Title VII, the federal law that prohibits most workplace harassment and discrimination, covers all private employers, state and local governments, and educational institutions that employ 15 or more individuals.
In addition to prohibiting discrimination against individuals because of race, color, national origin, religion, and sex, those...
Retaliation includes any adverse action taken against an employee for filing a complaint, supporting another employee’s complaint, or engagin in other protected actvity under a variety of laws. The most common type of retaliation claim involves an employee who alleges that she was first harassed or discriminated against and later punished...
In a racial harassment scenario, the victim is targeted because of his race. Many racial harassment cases involve harassment by coworkers. A diligent employer needs to be aware of the potential for racial harassment and make sure that its policies are designed to prevent and correct any harassment.
Harassment can take the form of a hostile...
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) prohibits group health plans from requiring genetic testing, using genetic information for underwriting purposes, and adjusting premiums or contributions based on genetic information. GINA similarly restricts use of genetic information by health insurance issuers offering coverage in...
In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act (EPA) as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to “prohibit discrimination on account of sex in the payment of wages by employers.”
In general, the EPA applies to most employees for work done for most employers, although there are certain exceptions. The Act prohibits pay...
The EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (EPA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008.
The commission processes allegations of...
Just as individuals don’t want to put all of their 401(k) money into one type of investment, employers don’t want to place the future of their companies in the hands of one type of employee.
Employers know they need both engineers and salespeople, for example, not just one group or the other. Organizations need all kinds of skills...
Discrimination, for the purposes of employment law, is any workplace action such as hiring, firing, demoting, and promoting based on a prejudice of some kind that results in the unlawful treatment of protected classes.
With some notable exceptions, such as affirmative action, discrimination is strictly prohibited by a myriad of federal laws...
The U.S. government first required affirmative action in 1965 as a way to remedy past discrimination against minorities, women, disabled individuals and covered veterans. Affirmative action means that a company must take steps to increase the recruitment, hiring, promotion and retention of protected groups in its workforce.
Sometimes...
As we noted in last month's newsletter, 2014 continues to be an active year for employment legislation in the Delaware General Assembly. (See "Dealing with Dover" on pg. 1.) The General Assembly has proposed a spate of new laws. Some of the bills would be beneficial to employers, while others would be problematic. Here are some emerging issues for...
