Insights

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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

New CWC Resource Highlights EEOC Efforts To Enforce Title VII Protected Religious Accommodations

CWC has released a resource highlighting recent enforcement actions by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission related to religious accommodations in the workplace. In a recent press release, the EEOC emphasized its focus on enforcing Title VII protections for religious accommodations in the workplace. The cases summarized in the CWC resource provide helpful context for understanding current trends and compliance risks....
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Category: Labor Relations

NLRB’s Structure Likely Unconstitutional, Fifth Circuit Rules, Affirming Ban on SpaceX Prosecution

The National Labor Relations Board remains barred from bringing unfair labor practice cases against SpaceX, Energy Transfer, and Findhelp after a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court’s preliminary injunctions pausing such prosecutions. On August 19, in Space Exploration Technologies Corp. v. NLRB, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit found that the injunction is warranted because the agency’s...
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Category: Agency Enforcement

EEOC Guidance to Federal Agencies Emphasizes Importance of Maintaining Proactive EEO Plans

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released FAQs reminding federal agencies that they must submit equal employment opportunity (EEO) plans in adherence to Management Directive 715. MD-715 sets standards for the EEO programs required of federal agencies by Title VII and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act. Its goal is to ensure equal employment opportunities for applicants and employees in the...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Was Enacted Properly, Fifth Circuit Rules

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may enforce the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act against the state of Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled August 15 in Texas v. Bondi. The PWFA requires employers to consider workplace accommodations for employees' pregnancy-related conditions. The statute was approved during the COVID pandemic in 2022, when the House of Representatives allowed...
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Category: State and Local Compliance

Illinois’s Equal Pay Registration Certificate Portal Experiences Technical Difficulties

Illinois’s Equal Pay Registration Certificate (EPRC) portal is experiencing technical issues when employers submit a pay report that categorizes employees as Middle Eastern or North African (MENA). Until Illinois resolves these glitches, employers should use “Some other race alone” instead of MENA when submitting employee demographic data, the Illinois Department of Labor told the Center for Workplace Compliance, our affiliated...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

Court Stops EEOC and HHS From Enforcing Some Rules Against Two Christian Groups

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has barred the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing specified Biden-era directives against two Christian organizations. It held August 8 in Dr. James Dobson Family Institute v. Kennedy that provisions related to abortion, fertility, and gender-affirming care violate the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Dobson Family Institute and United in...
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Category: State and Local Compliance

CWC Resource on Mandatory BLS Surveys

The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, has developed a resource to help its members understand their obligations under state laws to respond to surveys conducted by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). BLS collects and publishes information about the U.S. labor market and economy. In collaboration with the states, BLS sends out requests for...
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Category: Disability, Accommodations, and Leaves

OPM Urges Federal Agencies To Be Generous With Religious Accommodations

The Office of Personnel Management issued a memorandum July 16 instructing federal agencies to be generous in granting accommodations so federal employees can practice their religion. The memo promotes telework and flexible schedules as key tools for accommodating religious practices without compromising agency missions. For example, remote work could facilitate employees finding a quiet space for prayer and practicing time-specific...
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

DC Circuit Explains Broad Scope of FCA Retaliation Protections

A recent opinion by a federal appeals court illustrates the broad scope of the False Claims Act’s anti-retaliation provisions, which has important implications for whistleblower claims involving “illegal DEI” or other alleged discrimination. In United States ex rel. Kini v. Tata Consultancy Services, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held August 8 that an employee...
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Category: Discrimination and Harassment

Sixth Circuit Requires Employer Intent in Third-Party Harassment Case

A federal appeals court opted to apply a more employer-friendly standard for determining employer liability in cases of harassment by a non-employee third party. Breaking from EEOC guidance and most circuit courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held August 8 in Bivens v. Zep that employers can be held liable for third-party harassment only where the...

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