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Employers risk damages, civil money penalties for improper I-9 and E-Verify procedures

by Mary Pivec Employers face a high cost if they are accused of engaging in discriminatory employment verification procedures. The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Discrimination (OSC) in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has made it a priority to pursue employers that allegedly misuse or abuse their access […]

Here come the feds! POTUS, DOJ, DOL, and EEOC weigh in on LGBT issues

by Geoffrey D. Rieder Significant expansion of the antidiscrimination protections afforded to members of the LGBT community was accomplished in 2014 through executive action by President Barack Obama, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and the attorney general (AG). The push for more protection of LGBT employees culminated in two lawsuits in which the Equal […]

Adverse employment action because of accent is illegal

by Joseph Cooper Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination on the basis of national origin in any aspect of employment, including hiring, firing, and job assignments. Because an employee’s accent or language skills are often associated with her national origin, employment decisions based on those characteristics are scrutinized closely by […]

EEOC releases FY 2014 enforcement stats

by Christopher J. Pyles According to newly released statistics from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the state in which the most administrative charges were filed in fiscal year (FY) 2014 was Texas, which had more than 8,000. Where did your state rank?  Discrimination by the numbers In February, the EEOC released enforcement and litigation […]

Ask the Right Questions—Find the Right Answers

Many leaders believe they must have all the answers—that it’s their responsibility to have the answer to every question and the solution to every problem. In my estimation, it’s more important to ask the right questions than it is to always have the answer.

Want to keep employees? Consider the reasons they quit

It may be a cliché to say employees are an employer’s greatest asset. But if that weren’t true, it wouldn’t be a cliché and employers wouldn’t focus so much attention on retaining their best and brightest. The reasons behind an employee’s decision to leave a job depend on each individual’s situation, but new research identifies […]

Ask the Right Questions—Find the Right Answers

Many leaders believe they must have all the answers—that it’s their responsibility to have the answer to every question and the solution to every problem. In my estimation, it’s more important to ask the right questions than it is to always have the answer.