When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its recent decision striking down affirmative action in colleges and universities, workplace researchers forecast the quick demise of corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) programs. Their fears were realistic; a 2013 Harvard University study shows that racial diversity in the workplace significantly declined after several states outlawed affirmative action in college Read More

In the three years since George Floyd’s death, systemic oppression, police brutality, racism, and workplace discrimination have come to the forefront of our collective consciousness. This era of heightened awareness has given rise to social movements, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) programs in the workplace, and the concept of “wokeness” – or awareness of systemic issues related to race, gender, and Read More

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published proposed rules to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) on August 11, 2023. The EEOC will accept public comments on the rules through October 10, 2023, and it is specifically seeking comments on other possible accommodations and the costs of accommodations. The PWFA, which went into effect on June 27, 2023, expands protections for Read More

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently announced a decision in Stericycle Inc., in which it adopted a new standard for evaluating the legality of employer policies under Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). In its ruling, the NLRB overruled its previous decisions in Boeing Co. (2017) and LA Specialty Produce Co. (2019), in which it had articulated a different standard. The NLRB Read More

Courtney Rogers, a former recruiter for Compass Group USA, recently filed a lawsuit against the company in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Rogers argues that Compass violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after it terminated her for requesting a religious accommodation to avoid working on a corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) program that excluded white Read More

The California Supreme Court has revived a long-standing lawsuit between the California Medical Association (CMA) and Aetna over the insurance company’s alleged retaliation against physicians who referred their patients to out-of-network providers. The trial court judge and a state appellate court both dismissed the suit, which CMA originally filed in 2012, finding that CMA had no standing to bring the Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from the Eighth Circuit entitled Muldrow v. City of St. Louis. The issue in Muldrow involves whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in job transfer decisions, absent evidence that the transfer caused the plaintiff a material disadvantage. As a result, the high Court will consider whether Title VII applies to all terms, conditions, Read More

Late July and early August brought about record-breaking heat waves nationwide, and many saw temperatures hit triple digits. In response, President Biden called for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to issue its first-ever heat-related Hazard Alert. DOL’s Occupational and Safety Health Administration (OSHA) issued the Hazard Alert on July 27, 2023, affirming protections for workers from excessive heat under federal Read More

The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued its decision in Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General, making it easier for employees to sue employers that fail to offer religious workplace accommodations. In its ruling, the Court revived a Title VII lawsuit that former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee and Evangelical Christian Gerald Groff had filed after the USPS would not accommodate his religious practices. When the Read More

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College, in which it struck down affirmative action in higher education. The decision ended 40 years of colleges and universities being able to consider race as a factor in their admissions processes. The case arose from two lawsuits in which Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. Read More