EPELog

Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VII”) and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (“PHRA”), an employer may not discriminate “because of sex”.   Harassment may be viewed as a form of discrimination “because of sex”. According to two recent cases, Pennsylvania Federal Courts view “because of sex” more broadly than the traditional notions of sexual harassment in the workplace. Marykate … [Read more...] about Pennsylvania Employers Beware: Discrimination Because Of Sex May be Broader than You Think

On January 20, 2017, President Trump’s first official day in office, he signed an Executive Order titled “Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Appeal.” While this Executive Order makes no practical change to the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), it sets a clear intention, on the part of the Trump Administration, to “seek the prompt repeal” of the … [Read more...] about Affordable Care Act Update: President Trump Signs an Executive Order, But Nothing Changes Yet

On December 31, 2016, a federal judge in Texas issued a nationwide injunction. In issuing this injunction, the court halted the scheduled January 1, 2017 implementation of a rule which would bar discrimination on the basis of gender identity or termination of a pregnancy. The Health and Human Services Department unsuccessfully argued that the discrimination laws, which prohibit discrimination … [Read more...] about A Federal Judge in Texas Bars Enforcement of Some Anti-Discrimination Protections Under Affordable Care Act

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is responsible for enforcing Federal Laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of a person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age disability or genetic information. This past month, the EEOC updated its guidance on national origin discrimination.  In this publication, the EEOC emphasized the … [Read more...] about EEOC Issues Guidance On National Origin Discrimination

As many retailers are doing what they can to maximize revenues during the holiday season, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) released the following list of common holiday season labor violations: Failing to pay workers for prepping or closing out a register. Requiring personnel to work through breaks without pay. Not paying overtime when employees work 40+hours in a workweek. The rise of these … [Read more...] about Making A List and Checking it Twice: DOL’s Common Holiday Season Labor Violations

In an interesting case from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, that Court has held that a plaintiff asserting a claim under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) does not need to be physically pregnant at the time of the alleged adverse employment action in order to bring suit. The Court described the claims in the case of Snider v. Wolfington Body Company, Inc. as an allegation that the … [Read more...] about Does a Plaintiff Need to be Pregnant to State a Claim Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act ? The Answer is No.