In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that Abercrombie & Fitch may have discriminated against a job applicant when it rejected the applicant because she wore a hijab (a Muslim head scarf) during her interview. At the time, Abercrombie had a dress code that prohibited employees from wearing hats or other head […]
EEOC and US Department of Labor Shutter Their Doors
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and U.S. Department of Labor have both announced that virtually all of their functions have temporarily ceased, pending adoption of a budget for FY 2014 by the federal government. Although the EEOC will allow claims to be filed so as to protect claimants from missing filing deadlines, no claims will […]
EEOC Sues Over Criminal Background Checks
In a previous post here, I noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, had begun to focus on criminal background checks by employers. The thinking is that requiring criminal background checks can constitute illegal discrimination on the basis of race because a higher percentage of African Americans than Caucasians have criminal convictions. Thus, […]
EEOC Announces New Strategic Plan
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued a draft of its new 4-year strategic plan that is scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2012. While the strategic plan doesn’t tell us exactly which cases the EEOC will find most important (and specific facts will generally determine the likelihood of the EEOC investigating a […]
New EEOC Rules Address When an Employer Can Rely on a Criminal Background Check in Making a Hiring Decision
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has finally issued long-awaited guidelines for employers who wish to use the results of a criminal background check to make hiring decisions. The guidelines are lengthy and convoluted, but some themes are clear. Before discussing the themes in the guidelines, it is important to understand why the EEOC cares […]
