This week’s Feature is a special report by HEC on a January 7, 2012 session on Employer and Employee Rights & Responsibilities sponsored by the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, which had representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice, and Homeland Security speak on the employer responsibilities on I-9 Form verification, and how to avoid national origin and immigration status discrimination.

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Lengthy periods of unemployment due to the poor economy has focused the attention of enforcement agencies on the practice of some employers who screen out the unemployed for job consideration. Although the extent of the practice is unclear, it nonetheless can be problematic, since it can disproportionately affect women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. This week’s Feature from CCH HRAnswersNow discusses the pros and cons of using current employment as a criteria for job selection.

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As the population ages, it is not unusual for workers and potential employees to have caregiving responsibilities. Most employers know not to ask applicants about child care arrangements, but what if the candidate volunteers information that he/she is caring for an elderly or disabled relative? This week’s Feature from CCH HRAnswersNow poses the question and answer from the perspective of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

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A complainant may assert a timely claim challenging an employer’s later application of an employment practice alleged to have a discriminatory impact as long as he alleges each of the elements of a disparate-impact claim, a unanimous Supreme Court rules. Read more

Independent contractors can claim disability discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act, which covers individuals subjected to disability discrimination by any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance, the Ninth Circuit decides.

An independent contractor who suffered from sickle cell anemia Read more

An employee who asked to be exempted from a retailer’s “Look” policy which required her to wear revealing or close fitting attire sold by the company can proceed on her discrimination claim based on religion, a federal district court in Missouri rules.

The employee was hired with the understanding that employee duties included wearing clothing that demonstrated the “style” of the store, whi Read more

The Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Dept. of Labor, and U.S. Dept. Read more

Courts “have extended greatly the scope of federal anti-discrimination laws” to include individuals who have a relationship with “protected” persons, says the Jackson Lewis law firm.

According to Jackson Lewis, the Second Circuit explained this trend in a case involving the allegations of a Caucasian assistant bask Read more

A lawsuit brought against Gallaudet University by a partially deaf former dean alleges she suffered harassment and retaliation for “not being Deaf enough” is allowed to proceed by a D.C. federal court.

The claimant was a fully tenured professor at Gallaudet, which provides higher education for the deaf. Read more

A city employer which threw out the results of an objective promotional exam because there was a statistical racial disparity in favor of white and Hispanic firefighters violated the intentional discrimination provisions of Title VII, the U.S. Read more

An employer who took prompt, effective corrective action when a racially offensive remark was reported to management was relieved of liability under a hostile work environment claim, a federal district court in Michigan rules.

It came to a worker’s attention that another worker was referring to him as “Cornelius,” an ape character from “Planet of the Apes.” The supervisor learned of the co Read more

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a supplement to its enforcement guidance on unlawful treatment of workers with caregiving responsibilities.

The Read more

A police officer’s request to wear religious garb with her uniform could not be reasonably accommodated without imposing an undue burden upon the City of Philadelphia, the Third Circuit rules.

The case involves a religious discrimination complaint filed by a police officer who had requested permission to wear a Read more

Workplace discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has soared to an unprecedented level of 95,402 during Fiscal Year 2008 ending Sept.

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The U.S. Read more