Title VII

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By: Linda C. Schoonmaker and Julia M. Tape

Seyfarth Synopsis: Growth in women’s professional sports, including Houston’s anticipated return of a WNBA team, is drawing renewed focus on pregnancy‑related employment issues. Recent WNBA developments underscore how federal law, labor agreements, and enforcement trends are evolving in tandem. Employers across industries can draw key lessons on managing accommodation obligations and…

Continue Reading Managing Pregnancy‑Related Risk in Modern Workplaces: Insights from Women’s Professional Sports

By: Ala Salameh and Chelsea Hoffman

Seyfarth Synopsis: In the thick of college basketball season, it’s not just teams updating their playbooks- employers should also take a hard look at their handbooks as well. With rapidly evolving rules around AI, immigration, paid leave, social media, and workplace accommodations, now is the perfect time for a strategic review to avoid running…

Continue Reading Navigating Through 2026 March [Policy] Madness: Employment Law Updates Employers Can’t Afford to Bench This Season

By Rachel See, Dawn Solowey and Adrienne Lee

Seyfarth Synopsis: In a written opinion issued on March 7, 2024, the EEOC confirmed that an employee must not only show a sincerely held religious belief, but that the employee’s religious belief is actually in conflict with the workplace training or program. The EEOC’s opinion also confirmed that an undue…

Continue Reading EEOC Weighs in on Alleged Conflict Between Religious Beliefs and Civil Rights Training

By  Linda C. Schoonmaker and Darien Harris

Seyfarth Synopsis:  Confronted with pleadings that unequivocally showcases the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department’s discriminatory scheduling policies, the Fifth Circuit finds that the strict application of its precedent regarding the definition of an “adverse employment action” is simply incompatible with the text of Title VII. Hamilton v. Dallas County. What follows…

Continue Reading The Fifth Circuit Has Broadened Its Definition of What Constitutes An “Adverse Employment Action” For Purposes of a Discrimination Claim.  What Will That Mean For Employers?

By Darien C. Harris, Dawn Reddy Solowey, and Lynn A. Kappelman

Seyfarth Synopsis: A Third Circuit ruling against a former United States Postal Service employee’s Title VII religious discrimination claim is under review at the Supreme Court in Groff v. DeJoy. Petitioner’s brief urged the Court to overturn decades of precedent established by the seminal case, Trans…

Continue Reading Arguments for SCOTUS to Preserve and Clarify Hardison now in Play as the U.S. Postal Service and its Amici Supporters Fire Back

By Linda C. Schoonmaker and Darien C. Harris

Seyfarth Synopsis:  The Dallas County Sheriff’s Department gives its detention officers two days off per week.  Prior to April 2019, the schedules were based on seniority, with most officers preferring to take their two days off during the weekend.  Sometime in April 2019, the Sheriff’s Department enacted a scheduling policy that…

Continue Reading The Fifth Circuit May Broaden Its Definition of What Constitutes An “Adverse Employment Action” For Purposes of a Discrimination Claim.  What Will That Mean For Employers?

By Rachel A. Duboff and Erin Dougherty Foley

Seyfarth Synopsis: Employers can take precaution against discrimination claims by ensuring they have legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasoning for their decision-making. An honest explanation of their behavior makes it credible.

The Eighth Circuit’s recent opinion in Banford v. Board of Regents of UM affirms the steps required to prove a discrimination claim. Plaintiff…
Continue Reading The Devil is in the Pretext: No Successful Discrimination Claim If Employee Does Not Carry Burden to Prove Ulterior Explanation for Employer’s Actions

By Samantha L. Brooks and Eric J. Janson

Seyfarth Synopsis: In Lyons v. City of Alexandria, No. 20-1656, 2022 WL 1739987 (4th Cir. June 1, 2022), the Court issued an employer-friendly decision under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq., (“Title VII”), reiterating that employers should not be punished “for …
Continue Reading Fourth Circuit Reaffirms That Consistently Implementing Lawful Business Practices and Policies is Not Discrimination

By Erin Dougherty Foley and James Nasiri*

Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed summary judgment in the employer’s favor on Title VII race discrimination claims filed by an Indiana University lecturer. In rejecting the lecturer’s claims of unequal pay and failure to promote, the Court shed light on how …
Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Rejects University Lecturer’s Title VII Failure to Promote, Unequal Pay Claims

By Matthew J. Gagnon and Sarah K. Bauman

Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 17, 2021, the EEOC updated its COVID-19 technical assistance resources to add guidance on pandemic-based employer retaliation and interference.  The updated guidelines clarify the rights of employees who engage in EEO protected activity.  Key for employers are the numerous examples of what the EEOC deems retaliation in this …

Continue Reading EEOC Technical Assistance On COVID-19: The Commission Adds Insight On Pandemic-Related Retaliation Claims