2019 Webcast Subscriptions Now Available!
|
|
October 31st marked another anniversary of the
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
, the 40th to be exact. Despite four decades of opportunities for employers to learn what the law requires and prohibits, lessons are still being taught. December brought at least four headlines from the EEOC, citing employers' violations of the Act. One case was settled to the tune of
$1.75 million
and another for
$3.5 million!
In one case, an employee announced she was pregnant. The employee was subsequently fired. Why did the EEOC believe the latter had anything to do with the former? Because, the manager who fired the employee reportedly told her co-workers the employee was no longer working there
because
she was pregnant.
Lesson learned
: train your mangers. Discretion is not just the better part of valor; it just might keep you out of how water.
In the $1.75 M
case
, the EEOC alleged an employer used rigid leave policies and practices, failing to provide reasonable accommodation to pregnant employees, as well as those with disabilities). Additional leave was refused, firing employees who could not return to work at the end of their leave, firing some before the end of their scheduled leave, and failing to rehire others when they tried to return to work. The scenario was similar in the
$3.5 M suit
.
Lesson learned
: As the EEOC representative described it, "The EEOC continues to see cases in which employers have a rigid leave policy that discriminates against individuals with disabilities or pregnant employees." Another suggested, "Giving employees a job modification that allows them to continue working can be a critical reasonable accommodation for pregnant women or people with disabilities when they really need that paycheck."
For more information, check out the EEOC's
2015 Guidance
on "Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues" and the 2016
Guidance
, "Employer-Provided Leave and the Americans with Disabilities Act."
|
|
Dress Code, Policies & Practices
|
|
If you think the $3.5M headline above was painful, how about
$4.9M
?! That is reportedly the largest settlement in the EEOC's history related to religious discrimination and is what UPS will pay to settle a class action lawsuit alleging its dress code policy and practices violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, discriminating against certain employees based on their religion. The settlement stems from a
lawsuit filed
by the EEOC in 2015, alleging UPS prohibited male employees in customer contact or supervisory positions from wearing beards or growing their hair below collar length, and failed to provide reasonable accommodation for those who objected on religious grounds.
The issues in this case are not new or rare. Charges based on religious discrimination and harassment recently tied their all-time, record high that was set 17 years ago, following the events of 9/11! This year, t
he US Supreme Court may address, “questions of great importance to all employees of faith—questions at the core of how to define “reasonable accommodation” and “undue hardship” in Title VII.”
For the EEOC's guidance "What You Should Know About Workplace Religious Accommodation"
click here
. Then plan to join FiveL's January 30th webcast, "
When Worlds Collide: Religion & Faith in Today's Workplace
."
Click here
for the program description and to register.
|
|
|
The Internal Revenue Service published a new W-9 Form in October. Be sure you are using the most current form, dated October 2018 in the upper left and lower right corners.
Click here
for the form and instructions.
|
|
|
A SHRMStore
Great 8 Best-Seller
8 Years in a Row
!
Thank
YOU
!
|
|
Upcoming Events, Seminars & Presentations
|
- Tuesday, January 22nd, "Trending Now! HR's Hot Topics from A to Z," Salisbury, MD, hosted by ES SHRM.
- Wednesday, January 30th - "When Worlds Collide: Religion & Faith in Today's Workplace," a FiveL webcast.
|
|
This publication does not constitute the rendering of legal advice. You should consult your company's legal counsel for guidance on any matter.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
