When a company is undergoing a reorganization or downturn in business, and a mass layoff is being contemplated, there are many urgent concerns competing for management’s immediate attention. But as stressful and hectic as that situation may be, a company must not lose sight of its obligations under the Worker Readjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. The WARN Act requires covered employers (generally, those with at least 100 employees) to provide employees with 60

On September 29, 2016, the EEOC announced that starting on March 31, 2018, certain employers will be required to submit employee pay data to the agency. The data will be used by the EEOC to combat pay discrimination. The new requirement will apply to private employers, including federal contractors and subcontractors, with 100 or more employees. These employers will be required to report aggregate W-2 income of their employees broken down by sex, race, ethnicity, and job grou

October is National Disability Awareness month and a great time to remind employers of the many benefits of hiring a qualified person with a disability. People with disabilities represent the single largest and most diverse minority in the US and are an untapped source of qualified candidates. So why are employers missing out on hiring from such a vast pool of qualified talent? Experts in the field of workplace disability believe it’s because employers are unaware of the rang

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) recently brought suit for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) against a Wisconsin based company for requiring an employee to submit to a medical exam as part of a “wellness program,” and then terminating the employee when she objected to the program.  This suit is the first from the EEOC that directly challenges a wellness program under the ADA. In general, a wellness program offers employees who partici

Now that summer vacation is only a memory, “getting back to business” is the primary objective. As part of this, every owner, CFO and HR professional should assess their company’s compliance with workplace laws, in order to avoid “landmines” that can severely impact the positive bottom line you worked so hard to achieve. The best approach to reducing the exposure to expensive audits and lawsuits is to establish sound business policies and procedures and proactively address so

An employer’s failure to hire a Muslim woman who showed up to her job interview wearing a headscarf was ruled not religious discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, because the applicant never requested religious accommodation, thus failing to provide the notice element for a claim. The Muslim woman filed a complaint with the EEOC, suing Abercrombie & Fitch for religious discrimination and failure to accommodate her religious beliefs in violation of Tit

Earlier this month, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a federal judge has found clothing giant Abercrombie & Fitch liable for religious discrimination when it fired a Muslim employee for wearing her hijab (religious headscarf). According to the lawsuit, filed in 2011, the Muslim teen worked primarily in the stockroom.  At first she was asked to wear headscarves in Hollister colors, which she agreed.  However, in mid-February 2010, she was infor

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, the federal agency tasked with enforcing federal anti discrimination laws, initiated lawsuits against two major Companies.  The EEOC charges that these two companies, Dollar General Corp – the largest small-box discount retailer in the United States, and the U.S. unit of BMW, violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating against black job applicants and employees by subjecting them to onerous criminal backgr

The U.S. Supreme Court recently handed out a long-awaited ruling that should serve as good news for employers. The high court ruled that only someone with the power to take “tangible employment action” against a subordinate can be considered a “supervisor” in Title VII discriminations cases (race, sex, age, religion, disability, etc.), making it more difficult for employees to prevail in job discrimination lawsuits against your organization. By law, employers are typically pr

Please be advised that the EEOC has closed the 2012 reporting database and has reset passwords for all users of the online system “in preparation for the 2013 EEO-1 survey.” What this will mean for any company who files an EEO-1 is that you will need to request a new password by emailing your  company name to e1.lostloginpassword@eeoc.gov or by calling 877-392-4647.  If the certifying official (person who was responsible for submitting the EEO-1data in the past) is not longer

All too often employers let their fears and perceptions guide their actions, and they fail to initiate a dialogue with the employee about their condition.  The type of knee-jerk reaction that Mr. Black experienced when he went back to work often leads to claims of discrimination based on a “perceived” disability.  Both the Americans with Disabilities Act, and many states’ laws, protect employees like Mr. Black who are “regarded as” disabled.  This type of protection was expan