Discrimination

Expert Analysis

• Eye On Compliance: Service Animal Accommodations

  

  A Michigan federal court's recent ruling in Bennett v. Hurley Medical Center provides guidance on when employee service animals must be permitted in the workplace — a question otherwise lacking clarity under the Americans with Disabilities Act that has emerged as people return to the office post-pandemic, says Lauren Stadler at Wilson Elser.

• Joint Employment Mediation Sessions Are Worth The Work

  

  Despite the recent trend away from joint mediation in employment disputes, and the prevailing belief that putting both parties in the same room is only a recipe for lost ground, face-to-face sessions can be valuable tools for moving toward win-win resolutions when planned with certain considerations in mind, says Jonathan Andrews at Signature Resolution.

• 3rd Circ. Harassment Ruling Supports Proxy Liability Theory

  

  The Third Circuit's recent decision in O'Brien v. Middle East Forum, endorsing the proxy theory of liability under Title VII for the first time, aligns the court with multiple other circuits and demonstrates that no one is above workplace prohibitions on harassment, says Kathryn Brown at Duane Morris.

• What Employers Need To Know About New Breastfeeding Law

  

  The recently enacted federal PUMP Act expands employers' existing obligations to provide breaks and space for certain employees to express breast milk, so employers should review the requirements and take steps to ensure that workers' rights are protected, say Sara Abarbanel and Katelynn Williams at Foley & Lardner.

• Water Cooler Talk: Termination Lessons From 'WeCrashed'

  

  Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Fulton Bank’s Allison Snyder about how the show “WeCrashed” highlights pitfalls companies should avoid when terminating workers, even when the employment is at will.

• Whole Foods Win Shows Workplace Rules Can Shield Cos.

  

  In Kinzer v. Whole Foods Market, a Massachusetts federal judge recently ruled against employees alleging they faced retaliation for wearing Black Lives Matter masks to work, demonstrating that carefully written and universally applied workplace policies can protect employers from Title VII discrimination claims, says Elizabeth Johnston at Verrill Dana.

• Disability Reprisal Ruling Sets Flawed Standard Of Proof

  

  The U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board's flawed analysis in Pridgen v. Office of Management and Budget, which held a federal ex-employee must show she was fired solely in retaliation for a prior discrimination complaint, relies on a deeply mistaken interpretation of how labor laws and the U.S. Supreme Court apply the "but-for" causation standard to reprisal claims, says George Chuzi at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

• New Rulings Show Job Duties Crucial To Equal Pay Act Claims

  

  Two recent decisions from the Fourth and Tenth Circuits emphasize that it is an employee's actual responsibilities, and not just their job title, that are critical to a pay discrimination claim under the Equal Pay Act and can offer some lessons for employers in avoiding and defending these claims, say Fiona Ong and Lindsey White at Shawe Rosenthal.

• AI Bias Panel Shows EEOC Should Ditch Four-Fifths Rule

  

  The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission should respond to a January expert panel's criticism of EEOC adverse impact tests by abolishing the four-fifths rule, a move that would endorse the superior methods established by case law and prevent artificial intelligence vendors from using bad policy to dodge potential Title VII claims, say Christine Webber and Samantha Gerleman at Cohen Milstein.

• Tips For Handling Employee Pay Scale Asks As Laws Expand

  

  Due to the increase in pay transparency legislation, companies are being forced to get comfortable with pay-related discussions with their employees, and there are best practices employers can apply to ensure compliance with new laws and address the challenging questions that may follow, say Maria Stearns and Joanna Blake at Rutan & Tucker.

• The Wide Oversight Implications Of Del. McDonald's Ruling

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court's recent ruling that a McDonald's officer had oversight obligations on par with directors has wide-reaching implications for Delaware corporate law, including precedent for the court to hear sexual harassment claims, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Fielding Remote Work Accommodation Requests Post-COVID

  

  The Eighth Circuit's recent decision in Mobley v. St. Luke's may indicate how a court will analyze whether remote work is a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act in an instance where an employee successfully performed work remotely during the pandemic, providing a road map for employers, says Kenneth Winkler at Berman Fink.

• The Little-Known Rule SEC Used In Sweeping Activision Case

  

  The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent $35 million settlement with Activision Blizzard is based on an aggressive and open-ended interpretation of the disclosure-controls requirement, which companies may not even plausibly be able to comply with, say David Kornblau and Charles Farrell at Dentons.