Employment Law Blog
Is a Long-Term Leave of Absence a Reasonable Accommodation?
January 23, 2018
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) provides a comprehensive mandate for the elimination of discrimination, including employment discrimination, against individuals with disabilities. Disability discrimination in employment is commonly thought to refer to an employer’s decision to terminate an employee because of...
How Can We Challenge Sexual Harassment in the Federal Judiciary?
January 9, 2018
Last month, allegations of sexual harassment against Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski showed that the federal judiciary is not immune from the type of insidious sexism that plagues every industry. The federal judiciary is largely immune, however, from the laws that protect victims of sexual harassment in other...
Employer May Have Violated Stored Communications Act by Accessing Employee's Personal Email
November 30, 2017
A federal court in Maryland recently found that an employer may have violated federal privacy law when it accessed a former employee’s personal emails on Google’s servers after she deleted them from a company mobile phone. In Levin v. ImpactOffice LLC, No. 8:16-cv-02790-TDC, 2017 WL 2937938 (D. Md. Jul. 10, 2017), the court...
New Title IX Guidance: Here's What You Need to Know
November 16, 2017
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 (Title IX) is an important statute that prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal financial assistance. Despite its simple purpose, navigating the legal complexities of Title IX can be confusing. This is especially the case in the context of...
The Impact on Employees of Workplace Sexual Harassment
November 8, 2017
In the wake of allegations detailing years of workplace sexual harassment perpetuated by Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein and other leading media personalities, employees, employers, and the public alike have been forced to consider how enduring such abuse impacts women. A recent study conducted in Denmark on workplace sexual...
3 Key Steps to Eliminating Harassment in the Workplace
November 2, 2017
Recent media reports, including the reported allegations against media executive Harvey Weinstein, are drawing attention to the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in the workplace. It is in the interest of both employees and employers to identify and eliminate harassment. Below are some steps that employers can take to be alert...
Sexual Harassment Q&A
October 25, 2017
What is sexual harassment?
Sexual harassment is a kind of sex discrimination in the workplace that violates both federal and state anti-discrimination laws. A wide variety of behavior may constitute sexual harassment, and both men and women can be targets. The perpetrator may be of the same or opposite sex, and may be a...
California Wants to Crack Down on Sexual Harassment by Venture Capitalists
October 17, 2017
A string of recent scandals in Silicon Valley has put a spotlight on a serious problem. Women attempting to break into the tech start-up world face pervasive sexual harassment from the male-dominated venture capitalist industry, being forced to put up with demeaning, offensive, and possibly dangerous behavior, or risk...
Yellowstone Cracks Down on Workplace Harassment
September 26, 2017
In late July 2017, Yellowstone National Park’s superintendent announced that he would be taking disciplinary action against 10 Yellowstone employees after an investigation found that female employees at the park had been victims of sexual harassment. The announcement comes at a time when the National Park Service and its parent...
Court Sends EEOC Wellness Regulations Back to the Drawing Board
September 19, 2017
A recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia may eventually lead to a change in the rules on incentives employers may provide to persuade employees to participate in workplace wellness programs. On August 22, the court held in AARP v. United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that...
