations (to be published in the Federal Register on April 20, 2015, for notice and comment) setting forth the EEOC’s interpretation of the term “voluntary” as to the ...
We recommend our colleagues’ post on the Retail Labor and Employment Law blog: Three Lawsuits Brought by the U.S. EEOC Challenge Employer Separation Agreements, by Lauri F. Rasnick, Susan Gross Sholinsky, Frank C. Morris Jr., and Nancy L. Gunzenhauser.
Following is an excerpt:
The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC” or “Agency”) has been spending a fair amount of time in recent months challenging the validity and legality of employers’ separation agreements. This is apparently part of the EEOC’s core priorities, including “targeting ...
The April 2013 issue of Take 5 was written by David W. Garland, Chair of Epstein Becker Green's Labor and Employment Steering Committee and a Member of the Firm in the New York and Newark offices.
In it, he summarizes five recent labor and employment actions that employers should consider:
- EEOC Releases Letter Addressing Wellness Programs and Reasonable Accommodation Obligations
- Paying Interns May Not Be Enough to Stave Off Wage and Hour Claims
- House Committee Votes Out Bill Prohibiting NLRB from Acting Without a Quorum
- New York City Human Rights Law Expanded to Prohibit ...
On Friday, November 30, Epstein Becker Green attorneys Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander offered a one-hour webinar titled “The New Wellness Program Regulations, Part of a Webinar Series on the New ACA Implementation Regulations: Employer Impact.”
The webinar discussed:
- the proposed regulations and the impact these regulations could have on your overall wellness strategy
- areas where employer comment is needed
- recent wellness litigation trends
- where EEOC fits in the picture
The audio recording and presentation slides for "The New Wellness Program Regulations ...
On Friday, November 30, Epstein Becker Green attorneys Frank C. Morris, Jr., and Adam C. Solander offered a one-hour webinar titled “The New Wellness Program Regulations, Part of a Webinar Series on the New ACA Implementation Regulations: Employer Impact.” The webinar discussed:
- the proposed regulations and the impact these regulations could have on your overall wellness strategy
- areas where employer comment is needed
- recent wellness litigation trends
- where EEOC fits in the picture
The audio recording and presentation slides for "The New Wellness Program Regulations" ...
Sadly, workplace violence continues to be a topic that many organizations face, especially those in the health care industry. Indeed, as the news reports serve to remind us all, employees and non-employees often take out their aggression and violent acts within the workplace. As the recent attacks at hospitals in Pittsburgh and in Washington, D.C. demonstrate, there remains a high rate of fatal and nonfatal assaults and violent acts committed within the workplace. One of the struggles that employers face is trying to prevent violent conduct by third-party non employees that are ...
Written by: Greta Ravitsky
A Texas hospital has recently been the subject of much media coverage due to its controversial hiring policy that bars overweight applications from consideration. Per the hiring policy, which was instituted last year at the Citizens Medical Center in Victoria, the hospital would only consider potential employees with a body mass index of less than 35. This equates to roughly 210 pounds for someone who is 5’5” tall or 245 pounds for someone 5’10.” In an interview with the Texas Tribune, the hospital’s CEO defended this policy as catering to its ...
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