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EEOC Issues New Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence in Employment Selection Procedures

On May 18, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a non-binding “technical assistance” document that offers employers guidance on the applicability of Title VII to the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) in employment selection procedures such as hiring, promoting and firing. The guidance comes as the EEOC continues to prioritize its consideration of potential discriminatory policies and practices that incorporate AI…
Continue Reading EEOC Issues New Guidance on Use of Artificial Intelligence in Employment Selection Procedures

On Friday, April 17, 2020, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) updated its guidance on COVID-19 issues and equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws.  The easy to read Q&A format is necessary reading for essential employers whose physical workspaces remain open, and for employers contemplating re-opening plans or personnel changes.  The EEOC’s guidance clarifies that EEO laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), continue to apply during the pandemic while recognizing that these laws should not interfere with applicable safety guidelines issued by the CDC and other agencies.  Recent guidance addresses the following issues:
Continue Reading EEOC Releases Updated COVID-19 Guidance

I’ve said before and I’ll say it again.  Zero-tolerance policies are a bad idea when addressing sexual harassment complaints.  In fact, they shouldn’t even apply to complaints about discrimination or workplace infractions.  Although zero-tolerance policies convey the impression that an employer is taking a hard line stand against conduct it wants to discourage or eliminate, the reality is a little more complicated, just like the workplace.
Continue Reading Zero-Tolerance Policies Hurt Harassment Reporting and #MeToo

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released data detailing breakdowns for the charges of workplace discrimination it received in 2018. Sexual harassment charges increased 13.6% from 2017 – making sexual harassment the second most frequent charge filed with the EEOC.  Overall, the agency received 7,609 sexual harassment charges and obtained $56.6 million in monetary benefits for victims of sexual harassment.
Continue Reading #MeToo Continues National and Local Impact: EEOC Identifies Increase in Sexual Harassment Charges, CGA Considers Change to Sexual Harassment Law

On September 5, 2017, the Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed the Superior Court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the employer in a case involving the thorny issue of whether an extended leave of absence is a reasonable accommodation. Thomson v. Department of Social Services, 176 Conn. App. 122, AC 38851. Both the Superior Court and the Appellate Court rejected the employee’s claim that her employer had failed to accommodate her disability in terminating her employment while on extended leave after she had exhausted FMLA leave. This decision is an important victory for employers. It makes a strong statement that employers need not grant open-ended leaves of absence under state law. On the facts presented, the court concluded that the employee was not entitled to proceed to trial. Summary judgment decisions in the employer’s favor in state court are rare. Rarer still is the affirmation of the Appellate Court on an issue that vexes human resources departments around the state.
Continue Reading Indefinite Leave Not A Reasonable Accommodation Under Connecticut Law

On August 22, 2017, a federal trial judge injected uncertainty into the ability of in-house counsel to communicate with company employees during an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigation. In EEOC v. Day & Zimmerman NPS, Inc. (D. Conn. Aug. 22, 2017), Judge Victor A. Bolden concluded that an employer could be liable for ADA retaliation by sending a letter to its employees informing them of the existence of an ADA claim by an employee and advising them about potential interviews by the EEOC.

By way of background, the employee involved had filed a charge with the EEOC, alleging that a company had violated the ADA by firing him from working at the Millstone nuclear power station after he provided a doctor’s note indicating that he could not work around radiation. The EEOC soon commenced an investigation into the charge, requesting a list of roughly 150 employees who worked at Millstone during the time period at issue, including those individuals’ names, job titles, dates of employment, home addresses, and telephone numbers.
Continue Reading Company May Violate ADA by Informing Employees about Details of EEOC Investigation