Honeyfund is part of a broader reconsideration of the limitations of DEI-related activity in the wake of Fair Admissions, which held race-conscious admissions policies violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. As current legislation and litigation trends illustrate, DEI-related legal battles do not seem to be abating anytime soon.
To view the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions Inc. v. University of North Carolina, institutions seeking to admit diverse student bodies may need to review and ultimately revise their policies and practices in order to achieve that goal through appropriate means.
On August 14, 2023, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) jointly issued guidance to help postsecondary schools comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College and Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. University of North Carolina et al. (together, SFFA). The SFFA decision held that race-conscious admissions policies violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While the departments’ guidance provides institutions with suggested approaches for supporting student body diversity, it also leaves open other important questions, including the funding and use of race-conscious scholarships and other financial assistance.
On April 20, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) added a new set of penalties to its remedial arsenal for employers who repeatedly or egregiously violate federal labor law. The new remedies supplement the expanded make-whole remedies and consequential damages established by the Board in its December 13, 2022, decision, Thryve, Inc.
Continue reading “NLRB Adds Enhanced Penalties for Repeat Offenders”
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) announced that it will not start enforcing the law regulating automated employment decision tools until at least April 15, 2023. Local Law 144 of 2021 was scheduled to take effect January 1, but the DCWP attributed the delayed enforcement of the law to the high volume of public comments it received addressing its proposed regulations to implement the law. This law is the very first law within the United States squarely and comprehensively addressing the use of AI in making employment decisions. The law requires that before an employer uses an “automated employment decision tool” (AEDT, which is basically AI) that it conduct a bias audit within a year of using the tool, and that certain notices be given to candidates who may be subject to the AEDT, with an option to opt out of the AEDT process.
Continue reading “New York Artificial Intelligence Employment Law Delayed”
On December 9, 2022, President Biden signed the “Speak Out Act” (the Act). The Act follows the enactment of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which made pre-dispute arbitration agreements for sexual assault and sexual harassment claims invalid and unenforceable. The Act is similar to laws passed in California, Illinois, New Jersey, and New York in response to the #MeToo Movement. The Act became effective upon the President’s signature.