Discrimination

Expert Analysis

• NFL Should Have Monitored Emails To Prevent Hate Speech

  

  The National Football League, now facing the fallout from recent reports that power brokers used hate speech in emails going back decades, should have taken proactive steps to monitor and police workplace communications, because all employers must weed out such discriminatory behavior — starting at the top, says Arash Homampour at the Homampour Law Firm.

• Employer Lessons From Facebook's Anti-US Bias Settlement

  

  After Facebook’s recent record-setting settlement with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Labor addressing allegations of hiring discrimination that favored visa holders over U.S. workers, employers that process permanent labor certifications should review their recruitment methods for potential Immigration and Nationality Act liability, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

• Walmart Deal Could Signal New Wave Of Military Leave Claims

  

  While commercial airlines have faced the brunt of paid leave claims under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, Walmart’s recent $10 million class action settlement may represent the beginning of a second wave of military leave lawsuits against nonairline companies with certain risk factors, says Joe Skinner at Husch Blackwell.

• EEOC Enforcement Activity Spike Points To A Busy 2022

  

  The number of lawsuits filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in fiscal year 2021 increased back to prepandemic levels, signaling to employers an increase in agency aggressiveness and the potential for one of the busiest enforcement years ever in 2022, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

• Calif. NDA Law May Have Surprising Effect On Settlements

  

  California's recently enacted Silenced No More Act, which expands restrictions on confidentiality and nondisparagement provisions in workplace discrimination settlements, will likely broaden employee protections in several unexpected ways that could reach beyond the statute's primary intentions, say William Jhaveri-Weeks and Ally Girouard at The Jhaveri-Weeks Firm.

• Tesla Race Harassment Verdict Is A Warning To Employers

  

  A California federal jury’s recent $137 million verdict in favor of a Black former Tesla subcontractor sends a clear message to all employers: Serving as a joint employer does not provide a loophole to avoid liability for racial harassment claims, says Aimee Schnecker at Obermayer Rebmann.

• Avoiding Preemployment Pitfalls In A Hot Job Market

  

  In light of the pandemic’s turbulent effect on the labor market, employers may want to pay careful attention in preemployment negotiations to avoid liability exposure during verbal discussions and when drafting written agreements, says Travis Tatko at Capell Barnett.

• State Actions Put Federal Contractors In COVID Vaccine Bind

  

  As state-level efforts — such as an executive order in Texas and a new law in Arkansas — aim to counteract President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccination mandates, government contractors are caught in a whipsaw because complying with both sets of requirements is not possible, says Karla Grossenbacher at Seyfarth.

• Handling Vaccine Religious Exemptions In The COVID Era

  

  Attorneys at Reed Smith answer employers’ top questions about religious exemptions for COVID-19 vaccine requirements, including how such requests differ from medical accommodations, whether it's appropriate to question an employee's sincerity, and how to handle inquiries based on nontraditional belief systems.

• Activision Gender Bias Probe Is A Cautionary Tale

  

  Activision's recent $18 million settlement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is an example to all human resource and executive leaders of the consequences if they do not take the necessary steps to ensure that their workplaces are free from gender bias, say Thomas Eron and Theresa Rusnak at Bond Schoeneck.

• How Health Care Cos. Can Untangle Web Of Vaccine Mandates

  

  While health care companies anxiously await further guidance from various federal agencies on overlapping COVID-19 vaccine mandates, there are several steps industry employers can take to tackle the compliance conundrum and prepare for accommodation requests, staffing shortages and other likely challenges, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

• AI Hiring Tools Could Draw Increased EEOC Scrutiny

  

  Given the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recent suggestion that commissioner charges may be used to investigate artificial intelligence hiring tools, employers should take several steps to ensure their use of AI complies with Title VII and the Americans with Disabilities Act, say Daniel Butler and Kevin White at Hunton.

• Virus ADA Ruling May Prove To Be Double-Edged Sword

  

  While a Pennsylvania federal court recently held in Matias v. Terrapin House that an employer illegally fired its worker for regarding her as disabled after she tested positive for COVID-19, the judge’s reasoning relied on outdated Americans with Disabilities Act case law, so plaintiffs should be careful when citing its authority, says Jonathan Mook at DiMuroGinsberg.