On Monday (June 29, 2009), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of white firefighters in a 5-4 decision addressing workplace reverse discrimination. The Court held, in Ricci v. DeStefano, that the city of New Haven, Connecticut, violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 when it threw out the results of a [...]

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, the high-profile discrimination case involving firefighters employed by the city of New Haven, Connecticut. In a 5-4 decision, the Court reversed the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in favor of New Haven. Essentially, the Supreme Court said the city improperly threw [...]

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today (June 26) that the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 (Rev. 02/02/09) currently on the USCIS website will continue to be valid for use beyond June 30, 2009. The agency has requested that the Office of Management and Budget approve the continued use of the current  Form I-9. [...]

U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts) introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 (ENDA) June 24 in the U.S. House of Representatives. If passed, ENDA would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently filed its third sexual harassment case in less than a year against Oregon agricultural employers. The most recent suit charges that sexual harassment and retaliation occurred at Willamette Tree Wholesale, a retail nursery with 140 acres of farmland and a garden supply store in Molalla, Oregon, where Latina [...]

The U.S. Supreme Court held today in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., that employees who sue their employers for age discrimination must prove that age was the cause of an employment decision, even if they have some evidence that age was a factor in the decision. This 5-4 decision makes it harder for employees [...]

President Barack Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum on Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination June 17 at an Oval Office event. The memorandum addresses the benefits to which same-sex partners of federal employees may be entitled and is a result of internal reviews conducted by the director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the secretary [...]

(Updated June 17, 2009) The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) voted Wednesday (June 17) to move forward with revising its regulations to conform to changes made by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA), which would make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a [...]

On June 1, 2009, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed the Parental Involvement in K-12 Education Act (H.B. 1057) into law. The Act takes effect on August 5, 2009, and requires employers with 50 or more employees to grant leave to employees to attend their children’s academic activities.

Governor Doyle recently signed Senate Bill 20, which drastically changes discrimination claims under Wisconsin law. Previously, discrimination claims based under Wisconsin law were processed by the Equal Rights Division of the Department of Workforce Development (ERD). The only remedies available were back pay, attorneys’ fees, and reinstatement (or front pay in some instances).