Seyfarth Synopsis: In EEOC v. Konos, Inc., Case No. 1:20-CV-973 (W.D. Mich. June 3, 2021), the EEOC filed a lawsuit on behalf of a claimant against her employer, alleging it subjected to her to a hostile work environment and retaliation after she was sent home for complaining about a supervisor’s
EEOC Fiscal Year 2020 Fizzle? The EEOC’s Year Comes To A Surprisingly Quiet Close
By: Christopher J. DeGroff, Matthew J. Gagnon, and Alex S. Oxyer
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the last fiscal year before the November 2020 election, the EEOC made significant changes to many of its programs, all in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Like most employers across the country, the EEOC found itself reconsidering
Pandemic Telework Does Not Create Presumptive Right to Telework Post-Pandemic According to EEOC
By: Loren Gesinsky and Samuel I. Rubinstein
Seyfarth Synopsis: With telework seeming like the new normal for many, employers and employees have been wondering whether pandemic telework will be seen as creating a presumptive right to post-pandemic telework as a reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities. On September 8, 2020, the EEOC answered “no” to
EEOC Leadership Shift: A New EEOC Chair Confirmed By Senate
By Christopher DeGroff, and Michael Jacobsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: Who sits as Chair of the EEOC unquestionably has a significant impact for all employers interacting with the Commission. At long last, the U.S. Senate has voted to confirm Janet Dhillon for the post, nearly two years after President Trump’s administration nominated her. How the new
And The Train Kept A-Rolling: EEOC’s 2018 Enforcement And Litigation Statistics Show Charges Down But The Agency Still On The Move
By: Michael Jacobsen, Christopher DeGroff
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 10, 2019, the EEOC released its comprehensive enforcement and litigation statistics for Fiscal Year 2018. The release arrived a few months later than usual – likely due to the recent government shutdown – but still packed a punch in several respects, including to the back-drop
Second Circuit Holds That Title VII Bars Sexual Orientation Discrimination
By Scott Rabe and Sam Schwartz-Fenwick
Seyfarth Synopsis: In landmark decision, the Second Circuit joined the Seventh Circuit in holding that Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation as a subset of sex discrimination. The ruling is important for all employers given the stakes in this litigation over the scope of
Is The EEOC’s Role To Enforce The Law, Or Make New Law?
Today I had the privilege of attending the 6th Annual Forum on Defending Employment Discrimination Litigation hosted by the American Conference Institute in New York, New York (I spoke on defense strategies for defending high stakes, multi-party age discrimination lawsuits).
Constance Barker, one of the five Commissioners at the Equal
The Need For Vigilance: The EEOC Comes Back For A Second Bite Of An Employer After A Settlement
By Chris DeGroff and Brian Wong
In the world of EEOC systemic enforcement, court-imposed injunctive relief accompanies nearly every settlement of Title VII claims. The parties memorialize this relief in the form of a consent decree to be approved by the Court and entered as an enforceable order. Though the parties and the public tend
Enough is Enough: Retail Litigation Center Advises Court That The EEOC Has Overstepped In Attack On Releases
By Christopher J. DeGroff and Laura J. Maechtlen
Background
As many of our loyal readers are aware, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against CVS Pharmacy this year, alleging that a standard severance agreement used by the company violates Title VII of the
Court Rejects EEOC’s Objections To $22,900 Spoliation Sanction Award
By Gerald L. Maatman Jr., Howard M. Wexler, and Nadia Bandukda
In a case we previously blogged about (here and here), EEOC v. Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, LLP, 13-CV-46 (E.D.N.C. Mar. 24, 2014), Magistrate Judge L. Patrick Auld held the EEOC liable for spoliation sanctions based on the “negligence, if