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Tag Archives: title vii

BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court Supports Fairly Broad “Ministerial Exception” to Anti-Discrimination Laws

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Featured, Highlight, Litigation

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today gave some teeth to the “ministerial exception” that, in essence, precludes some employees of religious institutions from suing them under federal discrimination laws. I’ve discussed the exception in various posts over the years here and here.  Its been supported in the Second Circuit and by the… Continue Reading

Court: Department of Corrections’ Physical Fitness Test Discriminates Against Women

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Class Actions, Discrimination & Harassment, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Litigation

Last week, a federal district court in Connecticut held that the Department of Corrections violated federal law in instituting a discriminatory physical fitness test that created a disparate impact on women.  It also found that the test was not job-related or necessary.   In doing so, the court granted summary judgment to the employee and… Continue Reading

A Witness To Civil Rights History; A Reflection on Our Employment Laws

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Laws and Regulations

Over the last few days, I’ve had the great fortune of attending the American Bar Association’s Midyear Meeting, where I serve as a delegate from Connecticut in the House of Delegates — the organization’s main policy-making branch.    (You can see all my tweets from the meeting at twitter.com/danielschwartz).  Earlier this morning, Representative John Lewis… Continue Reading

Court Dismisses Discrimination Claim On Grounds that Employer Has Less Than 15 Employees

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment

Lost sometimes amid all the aspects of discrimination cases are the technical requirements that still must be shown in order for a discrimination claim to proceed. For example, Title VII applies only to employers with 15 or more employees each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks (But note that there may… Continue Reading

Disparate Impact Claims May Have Extended Statute of Limitations Calculations, Rules U.S. Supreme Court

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

Back in February, I noted that not all U.S. Supreme Court cases are created equal and warned employers not to get too excited about a case that was then being argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court — Lewis v. City of Chicago. Yesterday, the Court released its unanimous decision (download here) in that… Continue Reading

Second Circuit: No Individual Liability Under ADA Retaliation Provisions

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

It has long been the rule in the Second Circuit, that individual supervisors do not have liability under Title VII claims, based on the case of Tomka v. Seiler Corp.  But can supervisors be sued individually under the ADA for retaliation? The Second Circuit last week held that individual supervisors may not be held liable under the… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Title VII Test Case; Will It Be Significant For Employers Or Just Academics?

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

There is a common misconception about the U.S. Supreme Court that all cases that it rules on are created equal.   They’re not. Some take on more significance than others. Case in point: Lewis v. City of Chicago, which was argued yesterday (transcript available here).  I’ve previously discussed the case in an earlier post.  The… Continue Reading

House Passes COBRA Subsidy Extension and..What’s This? Restrictions on Arbitration Clauses??

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Legislative Developments

UPDATED The health care bill debate seems all consuming. At least in terms of press coverage. But yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a defense spending bill (H.R. 3326) that, according to the DC Employment Law Update:  "prevents most defense contractors and subcontractors from forcing their employees or independent contractors to sign, as a condition of… Continue Reading

District Court Enters Judgment Against New Haven; Orders 14 Firefighters to be Promoted

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Litigation

It was never really a question of if, but when. And yesterday, the United States District Court in Connecticut made final what had long been anticipated in the Ricci v. DeStefano case — the promotions of various firefighters to the positions of Lieutenant and Captain.  You can download the order here. In doing so, the… Continue Reading

Ricci Redux: Black Firefighter Files Suit Against New Haven Alleging Race Discrimination

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

Well, that didn’t take too long. Just a few months after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Ricci v. DeStefano, a black firefighter filed suit yesterday in U.S. District Court alleging that he was unfairly denied promotion to the position of lieutenant because of the city’s scoring of a 2003 promotional exam.  You can download… Continue Reading

The Curious Case of Caster Semenya – What Would an Employer Do?

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations

At the recent World Track & Field Championships, a fascinating understory developed about the gender of a runner from South Africa, Caster Semenya.  She recently shattered world records and, in doing so, raised suspicions that something else was going on to explain the record runs. With illegal drugs ruled out, officials are investigating whether she… Continue Reading

Five Things Employers Can Learn from the Ricci v. DeStefano Case

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Litigation

Although I tipped my hand yesterday through some posts (here and here) and an interview with the Connecticut Law Tribune, here are some takeaways for employers from the Ricci v. DeStefano case. The Decision Applies to Private Employers.   Before Ricci was decided, the case could’ve gone two ways — it could have been based on… Continue Reading

