The Fourth Circuit has issued another good decision in favor of employees who are sexually harassed in EEOC v. Fairbrook Medical Clinic. This case involves a family medicine practice in Hickory, North Carolina.  Here’s the summary: “The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought this suit on behalf of Dr. Deborah Waechter against her former employer, Fairbrook Medical Clinic. The agency alleges that Dr. John Kessel, the sole owner of the clinic, subjected Waechter to a hostile work environment because of her sex in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. The district court held that Kessel’s conduct was not sufficiently severe or pervasive to constitute a hostile work environment. What happened here, however, was not merely general crudity but a series of graphic remarks of a highly personal nature directed at a female employee by the sole owner of an establishment. After carefully considering these circumstances, we conclude that the EEOC has presented an issue of triable fact and accordingly reverse.” Here’s more from the opinion: Read more…

Categories: Judicial Decisions Tags: Case Commentary, Discrimination, EEOC, Fourth Circuit, Hostile Work Environment, Labor and Employment, North Carolina, Severe and Pervasive Conduct, Sexual Harassment

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which was passed last year, goes into effect this weekend with regard to its ban on employment discrimination.  GINA prohibits employers from requesting genetic testing or considering someone’s genetic background in hiring, firing or promotions.  The EEOC’s new website is a good source of information on the Act.

While Congress did well in enacting GINA, its effort to extend unemployment benefits was apparently poorly executed.  Although Congress lengthened the period for extended benefits, it failed to renew the extended benefit program beyond the end of the year.  Hopefully Congress will act quickly, because North Carolina’s unemployment rate is now 11%, but the Senate has been anything but speedy as of late.

Categories: Legislative Action Tags: Congress, EEOC, Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, Labor and Employment, Unemployment Benefits

A recent Wall Street Journal article highlights the trend of more retaliation cases being filed with the EEOC, and likely the courts.  In addition to retaliation claims that are filed with the EEOC (i.e. retaliation related to race, sex, disability, etc. discrimination), many other federal laws have anti-retaliation provisins (such as the Fair Labor Standards Act), as do several North Carolina laws (most importantly, the Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act).  As shown in the graphs in the article, more discrimination claims overall are also being filed in these times of greater layoffs.

Categories: General News Tags: EEOC, Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA, Labor and Employment, REDA, Retaliation, Retaliatory Employment Discrimination Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) was passed last year and went into effect on January 1, 2009.  The Act makes important changes to the definition of the term “disability” by rejecting the holdings in several Supreme Court decisions and portions of existing regulations. The effect of these changes is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is the federal agency tasked with issuing regulations that provide more specific rules concering the act.  According to a Notice by the EEOC about the ADAAA, the Act retains the ADA’s basic definition of “disability” as an impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having such an impairment. However, it changes the way that these statutory terms should be interpreted in several ways. Most significantly, the Act: Read more…

Categories: Legislative Action Tags: ADA, ADAAA, Disability, Discrimination, EEOC, Labor and Employment, Regulations