Discrimination in Employment

Oklahoma employees will now have more information about their rights and protections under Oklahoma’s Employment Discrimination Law. The Office of Civil Rights Enforcement (OCRE) has updated the state Employment Discrimination posting to include additional details about what constitutes (1) unlawful discrimination in employment, (2) unlawful harassment and (3) unlawful retaliation. Unlawful Discrimination in Employment The Read more

In the last three years, Puerto Rico enacted two laws that extended protections against employment discrimination available under Act No. 100 of June 30, 1959 to employees based on their military status, sexual orientation, and gender identity. In May 29, 2013, Puerto Rico’s government passed Law 22. This law makes it illegal to discriminate on Read more

Summer is just around the corner and already employers are planning for the arrival of unpaid interns to join their workplace ranks. As defined under federal, state and local law, the term “unpaid intern” generally refers to a closely supervised individual who works for an employer on a temporary basis and the work provides training Read more

Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) distributed a memorandum reinforcing the agency’s position that discrimination based on sexual orientation, transgender status, and gender identity violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). Title VII prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Title Read more

Some employers and their workers might find it surprising to learn that in most states unpaid interns, unpaid trainees and volunteers are not covered by state harassment and employment discrimination laws.  This exclusion is slowly changing. Protected Status California recently became the fourth state to pass a law (CA AB 1443) that protects unpaid interns, Read more

Compliance Poster Company’s Newfoundland & Labrador All-On-One™ Labor Law Poster has been updated with several labor law changes that impact employer responsibilities and policies, and employee rights. These changes apply to all employers in the province. Minimum Wage Increase Oct. 1 One change that may have the greatest impact is a 25-cent increase in the Read more

President Obama recently issued an Executive Order that protects federal employees and employees of federal contractors from discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.  Specifically, the President’s July 21, 2014 Executive Order adds the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” to the list of characteristics protected from discrimination under Executive Read more

Back in November 2011 Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law legislation outlawing employment discrimination based on gender identity. Massachusetts House Bill 3810, made gender identity a protected category under Massachusetts nondiscrimination statutes. It also added gender identity as a protected category to several laws to protect individuals from harassment and other hate-related crimes. With Read more