Ricci v. DeStefano – The Best of Today’s Coverage of the Supreme Court Decision

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Litigation

For a case out of little Connecticut, the Ricci v. DeStefano case today sure has drawn big interest. Seems like everyone has an opinion on the matter. There are plenty of wrapups of the case out today. Many of them are, predictably, saying much of the same thing: Interesting case; probably applies to private employers;… Continue Reading

What Employers Need to Know About Ricci v. DeStefano – A Free Webinar

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

A further read-through of the Ricci v. DeStefano case today has reinforced my view that there are going to be some real lessons learned for employers out of this case.  The case had the potential of being a very narrow decision which would have minimized the impact to employers. However, because the court addresses head-on… Continue Reading

BREAKING: Ricci v. DeStefano – Supreme Court Reverses Second Circuit And Finds New Haven Violated Title VII in 5-4 Decision

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

In closing out its 2008-09 term today  the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4, along ideological lines that the city of New Haven violated Title VII in refusing to promote a group of white firefighters and refusing to apply the results of a test that it claimed would have had a disparate impact on minorities. The… Continue Reading

Ricci v. DeStefano – How a Little Case Out of New Haven Has Become A “Big Deal”; And Should It Be One?

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

Over the last 24 hours, much virtual ink has been spilled on a case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, Ricci v. DeStefano, because Judge Sonia Sotomayor — one of the judges handling the case at the Court of Appeals — has been nominated to the Court. (I’ve covered the case in various posts here.) … Continue Reading

Awaiting a Decision in Ricci v. DeStefano – More Followup

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Litigation

In the next month or so, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision (or multiple decisions) in the Ricci v. DeStefano matter (for background, see my prior posts here). In the meantime, other bloggers and writers have been adding their views to fill out the spectrum.  On the Talking Points Memo site,… Continue Reading

Ricci v. DeStefano – Wrapup of Coverage of Oral Argument

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

There’s lots of coverage this morning on the Ricci v. DeStefano (otherwise known as the New Haven firefighter reverse discrimination claim) oral argument at the Supreme Court yesterday — among the most significant discrimination cases arising in Connecticut in years.  Here’s a wrap-up: Ellen Simon, of the Employee Rights Post, rightly points out the dilemma… Continue Reading

Ricci v. DeStefano – Oral Argument Transcript Available Here

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

If only all trial and deposition transcripts happened this quickly…. The Supreme Court held oral argument in the Ricci v. DeStefano case earlier today. The transcript is now available here.  The Workplace Prof has the snap judgment which seems pretty on point from my initial scans: I’ve skimmed it enough to see that there’s a… Continue Reading

Ricci v. DeStefano – It’s Oral Argument Day; A Recap of Coverage

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

Later this morning, the United States Supreme Court will hold oral argument on an important reverse discrimination case brought by a group of firefighters in New Haven, CT.  I’ve summarized the case in prior posts (including the latest here). This case, Ricci v. DeStefano, presents recurring issues regarding proper application of Title VII and the  Equal… Continue Reading

Why the Hype on the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act is Overblown

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in CHRO & EEOC, Discrimination & Harassment, Human Resources (HR) Compliance, Laws and Regulations, Legislative Developments, Wage & Hour

There’s a relatively new children’s book out now entitled, "The Wolf Who Cried Boy". It’s a humorous take on the old fable and I read it outloud one evening this week at home.   I can’t help but be reminded of both the classic and new story, reading all of the hyperbole and hype of the last 24 hours regarding… Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Rules that Answering Questions in Internal Investigations Is Protectable Under Title VII Retaliation Provisions

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment

In an unanimous 9-0 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled Title VII protects workers from retaliation after the employee responds to questions in an internal investigation.  The Court held that Title VII protects those workers who speak out on discrimination during company-ordered investigations, not simply those investigations that arise from an actual discrimination claim.  The case of Crawford… Continue Reading

BREAKING: U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Consider New Haven Firefighters Case

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Litigation

The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to consider the case of New Haven, Connecticut firefighers who alleged reverse discrimination when the city denied them promotions despite high test scores, ostensibly out of fears that the test may have discriminated against minority applicants.   I’ve covered the case, Ricci v. DeStefano, previously here and here, and will post more… Continue Reading

Transgender Litigation Part II – Followup and Context from the Tribune

By Daniel Schwartz on Posted in Discrimination & Harassment, Litigation

Last week, I posted about a new decision from the federal court in Connecticut that threw out a transgender litigation claim.  The Connecticut Law Tribune has some additional feedback on that case from the employee’s counsel in today’s paper.  I’m also quoted in the article; in it, I explain that transgender litigation — while perhaps getting… Continue Reading