U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died at the age of 79 on Saturday, February 13, 2016. Known for his sharp turns of phrase and his conservative viewpoint, Justice Scalia was frequently controversial. His jurisprudence over 30 years on the Court shaped much of American life, and public sector employment was no exception. This blog
Second Circuit Holds That Sufficiency of Pre-Suit EEOC Investigation Is Not Reviewable
In a case called EEOC v. Sterling Jewelers, Inc., the Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that, as matter of first impression, while federal courts may review whether the EEOC conducted an investigation into a formal charge of discrimination against an employer, federal courts may not review the sufficiency of the
Screening Applicants With Domestic Violence Criminal History
The National Football League’s handling of several recent high-profile domestic violence incidents involving players Ray Rice, Greg Hardy and Jonathan Dwyer has raised the national consciousness regarding how employers handle domestic violence issues. Domestic violence has been, and continues to be, a prevalent problem that creates many challenging issues for employers. A recent Centers for
The Public Records Act: Maintenance of Records and Maintenance of Recordings Public Meetings
The following questions, which implicate the Public Records Act, are frequently asked: how long does an agency need to retain and maintain public records? How long does an agency need to retain the recordings of public meetings?
The purpose of the Public Records Act (PRA) is to give the public access documents and other stored
Supreme Court Published Important Decisions Regarding Title VII in the Nassar and Vance Cases
This blog entry was authored by Brian Walter and Michael D. Youril
On Monday, June 24, 2013, the Supreme Court published important decisions in two employment cases. In Vance v. Ball State University, the Supreme Court held that for the purposes of vicarious liability under Title VII, an employee is a “supervisor” if
California Supreme Court Says Attorney’s Fees to Prevailing Defendant are Mandatory in Failed Claim of Denial of Access to Disabled Persons
It pays to read statutes carefully. Many statutes authorizing lawsuits for employment discrimination allow an award of attorney’s fees to the prevailing party. Almost uniformly, these statutes have been construed as authorizing an award of attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff as a matter of course but only to a prevailing defendant when the lawsuit
EEOC Wastes No Time Implementing New Enforcement Goals by Cracking Down on Pregnancy Discrimination
As part of its Strategic Enforcement Plan for 2012-2016 (“the SEP”), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) identified the following five priorities for national enforcement in the private and federal, state and local government sectors:
1. Eliminating systemic barriers to recruitment and hiring;
2. Protecting vulnerable workecombatrs such as immigrants and migrants;
3. Targeting
The Ninth Circuit Addresses What Constitutes an Adverse Employment Action
Determining what constitutes an “adverse employment action” is critical when an employee sues for retaliation and/or discrimination. In order to be able to sustain a claim for either retaliation or discrimination, an employee must sufficiently prove that he/she suffered an adverse employment action. This issue was recently addressed by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of
EEOC Determines That Transgender Employees are Covered Under Title VII
This year, in the case of Macy v. Holder, Appeal No. 0120120821 (EEOC Apr. 20, 2012), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ruled that transgendered persons are afforded protection from discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).
Mia Macy, a transgender police detective in Phoenix, Arizona
Coworkers Who Simply Cannot Get Along Do Not Expose Employers To Liability For Hostile Work Environment Or Retaliation
Does it ever feel like managing the workplace can be like keeping the peace between children fighting in the back seat of the family car? This was the feeling in a recent out-of-state case where a Court held that an employer was not liable for the alleged hostile work environment created amongst bickering co-workers or