The Employment Brief | Employment Law | Kollman & Saucier, P.A.

EEOC's LGBT Bathroom/Dress Code/Locker Room Guidance Gets Nixed By Another Federal Court Judge

Randi Klein Hyatt

10/05/2022

Agency Activity, EEOC, Sexual Orientation

A Texas federal court judge just ruled that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) June 2021 Guidance that permits exceptions for LGBT employees from certain policies on bathrooms, dress codes and locker rooms was unlawful. In Texas v. EEOC, et al., 2:21-CV-194-Z (N.D. Tex. Oct. 1, 2022), District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, found that the EEOC's Guidance had improperly interpreted the scope of the Supreme...

Darrell VanDeusen

09/29/2022

Disability & Leave

Employers are sometimes skittish about taking an adverse employment action for legitimate reasons against an employee who has exercised their protected rights, fearing the almost inevitable claim of retaliation. Indeed, it seems nearly every EEOC charge I get alleges retaliation even when the facts demonstrate it wasn’t remotely possible. That, of course, is not the way things are supposed to work. An employee does not insulate themselves...

Darrell VanDeusen

09/28/2022

Agency Activity, Employment Discrimination

Let’s start today’s blog with a brief visit to Employment Discrimination Law 101. An employer cannot discriminate on the basis of race, sex, color, etc., etc., etc. Discrimination includes harassment – name calling, epithets, and such stuff – that creates a hostile work environment. And (yes, I know you know this) an employer is responsible for the actions of all of its employees, not just its supervisors or managers (e.g.,...

Jordan Dunham

09/02/2022

Medical/Legal Marijuana

As our Randi Hyatt recently blogged about, the District of Columbia passed legislation which, once approved by Congress, will prohibit employers from taking adverse action against employees who choose to use cannabis while off-duty. Not to be outdone, on August 30, 2022, California’s state legislature passed Assembly Bill 2188 which will protect workers who use cannabis off the clock. California’s bill is now headed to Governor Newsom’s...

Jordan Dunham

08/31/2022

Labor Law

On Monday, August 29, 2022, a five member panel of the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) reversed course on prior precedent and held that Tesla, Inc. (“Tesla”) violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) by maintaining a “team-wear” policy that, under the Board’s opinion, was unjustified under Supreme Court precedent. The opinion, Tesla, Inc., 370 NLRB No. 88 (2021) reversed course on a...

Darrell VanDeusen

08/25/2022

Disability & Leave, Gender Identity

The issue of federal protection for gender identity was, it seemed, resolved with the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. ___, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020), which held that Title VII’s definition of sex includes a prohibition of discrimination against gay and transgender individuals. The LGBTQ community (along with many others) applauded this decision. And it is settled law. But are other protections available to the...

Darrell VanDeusen

08/24/2022

Uncategorized

One of my son’s favorite movies when he was in high school was Office Space (1999). I also enjoyed it alot. You may recall the following dialogue between Peter (Ron Livingston) and Joanna (Jennifer Aniston): Peter: I, uh, I don't like my job. I don't think I'm gonna go anymore. Joanna: You’re just not gonna go? Peter: Yeah. Joanna: Won’t you...

Darrell VanDeusen

08/22/2022

Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnancy has been in the news a lot this year, mostly due to the Supreme Court’s June 24, 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, 597 U.S. ___ (2022), which overturned Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973). The Dobbs decision impacts employers, but I will save that discussion for another day. Today we will revisit the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978, and a recent decision from the Seventh Circuit that held Walmart...

Kollman & Saucier

08/18/2022

Firm News

Darrell VanDeusen has been named by Best Lawyers as the 2023 “Lawyer of the Year” in two categories: Labor Law – Management, and Litigation - Labor and Employment. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and community is honored with a "Lawyer of the Year" award. Darrell previously received this recognition in 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2019. K&S’s Pete Saucier and Eric Paltell are also named in Best Lawyers, with...

Randi Klein Hyatt

08/18/2022

Monkeypox

The recent outbreak of monkeypox creates an issue for employers whose employees, especially healthcare workers, are more susceptible to contracting the virus. First, what is monkeypox? Per the CDC, monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus. The monkeypox virus is part of the same family of viruses as variola virus, the virus that causes smallpox. Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms, but milder, and...

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Email Updates

EEOC's LGBT Bathroom/Dress Code/Locker Room Guidance Gets Nixed By Another Federal Court Judge

Employer’s Independent Review Sinks FMLA Retaliation Claim

An EEOC Reminder: Discrimination by Third Parties is also Illegal

Marijuana Discrimination Protections: The New Frontier

NLRB Overturns Precedent and Holds Tesla’s Dress Code Policy Violated NLRA

Fourth Circuit: ADA Protection for Gender Dysphoria

Quiet Quitting: Is This Your Best Work?

Pregnancy Discrimination, Aisle 12? Maybe Not.

Darrell VanDeusen Named "Lawyer of the Year"

Monkeypox: "Hey COVID. Hold My Beer."

Email Updates