By: Amy Epstein Gluck The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is taking on Chili’s. No, it’s not because a server added to salt to a margarita when a customer specifically asked for no salt (this happens to me a lot), and it’s not because there were not enough jalapeños on the nachos. Rather, the ACLU recently filed a Charge of Discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) because, it alleges, a district manager out…

I’m a little behind in my reading but bear with me.  Here are a couple of interesting articles on aging and age discrimination that I think bear looking at if you’re feeling that the new year just means that you’re one year closer to .. you know what.  Read these articles and take heart!     In “Equal, but Wrinkled:  Fighting Age Segregation,” also called online “Bringing Older Americans Back Into the Fold,” by…

We have published many posts about the tension between religion beliefs and practices and an employer’s right to reasonable control of the workplace.  This tension is, of course, addressed in Title VII which prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of, among many things, religion. Indeed, it is fair to state that Title VII created that tension when it made religion a protected class in order to protect religious beliefs and practices – before that the…

By: Amy Epstein Gluck As we’ve seen, especially in the past year or so, New York City and State have some of the most employee-friendly laws in the country. Well, a new one may be on the horizon for NYC workers that will be particularly life-changing for the City’s workaholics and the employers that help create them: the Right to Disconnect bill. They don’t call New York the city that never sleeps for nothing, right? This bill,…

Obama: “You All’s President” It’s not only the EEOC which is litigating cases of racial harassment which hit the news – today’s post is about a recent case arising out of the Iowa Civil Rights Commission. Iowa?  A beacon of civil rights? Who knew? Apparently, a business owner in West Des Moines was hit with a $14,700 judgment (lost wages and damages) by the Iowa Civil Rights Commission on behalf of a 62-year-old black part-time employee. …

Well, I was wrong – my post last week was not the last one of the year, as I had promised, dealing with the EEOC’s targeting of “low hanging fruit.” These cases are coming fast and furious. The EEOC just reached a “voluntary conciliation agreement” with Metropolitan Jewish Health System (MJHS) “to resolve allegations of disability discrimination raised by a former employee who filed a charge with the EEOC alleging she was denied a reasonable…

An enormous new settlement of a religious discrimination case brought by the EEOC presents a perfect opportunity to reprise an old post with a new addition. Can an employer fire someone for wearing a veil or hijab? Or a turban? Having dreadlocks? Does a corporate policy on employee appearance trump religious dress or grooming requirements? The bottom line is:  Unless it creates an undue burden, an employee’s religious practices and beliefs must be accommodated by…