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Clearing Up Gender Identity and Discrimination

By Joan Farrell, JD, Senior Legal Editor at BLR® Today we’ll hear from Joan Farrell, JD, senior legal editor, concerning the complex and often changing laws involving gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination. In New York City, as in many large cities and several states, employers are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of gender […]

Before you board a plane to Canada: Don’t forget your eTA … but no enforcement yet

by Gilda Villaran As of March 15, many travelers were supposed to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) before flying to Canada. However, according to a communication issued by Immigration Canada on March 3, while travelers are still expected to apply for an eTA (where one is required), the obligation to actually produce the eTA […]

Unconscious bias: Employers learning how to fight problems they don’t see

Efforts to create more diverse workplaces have landed on many employers’ radar screens in recent years. The tech industry, notably, has been exposed as being overwhelmingly male and white, leading some of those influential employers to do some soul searching. They and employers in an array of other fields have devised programs resulting in improvement, […]

Equal pay issues gaining attention

by Gesina (Ena) M. Seiler The concept of equal pay for equal work is receiving attention from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), President Barack Obama, and the 2016 candidates for president. That means there’s no better time than the present for a review of what “equal pay” does and doesn’t mean, recent amendments to […]

EEOC’s controversial EEO-1 change would root out pay discrimination

by Amanda Shelby On January 29, 2016, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency charged with administering and enforcing the civil rights laws that prohibit workplace discrimination, proposed a significant revision to its Employer Information Report (also known as the EEO-1). The federal government uses the EEO-1 to collect demographic data about an […]

EEOC addresses workplace discrimination against Muslim or Middle Eastern individuals

by Vijaya S. Surampudi As backlash is rising steadily in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris, France, and San Bernardino, California, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is taking an active approach to addressing current and potential workplace discrimination. EEOC Chair Jenny Yang issued a statement urging employers and employees to be mindful of […]

Retaliation, discrimination, and harassment persist; disability bias charges increase

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released a detailed breakdown of the 89,385 workplace discrimination charges it received in fiscal year (FY) 2015, which started on October 1, 2014, and ended on September 30, 2015. Retaliation charges increased by nearly 5% and continue to be the leading complaint raised by workers across the country. […]

Not funny: mocking coworker’s spouse’s religion

by Zachary D. Morahan The New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, 2nd Department, recently issued an important decision in which it held that an employer faced liability under the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) for allowing employees to mock the religious beliefs of a coworker’s spouse. This case has important ramifications for both […]

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What Does ‘Hours Worked’ Mean?

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employers must pay employees at least the minimum wage for all hours worked. This sounds simple enough. But what does “hours worked” mean in this context? Does it mean just the hours that the employee is scheduled? What about time spent on call? What about break time? What […]

Trump’s Over-the-Top Political Incorrectness Could Take Him to the White House

I must say, I’m marveling at the three-ring circus the Republican primary has become. P.T. Barnum, the famous American showman and founder of the Barnum & Bailey Circus, has been credited with saying, “If you want to draw a crowd, start a fight.” Well, it seems that Donald Trump is a student of P.T. Barnum. […]