EEOC Report Reveals Gender and Ethnic Disparities in Federal Workforce

EEOC Report Reveals Gender and Ethnic Disparities in Federal Workforce

A federal agency has released a set of comprehensive reports focusing on the status of women in the federal government. The reports from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) explore the experiences of American Indian and Alaskan Native, African American, and Hispanic and Latina women to offer critical insights into their representation, career progression, and compensation within the federal sector.  Analyzing data from fiscal year 2020 (FY2020) , the reports compare the participation, retention, advancement, and

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New Bill Would Provide Greater Protections for Older Employees

New Bill Would Provide Greater Protections for Older Employees

The U.S. House of Representatives recently introduced a bill that aims to bolster protections against age-related workplace discrimination. The Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act of 2023 (POWADA) would amend the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) to foster a more equitable and age-inclusive work environment. The bill would re-establish the traditional burden of proof standard for age discrimination claims in the workplace.  The ADEA prohibits discriminatory practices throughout the employment process, from hiring and

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New NLRB Decision Makes it Harder for Employers to Classify Workers as Independent Contractors

New NLRB Decision Makes it Harder for Employers to Classify Workers as Independent Contractors

In a recent decision, in Atlanta Opera Inc., the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) returned to the 2014 FedEx Home Delivery (FedEx II) standard for determining independent contractor status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  This decision overturns the SuperShuttle ruling from 2019 and establishes that makeup artists, wig artists, and hairstylists working at the Atlanta Opera are considered covered employees, rather than independent contractors.  The Board’s decision reinforces the use of common law factors in determining employment status

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New York Senate Passes Non-Compete Agreement Prohibitions

New York Senate Passes Non-Compete Agreement Prohibitions

The New York State Senate has successfully passed a bill that aims to prohibit the use of non-compete agreements within the state to safeguard every employee’s future employment opportunities. The bill, S.3100A, if signed into law, will effectively curb employers from imposing restrictions that hinder their employees’ mobility, without unduly impeding businesses from protecting proprietary information through alternative means such as confidentiality agreements and non-solicitation agreements. According to State Senator Sean Ryan, who has championed

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EEOC Releases New Resource for Incorporating AI & Automated Systems into Employment Decisions

EEOC Releases New Resource for Incorporating AI & Automated Systems into Employment Decisions

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published a comprehensive technical assistance document to address the growing concern of discrimination against job seekers and workers in relation to the use of automated systems, including those incorporating artificial intelligence, by employers. The EEOC, as the primary federal agency responsible for enforcing Title VII, seeks to ensure that these technologies align with civil rights laws and promote fairness, justice, and equality. The new publication, Assessing Adverse Impact

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Two New California Initiatives Seek to Regulate AI in Employment Decisions

Two New California Initiatives Seek to Regulate AI in Employment Decisions

The California State Assembly has introduced a new bill to regulate artificial intelligence systems. The proposal, A.B. 331, requires developers of AI systems to mitigate inherent bias within automated decision-making tools (ADTs). The bill seeks to regulate ADTs, which are used to make decisions on any type of eligibility for a benefit or penalty. While these systems have been traditionally used for credit decisions, their usage has expanded to employment screening, insurance eligibility, and health

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Maryland Employment Law Updates: Minimum Wage, Time to Care Act & Non-Compete Agreement Limitations

Maryland Employment Law Updates: Minimum Wage, Time to Care Act & Non-Compete Agreement Limitations

At the end of its recent session, the Maryland legislature passed two new pieces of employment legislation for Governor Wes Moore’s signature. In its long-running efforts to implement family leave, the legislature passed Senate Bill 828, which is a modification to the Time to Care Act that governs Maryland’s new Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program. The bill would delay the start date and make administrative changes to the program. The legislature also sought to

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Virginia Governor Signs Two New Employee Protection Bills into Law

Virginia Governor Signs Two New Employee Protection Bills into Law

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has signed two new bills into law that provide greater privacy protections for employees, while ending the use of nondisclosure, confidentiality and non-disparagement agreements for employees who have experienced sexual harassment. The governor signed Senate Bill 1040, which prohibits employers from using an employee’s social security number (SSN), or any derivative of it, as a means of identification. Employers are also prohibited from including an employee’s SSN on any identification card

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NYC Announces New Enforcement Date for AI in Hiring Tools Regulation

NYC Announces New Enforcement Date for AI in Hiring Tools Regulation

New York City will begin enforcing its new law that regulates the use of AI in hiring tools, on July 5, 2023.   The city has delayed enforcement of the new law, called Local Law 144, since January, due to confusion over the implementation of bias audits in AI systems that employers use for screening job candidates.  The law mandates that employers must inform job candidates beforehand if they use automated hiring systems and conduct a

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New NLRB Guidance for Severance Agreement Non-Disparagement Provisions

New NLRB Guidance for Severance Agreement Non-Disparagement Provisions

New guidance from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is helping employees to understand the limits of non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements. According to a memo to NLRB field offices, lawful severance agreements are still permitted, as long as they do not contain overly broad provisions that affect employee rights to engage with one another to improve their working conditions.  As noted in the recent McLaren Macomb decision, the Board reaffirmed longstanding precedent that employers violate the

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