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 ...

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has come out with a decision interpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act that pretty much confirms all of our worst fears about the scope of that new law.

And I think the Court's legal analysis was 100 percent correct.

Sorry, employers, but the Fourth Circuit nailed it.

The Fourth Circuit hears appeals from federal ...

Following up on my Tuesday morning post on how the labor and employment agencies are affected by the government shutdown, I spoke with Colin O'Keefe of LXBN on the topic. In the brief interview, I explained what private employers should know about the shutdown and the effects on employees of the federal government.

One thing we did not discuss in the video or in my Tuesday post -- the ...

It has been a busy week. Muslim headscarves, tech exec's tweets get him fired, and Lady Gaga is going to trial!

UPDATE ON LADY GAGA (10/22/13): She has settled her case.

Abercrombie gets fitched, and HR doesn't always get it right. I have previously reported on the litigation against Abercrombie & Fitch and its "looks policy" which at one time did not allow head coverings, even if worn for ...

Here's a little Friday quiz for you -- no grading, and answers appear below -- on the subject of retaliation.

After you take the quiz, stay tuned for the story that inspired me to write about this.

RETALIATION QUIZ

1. Approximately how many labor and employment laws have anti-retaliation provisions?

A. All of them

B. Three - Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age ...

Has the EEOC ever read this book? Maybe we should send them a copy.

By now, you have probably heard about the latest spanking administered by the Honorable Roger W. Titus, U.S. District Court Judge for the District of Maryland, to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -- in a criminal and credit history case against Freeman, an event planning company.

Judge Titus granted the ...

(As the agencies and courts enter their year-end flurry of mischief, I'll be doing quick posts as needed on the latest developments.)

Dum-da-dum-dum!

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has adopted essentially the Strategic Enforcement Plan that I posted about earlier this year. The final version has added "equal pay enforcement" to its list of high priorities. Here is the ...

Well! OK!

It's been an interesting week, hasn't it? Congratulations to President Obama on winning a second term. My Election 2012 coverage would not be complete without some labor and employment prognostications for Obama Administration II.*

*Please do not read these again in 2016 to see how accurate I was. I don't want to be known as the Dick Morris of employment law bloggers.

My colleague and fellow blogger Jon Hyman had an excellent post this week about the settlement in the Dura Automotive case -- in which the company tested its employees for both illegal and legal drugs. And that wasn't all -- according to the press release of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, employees who tested positive for the designated legal drugs were required to state ...

"Now, you know it's up to you whether or not you want to just do the bare minimum . . ."

I guess Joanna didn't need more than 15 pieces of flair, after all.

Did you know that three out of four federal appellate courts say that, if a disabled employee needs a transfer as a reasonable accommodation, you must normally give the disabled employee preference over better-qualified non-disabled ...