The fourth quarter of 2021 continued the trend of increasing regulation of the workplace by state and local governments. Although it is not possible to discuss all state and local laws, this post provides an overview of recent and upcoming legislative developments to help you and your organization stay in compliance. (Please note that developments related to issues such as minimum wage rates and COVID-19 are not included.)
Continue reading “State & Local Employment Law Developments: Q4 2021”
On his first day in office, President Biden issued the “Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” overturning President Trump’s “Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping” (EO 13950), which had caused many contractors to postpone or cancel their diversity trainings and initiatives.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
Last week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction banning the enforcement of Sections 4 and 5 of Executive Order 13950, a controversial federal directive purportedly enacted “to combat offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating” by prohibiting federal contractors and grantees from inculcating such views in their diversity and inclusion workplace trainings. While the preliminary injunction represents a significant win for the government contracting community, it is not a permanent injunction. It remains to be seen whether the government will appeal the order, or whether the incoming Biden administration will rescind the Executive Order in its entirety.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
President Trump issued the “Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping” on September 22, but no federal regulations have subsequently been released on how to implement the Order. In the absence of such regulations, the DOD and NASA recently issued memorandums to provide instructions on the way to implement the Order in solicitations and contracts.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
Starkey v. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis has been appealed. We expect the Seventh Circuit will soon have the opportunity, post-Bostock, to weigh in on the intersection of Title VII’s sexual orientation and gender identity protections and its religious organization exception, related to a religious organization’s employment decisions. This could foreshadow future disputes and court rulings in this developing area of the law.
For the full alert, visit the Faegre Drinker website.
The work-from-home trend presents a host of employment law challenges, including unavoidable changes to how employers investigate and defend claims of hostile work environments. Non-traditional work settings may even give rise to new types of harassment and discrimination, challenging employers to rethink workplace policies and training to make sure they apply to all work environments, whether in the office or remote.
Continue reading “Hostile Environment Claims in a Work-From-Home World”