Since 1966 private employers with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees and that meet certain criteria are required to report annually the number of individuals they employ by job category, sex, and race or ethnicity.  The EEO-1 report, although filed in 2023, is for the 2022 year.  So, the report is called 2022 EEO-1 Component 1.

More than half of the working population in 2021, 155 million, relied on employer health coverage. While average premiums are up 4% from 2020, costs are up 47% when comparing 2021 to 2011. Deductibles have surged 68.4% over the last decade with the advent of high deductible plans.

Under general EEO law, federal anti-discrimination law liability arises depending on the federal circuit court of appeals in three situations:  the Sixth Circuit prohibits any “materially adverse change in the terms of employment;” the Ninth Circuit prohibits any adverse treatment “reasonably likely to deter” the plaintiff from engaging in protected activity; and finally, the Fifth and Eighth Circuits prohibit an “ultimate employment decision.” ...

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has approved the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Program’s new scheduling letter.  The updated scheduling letter applies to supply and service compliance evaluations scheduled on or after August 24, 2023.

Charlene Carter was a flight attendant at Southwest.  She allegedly claimed that she was fired because she objected to her union's participation in a protest for which Planned Parenthood was a sponsor.  Prior to that, Carter sent repeated messages on social media to the president of Carter's flight attendant union, expressing outrage over the union president’s alleged pro-abortion beliefs. The union president attended the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, D.C....

iTutorGroup Inc. will pay $365,000 to a group of approximately 200 rejected job seekers age 40 and over, according to a consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The 2022 lawsuit against iTutorGroup Inc was the first by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) involving a company's use of AI to make employment decisions.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued final regulations on August 4, 2023, that essentially gut the 2020 rule on Predetermination Notices (PDN).  Essentially, the new rule takes out all transparency of the conciliation process. 

A recent case from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, Braidwood Management, Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, No. 22-10145 (5th Circuit Court of Appeals, 6/20/23), has opened the door for a possible super statute that can override the 1964 Civil Rights Act. In other words, a company who may be a for-profit but with a religious bent, think Hobby Lobby, could discriminate in hiring, for example, against someone of the LGBTQ community, a mother out of wedlock, and more. ...

Artificial intelligence (AI) is coming at a fast and furious pace.  Employers have to strategize the impact of AI on its operations.  A study from researchers at Stanford University and MIT indicate that AI platforms such as ChatGPT could make workers more productive faster, meaning that certain skills, such as customer service positions, could be up and running in a shorter time than in the past.

The Colorado legislature has passed the Ensure Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, amending the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (EPEW) to clarify and enhance an employer’s obligations relating to the announcement of a promotional opportunity.  The effective date is January 1, 2024.  Why does this matter to Michigan employers?  Because Michigan is seemingly taking all of the progressive employment initiatives throughout the country and trying to pass them into law...

The Supreme Court ruled on June 30th in Creative LLC v. Elenis, No. 21–476 (6/30/23) that the First Amendment prohibits the state of Colorado, through its antidiscrimination statute, from forcing a website designer to create expressive designs speaking messages with which the designer disagrees.  Although it is framed as a public accommodation case, this case, along with the Groff v. DeJoy, Postmaster General (600 U.S.___2023) religious accommodation case, may make it interesting...

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last Thursday in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, No. 20–1199 (2023) that Harvard and the University of North Carolina’s race-conscious admissions policies violate the Constitution in a split 6-3 ruling condemning affirmative action in higher education. The case overturned Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U. S. 306 (2003) and ended all affirmative action for college admissions except for military academies. The funny thing is that in both cases,...

ChatGPT and other AI tools are being used by employees to perform their jobs.  In one survey, it was found that around 43% of employees use AI such as ChatGPT at work, mostly without telling their boss.  The problem isn’t just the use of these tools, but the fact employees are providing potentially confidential information to the tools to create solutions. Once the confidential information is in the AI tool, which is a generative AI tool, continuously learning, it is...

A lack of soft skills appears to be a bigger problem than most organizations expected.  Many of the college graduates today were going to school during the heyday of the pandemic – studying and attending class remotely.  Because of the pandemic, many lost out on personal growth with social skills.  This could be a problem not just for current graduates but also for future graduates over the next few years.  What are organizations doing to onboard these...

On May 18, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released Technical Assistance on the use of advanced technologies in the workplace titled Select Issues: Assessing Adverse Impact in Software, Algorithms, and Artificial Intelligence Used in Employment Selection Procedures Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“TA”).    

ChatGPT, and now GPT 4, and other similar artificial intelligence tools (AI) are proliferating through the marketplace.  Unlike other disruptive technologies that would create new jobs to support it, AI may have the opposite effect.  A study by Goldman Sachs reported that 300 million jobs may be lost due to AI.  It may also be a wage suppressant.

Allergies seem to be at a peak this year.  Pollen season has started earlier and earlier in the past years, especially exacerbated by the mild winters.  Generally, allergy season is April to June, but it continues to start earlier and end later.  A study published in the Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2021 found that the North American pollen season starts earlier and lasts longer than it did in 1990, with higher concentrations of pollen. Not good...

Whether or not the Harvard affirmative action case impacts corporate DEI programs is unlikely to be known until the decision comes down in June.  The issue with the Harvard case before the Supreme Court is about proportional representation in student admissions under the guise of diversity for the student body.  The Court is likely to rule against Harvard and the University of North Carolina. They are also likely to overturn the University of Michigan law school case that was...

Be wary if terminating an employee due to “fit.”  In a case coming out of the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, the court found that the "not a good fit" approach may be a legitimate reason for termination, but many lawyers say this could lead to major liability for the employer.

With unemployment still at the lowest levels and demand high, employers have to think outside the box to fill open jobs at their organizations.  For many, competing for talent is simply opening up the wallet, and if pay is involved, salary compression generally follows.  If health benefits are expanded, the question of share could become a sticking point, as various reports have found employees having to decide whether to pay for medical treatment or something else.  It will...

New York City is deferring enforcement of its first-in-the-nation regulation of the use of AI-driven hiring tools (Local Law 144 of 2021), which was initially slated to go into effect on January 1, 2023. The law is actually in effect currently, but enforcement has been deferred to July 5, 2023.  The delay in enforcement was announced by the city’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection in an update as part of the publication of a final rule implementing Local Law 144. ...

Over the years, HR has evolved from personnel to human resources to business partners to HR consultants and more.  However, often HR remains very transactional, with minimal involvement in strategic planning and decision-making.  In part, that is the design of HR as the facilitators of people within an organization to constantly putting out fires as legal compliance grows.  But in 10 years from now, will HR change from transactional to more strategic roles?

In 2022, The Transparency in Coverage Final Rule, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), became effective.  The rule requires health insurers to disclose pricing for covered services and items and must include the rates they have negotiated with participating providers for all covered services and items, as well as the allowed and billed amounts for out-of-network providers. Allowed amounts are the maximum rates insurers will pay for a given service and billed...

Can you afford to retire?  Many think not. Bills have to be paid and cash is at a premium, especially in this inflationary time.  Moreover, although many have stayed the course, and over the pandemic saved more, investments have taken a major hit.  Add the fact concerning all the articles predicting the bankruptcy of Social Security (which is unlikely) and the belief by the younger generations that it won’t be there when they reach the age of retirement, there is a...

An employee was terminated for performance reasons.  Then they throw you a curve ball; they have cancer or need operable surgery that could rise to the level of ADA.  You now have knowledge of it after you terminate the employee.  What do you do?