Federal Agency Says Transgender People Protected

(Source: Bloomberg Burinessweek)

The agency that enforces the federal job discrimination laws has for the first time ruled that transgender people are protected from bias in the workplace.

In a groundbreaking decision late last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said a refusal to hire or otherwise discriminate on the basis of gender identity is by definition sex discrimination under federal law.

While some federal courts have reached the same conclusion in recent years, employment law experts say the EEOC decision sets a national standard of enforcement that offers employers clear guidance on the issue.

Women still confront yawning gender wage gap: study

(Source: Chicago Tribune)

In most common occupations women still make less than men doing the same job for an equal amount of hours, according to new data released on Tuesday.

Overall they earn 77 cents for each dollar made annually by men and in some professions such as financial managers the number drops to 66 cents.”These gender wage gaps are not about women choosing to work less than men – the analysis is comparing apples to apples, men and women who all work full time – and we see that across 40 common occupations, men nearly always earn more than women,” said Ariane Hegewisch, a study director at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), a non-profit research organization.She added that the reasons are varied but discrimination law cases show that women are less likely to be selected for the best jobs, they get hired at a lower rate and don’t get equivalent raises to men over the years.

NY Woman, 73, Sues Walmart for Age Discrimination

(Source: Reuters)

Walmart has been hit with another discrimination suit, this time from Anne Squatrito of Long Island, New York. The 73-year-old grandmother is accusing the big box store of conspiring to fire her in violation of age and disability workplace laws.

More specifically, her Walmart age discrimination suit claims that managers altered her responsibilities shortly after she returned from disability leave. Though they were aware that she had a heart attack, they instructed her to move 200 loads of merchandise.

By herself.

Vanderbilt University to spell out bias policy

(Source: The Tennessean)

Vanderbilt University administrators are writing down a nondiscrimination policy they claim has been in place for decades, the newest chapter in a monthslong debate that has pitted them against some student religious organizations.

Leaders of the Christian Legal Society, the Graduate Christian Fellowship, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Beta Upsilon Chi say they accept any student as a member, but they want a religious exemption so they can require their leaders to hold specific beliefs. Vanderbilt’s policy dictates that anyone who wants to join in any capacity should be welcome.

The religious groups are frustrated, they say, because the university has not produced a written version of the policy and has alternately called it a “nondiscrimination” and an “all-comers” policy, which they believe are two different things.

Religious Discrimination or Legitimate Business Decision? It Depends.

(Source: JD Supra)

Anyone who works frequently with employment counsel has heard the words “it depends” – it (the answer to a question) depends on the specific facts and circumstances at issue, which should be analyzed and discussed before a course of action is determined.

Two recent cases illustrate this point.  Both cases arose out of similar, but not identical, situations.