Where are we these days with respect to mind-altering substances and the workplace? Here's the latest, with the "substances" discussed in alphabetical order. This blog post is guaranteed accurate™ for at least the next five minutes.

ALCOHOL. Alcohol is legal, which means that it is generally recognized as the most abused of substances. Employers can prohibit its use in the ...

When I do harassment training, I ask my audiences whether they think employers should ban the "N" word even when it's used by African-Americans among themselves. In my experience, the African-Americans in the audience have been the most vocal advocates for treating everyone equally in this regard. In other words, they argue, the word should be banned for everybody -- not banned for some ...

Chai Feldblum, a Commissioner of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, recently presented an update on the EEOC's handling of charges alleging sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.

At the meeting, reported this week in Bloomberg BNA, Commissioner Feldblum said that the EEOC is now tracking the intake and resolution of these charges, which I'll refer ...

UPDATE (1/15/16): The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed this decision yesterday, finding that Ms. Chavez's "mixed-motive" claim can go to a jury. Here is a copy of the Eleventh Circuit decision. Thanks very much to Ms. Chavez's attorney, Jillian Weiss, who alerted us.

A recent decision from a federal court in Georgia provides an excellent illustration about how ...

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs has issued a new directive on gender-identity discrimination, consistent with President Obama's recent amendment to Executive Order 11246. In essence, the directive says that discrimination based on gender identity is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, a position that has already ...

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act is dead again. Is there any federal law on same-sex harassment or discrimination? If so, what is it? Here are some scenarios that may be helpful in picking through this crazy extremely complex and rapidly transitioning area of the law. (Answers are provided after Scenario 6, below.)

The American Bar Association is still accepting nominations for ...

This morning President Obama signed an Executive Order amending the 1965 Executive Order 11246. President Obama's EO prohibits discrimination and requires affirmative action by federal contractors based on sexual orientation and gender identity. (It isn't clear what the affirmative action obligation will mean.)

The President's EO also makes corresponding amendments to ...

A reader, who has asked to remain anonymous, suggested that I write about employees who make "stupid" complaints about discrimination, harassment, or other allegedly unlawful treatment.

The following is a fictionalized email, but it accurately presents the spirit of her concern.

Dear Robin,

I am a Human Resources director for a government employer. You won't believe this, but I ...

An article by Lauren Weber and Rachel Feintzeig in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal caught a lot of attention -- it was about companies that have made the decision to do without a Human Resources function.

The idea drew some positive response on Twitter:

HR stifles innovation and bogs down businesses with inefficient policies and processes. http://t.co/5cGRIwHaxR

— Mike Brice ...

The EEOC -- can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

As irritated as I sometimes become with the agency's lawsuits, I have to hand it to them. The guidance they have recently published jointly with the Federal Trade Commission on background checks is great -- written in plain English (no legalese), concise, and convenient. An employer can read and comprehend it without even needing an ...