Tag: EEOC

Retirement Benefits: EEOC Allows Employers to Coordinate Retirees’ Health Benefits with Medicare

A new U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rule gives employers some relief regarding their ability to reduce or eliminate retirees’ healthcare benefits once they become eligible for Medicare. Such a reduction or elimination will not violate the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the federal statute that prohibits age-based discrimination, the new rule states. […]

3 Questions Employers Should Ask in Discrimination Cases

In discrimination cases filed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, first, the employee must establish a prima facie (minimally sufficient) case of discrimination. Once he does that, the burden shifts to the employer to produce evidence that he was rejected or someone else was preferred for a legitimate, nondiscriminatory reason. This […]

High Court Defines ‘Charge’ in Age Discrimination

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on the definition of a “charge” of age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). Under the ADEA, an employee is required to file a “charge” with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) before the dispute is escalated to court. But the term “charge” is not […]

Union to pay $6.2 million in historic race and national origin discrimination case

Local 28 of the Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association in New York City (Local 28) will have to pay $6.2 million to a class of black and Hispanic workers. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Local 28 provided them fewer job opportunities because of their race or national origin. The monetary part of […]

Discrimination: EEOC Settles Big Race and National Origin Bias Suits

Over the last few weeks, several multimillion-dollar race and national origin settlements and verdicts have hit the headlines. The recent developments—all involving cases brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)—serve as reminders to all employers of the need to train managers on preventing workplace bias and to respond promptly and effectively to employee […]

Lockheed Martin settles race discrimination case for $2.5 million

Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest military contractor, will have to pay former employee Charles Daniels $2.5 million. The African-American electrician was subjected to a racially hostile work environment at several job sites nationwide. This is the largest amount ever obtained by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for a single person in a discrimination case. […]

EEOC releases fact sheet on selection and testing procedures

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a new fact sheet explaining how federal nondiscrimination laws apply to employer tests and other selection procedures—such as personality tests, medical exams, and credit checks—used to screen applicants for hire and employees for promotion. The fact sheet also spotlights “best practices” employers can follow to avoid […]

Lordy, Lordy, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act Turns 40

by Boyd A. Byers Forty is a mystical number in many cultures. In ancient Babylonia, the number was known as kissatuin, meaning “the excellent quantity.” The great flood described in the Bible resulted from 40 days and 40 nights of rain. Forty is the only number, when spelled out in English, whose letters are in […]

Hiring: EEOC Issues New Guidance on Tests and Selection Procedures

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued a new fact sheet explaining how federal nondiscrimination laws—including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act—apply to employer tests and other selection procedures used to screen applicants for hire and employees for promotion.

Handling Holiday Religious Expression in the Workplace

(Updated August 2009) by Sarah Fuson With Thanksgiving less than a week away, thoughts turn to turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. But Thanksgiving represents more than stuffing ourselves silly and watching football all day. The first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 by the Pilgrims, a group of Puritans who fled England because […]