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Posted October 5, 2017 with Tags Sarah Riskin, sarah riskin attorney, gender identity discrimination

Despite Attorney General’s Memo, Employers Should Prohibit Gender Identity Discrimination

On October 4, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memorandum that the Department of Justice is reversing its position with regards to discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Under the Obama administration, the Justice Department previously announced that it considered discrimination on the basis of gender identity to be a form of sex discrimination under Title VII.

Posted July 27, 2017 with Tags EEOC, Sarah Riskin, Discrimination Defense, DOJ

Washington’s Whiplash: Sexual Orientation Discrimination and Title VII

In the last six months, the scope of federal protection against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (and gender identity) has been a hot topic in the courts and Trump administration. During the Obama administration, federal agencies and the Department of Justice argued in favor of such protection. The Trump administration is taking the opposite approach, and yesterday the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in the Second Circuit explicitly arguing that Title VII does not prohibit sexual orientation discrimination. The courts are divided. In the spring of 2017, the Seventh Circuit ruled that sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination under Title VII, while the Eleventh Circuit rejected that view. The Second Circuit is weighing the issue, and in the meantime, what's an employer to do?

Posted April 5, 2017 with Tags Sarah Riskin, Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Discrimination Defense

Federal Circuit Rules Sexual Orientation Covered Under Title VII

In what could be labeled a landmark decision, a federal circuit court extended Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins to hold that, as a matter of law in every case, a claim of sexual orientation discrimination is a claim of sex discrimination under Title VII.

Posted February 2, 2017 with Tags Jason Hungerford, Sarah Riskin, Employment law, Politics in the workplace

Employers: Tread Carefully When Politics are Discussed in the Workplace

After a little more than a week into President Trump’s presidency, his promise to shake things up is creating spirited debate. In such a highly charged political environment, employers are asking what steps they can and should take to keep political disagreements from negatively impacting the workplace.