Tag: EEOC

Health Plan Developments: Mental Health Parity, GINA, and Health Risk Assessments

By Michelle Sullivan, Holland & Hart LLP Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, issued a statement on October 2 indicating that employers awaiting guidance before implementing changes to medical plans required by the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 should not expect […]

Mandatory Federal Labor Law Poster Change for GINA

On October 23, 2009, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a new Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law poster, which includes information on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The poster was updated to include information about GINA, specifically that employers are prohibited from discriminating against applicants and employees on the basis of […]

Breastfeeding Employee Entitled to Equal, Not Preferential, Treatment

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans recently addressed a case in which the employee alleged violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). The dispute arose when the employee claimed she was given insufficient break time to express breast milk following the […]

Office Romance: Do You Need a Workplace Dating Policy?

by Anna A. Cohen As the holiday season and the new year approach, many people are either looking for love or ending relationships. Many relationships begin and end in the workplace. A recent survey revealed that almost half of employees have been involved in an office romance, and 20 percent admit to having met their […]

Sears Settlement with EEOC Raises New Concerns on ADA Enforcement

by Burton J. Fishman Sears recently reached a $6.2 million settlement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regarding Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) violations stemming from the company’s alleged refusal to return injured workers to the job. This is the largest ADA settlement in a single lawsuit in EEOC history. More aggressive enforcement has […]

EEOC’s Proposed ADA Regulations Now Available

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) — which would revise its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations to comply with the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) — is now available at www.HRhero.com/eeoc/eeoc_proposedregulations.pdf. The NPRM interprets the requirements of the ADAAA, which Congress passed in late 2008 to make it easier for […]

AT&T Pays $1.3 Million for Religious Discrimination

On July 31, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas entered a judgment against communications giant AT&T, Inc. The lawsuit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of two male customer service technicians who were suspended and fired for attending a Jehovah’s Witness convention. AT&T paid $1,307,597 to […]

EEOC Moves Forward with ADAAA Regs

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has voted to approve a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would revise its Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations to comply with the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), which was passed late last year and went into effect January 1, 2009. The ADAAA and the proposed rule make it […]

Boeing May Have Discriminated in RIF Process, Ninth Circuit Rules

According to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), managers at the Washington-state based Boeing Corporation discriminated against female employees when they administered the company’s Reduction in Force (RIF) evaluations, used to determine which employees would be laid off. One Boeing employee, Antonia Castron, asked to be transferred away from a manager who often stated […]

Employers Should Prepare in Case Swine Flu Returns this Fall

A swine flu pandemic was a no-show this past spring, but there’s no guarantee it won’t come roaring back when the regular flu season gets under way this fall. Swine flu (also called the H1N1 virus) should be taken seriously because this particular strain hasn’t been seen before, so people haven’t built up natural immunity. […]