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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC Chair Warns Fortune 500 on DEI and Title VII Compliance

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas has sent a letter to all Fortune 500 companies reminding them that Title VII’s prohibition on race- and sex-based employment decisions fully applies to DEI initiatives. The February 26 letter emphasizes that employers must base employees’ hiring, promotion, training, and access to opportunities on job-related, merit-based criteria rather than protected characteristics, regardless of an initiative’s purpose....
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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC Federal Sector Decision Reinterprets Title VII Access to Sex Separated Workplace Facilities

The EEOC has issued a decision holding that Title VII permits federal agencies to maintain sex-designated bathrooms and similar intimate spaces and to exclude employees — including transgender employees — from facilities designated for the opposite sex. The ruling overturns the agency’s 2015 Lusardi decision on this point. The decision applies only to federal agencies and has no immediate effect on...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

OMB Greenlights New OFCCP Complaint Forms

The White House Office of Management and Budget has approved for three years OFCCP’s request to change its complaint forms for processing disability and veteran employment discrimination allegations against federal contractors. The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs had asked permission to formally revise its Complaint of Employment Discrimination Involving a Federal Contractor or Subcontractor (Form CC-4) and Pre-Complaint Inquiry...
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

Federal Court Dismisses Missouri’s Challenge To Employer’s DEI Practices, Appeal Underway

A federal court recently dismissed a state’s challenge to an employer’s diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. The court ruled on procedural grounds and did not address the legality of the challenged DEI practices. In Missouri v. Starbucks Corp., the court found that Missouri lacked standing to bring the case because it did not identify any concrete injury to Missouri residents from...
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

CWC Hosts Member Roundtable On EEOC’s Rescission Of Harassment Guidance

The Center for Workplace Compliance, our affiliated nonprofit membership association, recently held a members-only roundtable to discuss the impact of the EEOC’s rescission of its 2024 Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace. The discussion underscored that organizational values rather than EEOC interpretive documents continue to drive employer standards. Many CWC member organizations reported that the rescission does not alter...
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Category: Affirmative Action and DEI

CWC Files Comments With OMB Supporting Changes To OFCCP Complaint Form

CWC has filed comments with the Office of Management and Budget, supporting a recent request by OFCCP to formally revise two of the forms it uses to process employment discrimination allegations against federal contractors. The forms are the CC-4 (the Complaint of Employment Discrimination Involving a Federal Contractor or Subcontractor) and the CC-390 (Pre-Complaint Inquiry for Employment Discrimination Involving a Federal...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC Seeks Court Order To Enforce Subpoena In Nike DEI Investigation

The EEOC has petitioned a federal court to enforce a subpoena that it issued while investigating Nike’s DEI practices. The agency seeks records on layoffs, development programs, executive metrics tied to diversity goals, workforce demographic data, and materials from Nike’s “Diverse Slates” hiring process. It also requests data on eligibility and selection for internship and leadership programs dating back to 2018. The...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC Reclaims Litigation Authority After Decades Of Harmful Delegation

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has voted to reclaim litigation authority that it improperly delegated to its General Counsel three decades ago. The Commission adopted the new procedure by a 2 to 1 vote January 22. Now, in nearly all cases, the Commission will vote on whether to commence or intervene in litigation. There will be narrow exceptions for recordkeeping matters...
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

Florida And Texas AG Letters Signal Heightened Legal Scrutiny Of DEI Programs

The Attorneys General of Florida and Texas issued opinion letters last week calling many DEI programs unlawful, reflecting increased state enforcement against race- and sex-conscious policies. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued a formal opinion finding that dozens of state laws requiring race-based preferences, classifications, or quotas violate the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and Florida’s Constitution. Relying heavily on...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC Rescinds Guidance On Workplace Harassment

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has rescinded its 2024 Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace following a 2 to 1 partisan vote January 22. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas stated two concerns during the meeting: first, that the portions of the guidance addressing sexual orientation and gender identity exceeded the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County; and, second, that the guidance...

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