As I've previously reported, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed two lawsuits alleging that employers discriminated against employees based on sexual orientation, which the Commission says is prohibited by Title VII.

One of the lawsuits, filed against Pallet Companies/IFCO Systems, settled this week for $202,200. The former employee will receive $182,200 ...

These will be really quick takes, since there are so many of them, on the proposed Enforcement Guidance on National Origin Discrimination issued this week by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (The actual document is 57 pages long, not counting the table of contents.)

I'll try to focus on the less obvious/more interesting points.

Take No. 1: "National ...

I admit it.  I have a crush on Justice Thomas.  Today’s unanimous Supreme Court opinion in CRST Van Expedited, Inc. v. EEOC – holding that a merit-based dismissal is not necessary for a defendant to qualify as the “prevailing party” in a Title VII case – would make any employment defense lawyer’s heart skip a beat.

But the majority opinion is not what caused me to swoon. Justice ...

A semi-recent article in the New York Post -- "The Corporate 'Cure' for Sexual Harassment Only Feeds the Disease" -- cited a couple of studies that allegedly proved that sexual harassment training is worse than doing nothing because it makes men resentful and more likely to tolerate harassment.

Wow. That's terrible!

Except that it's not precisely true. What these studies ...

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has published a new Fact Sheet on LGBT discrimination that employers will find helpful. As I've reported before here and here, the agency is taking an aggressive position regarding coverage of LGBT issues under Title VII's sex discrimination provisions. The EEOC's fact sheet, as well as other materials linked in it, should answer most ...

You've heard of sex-based harassment, race-based harassment, and disability-based harassment.

But have you ever heard of Lego-based harassment?

Shawn Roy was terminated from his job because he was allegedly creating and posting on the internet violent and sexually-oriented videos using Legos that allegedly bore resemblance to his supervisors and co-workers. I viewed the one ...

Dear Readers: Not that anything in this blog constitutes legal advice anyway, but before you accuse me of legal malpractice based on the following post, please notice today's date. Happy April Fool's Day! Robin

Many employers ask me: "Robin, what are your 'best practices' for workplace sexual harassment?" I'm glad you asked!

No. 1: Be sure that your policy on sexual harassment is ...

Glad that's settled.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a nice little "fact sheet" this week for small businesses, summarizing their obligations under the laws that the EEOC enforces. Here's a link.

Just be aware that "sex," in the EEOC's opinion, includes sexual orientation and gender identity.

(No jokes about small hands or "little" presidential candidates

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed today two lawsuits contending that employers' alleged discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation violates the Title VII ban on sex discrimination. One suit was filed on behalf of a gay call center employee in Pennsylvania, and the other was filed on behalf of a lesbian forklift operator in Maryland.

Here is the ...