Posts Tagged ‘EEOC’
EEOC Broadens the Scope of Title VII
September 4th, 2012
in Employment & Benefits, Expert Guest Blog Entries, Litigation |
Expert Article by Jaime A. Maurer
An area of employment law that has been gaining increased attention from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) in recent times are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT”) issues. In particular, the EEOC has recently adopted certain shifts in policies to find sexual orientation and gender identity coverage under Title VII. The rationale for finding such coverage is twofold: (i) the conduct at issue is discriminatory because of sex and (ii) the conduct is discriminatory because the employer uses gender stereotypes. Interestingly, the EEOC is not only reviewing LGBT Charges of Discrimination, but is actively soliciting the filing of such Charges.
Most recently, in Mia Macy v. Eric Holder (Appeal No. 0120120821, April 20, 2012), Macy, a male veteran police detective with an extensive law enforcement background, applied for a position with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Macy was informed that he would be hired pending a background check. During the background check process, Macy informed ATF that he was in the process of transitioning from male to female. A few days later, Macy was notified that the position was no longer available due to budget reductions, when, in fact, another person had been hired for that position.
Macy filed a complaint with the EEOC against ATF alleging discrimination on the basis of “gender identity” and “sex stereotyping.” The EEOC found that employment discrimination against transgender individuals is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII and, in doing so, the EEOC clarified that “claims of discrimination based on transgender status, also referred to as claims of discrimination based on gender identity, are cognizable under Title VII’s sex discrimination prohibition . . . .”
Although not binding on courts, this decision and larger approach by the EEOC will be given great deference when courts assess the scope and breadth of discrimination claims based upon sex under Title VII. As such, employers should be mindful of this new development, stay abreast of local laws, maintain an open dialogue with employees on these issues, and provide information and training when appropriate to ensure that staff understand the implications of their actions with regard to members of the LGBT community.
Tags: ATF, bisexual, Discrimination, EEOC, Employment Law, expert, gay, gender identity, Law, lesbian, LGBT, LGBT community, sex stereotyping, transgender
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EEOC Permitted to Subpoena Documents Showing Workers Forbidden From Discussing Pay
December 15th, 2011
in Employment & Benefits, Expert Guest Blog Entries |
Expert Article by Emily Ciecka Wilcheck
The United States District Court for the Western District of New York inEEOC v. Sterling Jewelers Inc., W.D.N.Y., No. 1:11-mc-00028, 2011 WL 5282622, recently enforced a subpoena issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to Sterling Jewelers Inc. (doing business as Jared the Galleria of Jewelry) requesting information on the company’s policies barring employees from discussing their pay, as well as information on employees disciplined under such policies.
Diane Thielker, a former employee of Sterling, filed a charge of discrimination with the EEOC alleging that she was discriminated against in pay and promotions because of her age and gender. The EEOC sued Sterling on behalf of Ms. Thielker, alleging that Sterling engaged in unfair employment practices nationwide by maintaining a system for making promotions and compensation decisions that is excessively subjective and has a disparate impact on female sales employees.
As part of the investigation into her charge, Ms. Thielker provided the EEOC with a copy of a counseling report issued to her by Sterling. This counseling report stated in part as follows:
Any discussion regarding payroll need only to be made between said employee and mgr. Having inappropriate discussions only contribute to and fosters ill will amongst team members as well as being a direct violation of Sterlings [sic] code of conduct.
The report also included Ms. Thielker’s comments that she believed that she was being discriminated against based upon her gender due to the fact that the company paid male employees more than it paid female employees.
A few months after receiving a copy of the report, the EEOC served a subpoena upon Sterling requesting information on (1) the code of conduct referred to in the counseling report and any other policies prohibiting employees from discussing pay; (2) all disciplinary notices, reports, or warnings reflecting enforcement of Sterling’s policy prohibiting discussions of pay; and (3) information related to the individuals disciplined under such policy.
In upholding the EEOC’s right to enforcement of the subpoena, the court held that the nationwide scope of the information requested was relevant to the EEOC’s pattern or practice claims against Sterling, and legitimately arose from statements on the counseling report indicating that Sterling had a company-wide policy prohibiting discussions about pay. Significantly, the court further concluded that, even without the counseling report referencing such a policy, information regarding Sterling’s nationwide policies prohibiting discussions of pay is relevant to Thielker’s individual charge.
Tags: Age Discrimination, Code of Conduct, Discussing Pay, EEOC, Gender Discrimination, Subpoena
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Join us for a live Twitter chat
October 28th, 2010
in Employment & Benefits, Expert Guest Blog Entries, Litigation |
Have you joined our Employment Law Professionals group yet? It’s easily accessible through Linkedin. Here’s 3 reasons why you should join now!
1. We are the most diverse and fastest growing Employment Law group on Linkedin!
2. Get exclusive content such as power point presentations, PDFs, and sneak peaks from our conferences.
3. Propel your networking reach to the next level. New connections are made everyday in our group. Where will it take you?
THE BIG NEWS ON OUR LIVE TWITTER CHAT:
Early to mid-November, there will be a live Twitter chat on the survey results. In addition, there will also be an exciting new guest blog posting on discrimination law the same day. We will have top notch moderators guiding the chat, so be ready to ask all of your questions!
*Participants of our survey will receive the results one week in advanced, just as we promised. Keep an eye on your inbox*
All other group members will receive the results 3 days before the live Twitter chat. If you do not have a Twitter account, don’t worry. We’ll post a transcript of our chat in our blog and in this group.
Our survey results are in its final stages of completion. We can still update the stats, so if you haven’t filled out the survey, do so now. You’ll be eligible for our advanced copy!
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HMM3T7H
Subscribe to our RSS feed, and you’ll get added bonuses not available in this group. Join us at http://www.americanconference.com/blog/index.php/feed/
Follow us on twitter @ACIemployment for the live chat!
More information about ACI at http://www.americanconference.com
Tags: EEOC, EPLI, Legal conferences, Linkedin, Litigation strategies, Twitter
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