This has been a weird year for me. (And, no, I'm not even thinking about the election!) But I have much to be thankful for, and I hope you do, too.

BREAKING THING TO BE THANKFUL FOR: Yesterday evening, the U.S. Department of Labor's new rule governing white-collar exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act was struck down by a federal judge in Texas. I'll have more on the decision ...

As we knew it would, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has appealed the decision of Judge Sean Cox, who granted summary judgment to a Detroit-area funeral home chain in a transgender discrimination case. Here is my analysis of Judge Cox's decision.

The case will go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which hears appeals from federal courts in Kentucky ...

UPDATE (10/17/16): As expected, the EEOC has appealed the District Court's decision described below to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Last week, I reported that summary judgment was granted against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in its transgender discrimination lawsuit against R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, linked to the decision (but here it is ...

Remember EEOC v. R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes? This was the transgender discrimination case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against a suburban Detroit funeral home chain for allegedly discriminating against an employee after she began presenting as a female. It's one of the few cases where the employer actually fought back, with the help of the Alliance ...

All these HB 2 lawsuits are making me dizzy.

Here is a copy of the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit filed yesterday afternoon against the State of North Carolina. The McCrory (North Carolina) v. USA lawsuit is pending in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina (Raleigh). The DOJ lawsuit is pending in federal court in the Middle District of North Carolina ...

Last week I heard David Lopez, General Counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, speak about EEOC litigation developments at the annual North Carolina/South Carolina Labor and Employment Law conference.

The EEOC has been litigating like a house afire, so I knew you would want to hear what he had to say. Mr. Lopez - who reads this blog and likes it! - gave me permission to ...

In July, I posted about a discovery dispute in the transgender lawsuit going on in the Detroit area. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a funeral home for discriminating against Aimee Stephens, a transgender woman.

The Defendants, represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, had served discovery on the EEOC, seeking intimate details about Ms. Stephens's ...

As our readers know, the EEOC filed two lawsuits last fall against private employers, alleging discrimination against transgender individuals: one case against a medical practice in Florida, and the other against a funeral home operation in the Detroit area.

And as I reported last week, the Florida case settled for $150,000 plus some training and other non-monetary terms.

Under ordinary circumstances, we advise employees who are victims of harassment or bullying to let the bully know that the behavior is not welcome. Then, if the behavior continues, the victim should take it up the chain of command, or directly to Human Resources.

This is fine for those employees who are strong and confident enough to believe that they can do it. But some are not. Maybe ...