Maduegbuna Cooper LLP

Pinterest on Monday agreed to pay $22.5 million to settle a gender discrimination and retaliation lawsuit from Françoise Brougher, its former chief operating officer, in one of the largest publicly announced individual settlements for gender discrimination. https://nyti.ms/3p33aTp

Before running background checks, employers are required by law to get permission from job candidates. #EmploymentLaw

The fast-food chain Del Taco has settled a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over its handling of sexual harassment claims, agreeing to pay $1.25 million and accept a consent decree to provide companywide training on anti-discrimination laws to guard against harassment and retaliation. https://nyti.ms/3mJwiyy

The U.S. National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against Google and its parent company Alphabet, accusing the tech juggernaut of violating labor laws. https://cnb.cx/36IO27m

Once a Covid vaccine becomes available, experts think some employers are likely to require workers to get it. But federal protections could allow for some exceptions. #EmploymentLaw https://cnn.it/2UJGr1A

An offer letter is typically a good faith effort by an employer to provide clarity regarding the position for which you just spent months interviewing. Yet it is wise to remember that this is a legal document, often designed to protect the interests of the employer.

A former employee accuses JPMorgan Chase of failing to stop what she said was racially driven bullying. Wall Street has come under growing scrutiny for how it treats people of color, and Black employees in particular. #EmploymentLaw https://nyti.ms/38BuKCv

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission approved changes to its workplace religious discrimination guidance to account for recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions on religious defenses and accommodations, teeing it up for White House review. https://bit.ly/2Uji1Mk

Employment discrimination happens when an employee or job applicant is treated unfavorably because of his or her race, skin color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, or age. http://bit.ly/2nTA0fo

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, sexual harassment can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Harassment is illegal when it is frequent or severe enough to create a hostile work environment, or when it results in an adverse employment decision, like the victim being demoted or fired. #EmploymentLaw

The federal agency charged with upholding workplace safety has dismissed more than half of the complaints from workers who say they were retaliated against for raising coronavirus safety concerns, according to a new report. https://wapo.st/3j6wrcs

A range of employee leave laws could conceivably kick in if a parent suddenly has to be home with their school-age child. The tricky part, however, is that there’s a complicated mix of rules. https://on.mktw.net/36OgSnr

If you're a victim of age discrimination, you should know that you do have recourse. But to build a case, be sure to keep a detailed record of the times you're treated poorly or unfairly because of your age. http://bit.ly/2AZSVZo

The Labor Department on Tuesday announced a proposal that could deem millions of janitors, construction workers and gig workers to be contractors rather than employees, its most ambitious step toward blessing the business practices of companies like Uber and Lyft. https://nyti.ms/36q4JF4

Google’s recent $310 million settlement includes more than 80 updates or changes to its handling of sexual misconduct, discrimination and retaliation cases, the settlement filing shows. #EmploymentLaw https://cnb.cx/34kNguW

New research shows that minimum-wage violations spike as low-paid workers become more vulnerable and less inclined to complain. #EmploymentLaw https://nyti.ms/363lBRQ

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Housing discrimination is illegal, and there has been anti-discrimination legislation on the books for over 50 years. Yet the practice persists today. https://bit.ly/3kvUFhH

As the coronavirus continues its assault on the United States, throwing all aspects of everyday life into upheaval, the courts offer a lens into how treacherous things have gotten in one of those arenas -- the American workplace. https://cnn.it/3hD6ssr

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued a sweeping decision concluding that IBM engaged in systematic age discrimination between 2013 and 2018, when it shed thousands of older workers in the United States. https://bit.ly/2ZMfbCI

Wells Fargo Bank has agreed to pay $7.8 million in back wages and interest to resolve allegations of hiring discrimination. #EmploymentLaw https://bit.ly/2QVzZmq

If you have been terminated from employment, it's important to know your rights. For example, you have the rights provided to you in an employment contract as well as rights protected by state and federal law. https://bit.ly/2y8dDoa

What can you do if you think you’re being marginalized at work? #AgeDiscrimination https://on.mktw.net/34ySLrW

For the millions of workers who suddenly went remote during the pandemic, the boundary between work and life has become more muddled than ever. Now the Department of Labor has issued guidance, reminding workers and their employers to accurately track those hours so that workers get paid for their time. #EmploymentLaw https://bit.ly/3jegyS2

Three Muslim women who used to work at a state detention center for juveniles have filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against Delaware officials claiming they were barred from wearing religious head coverings at work. #EmploymentLaw https://bit.ly/3hkEmmo

Here’s what parents should know about their paid leave or unemployment options if their child’s school or day-care facility shuts down during the pandemic. #EmploymentLaw https://cnb.cx/3g83ITn

The Department of Justice traditionally enforces new laws by issuing non-binding guidance, aimed at alerting the public and other agencies to their rights and responsibilities. But so far, the DOJ has not withdrawn old guidance no longer in compliance with the law after the Supreme Court ruled that Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected LGBTQ people against work discrimination. #EmploymentLaw https://bit.ly/2DFtX68

The Americans with Disabilities Act prevents employers from asking workers to take an antibody test. But that law only applies to private employers with 15 or more employees. #EmploymentLaw https://bit.ly/3fBRRN9

There are two primary types of sexual harassment claims. The first is hostile work environment, when employees are subject to unwelcome sexual conduct that is severe or pervasive. The second type is quid pro quo, where someone in a position of power provides or withholds work benefits based on how the employee responds to sexual advances. #EmploymentLaw

Most private employers are at-will, meaning employees can be terminated for any reason (except an illegal one), and that could include off-duty political activities. There are some exceptions though, and the answer isn't so cut and dry. #EmploymentLaw https://bit.ly/3h3Wf8H

If you’ve decided to report sexual harassment, here are some tips and strategies to consider, courtesy of HR experts and people who’ve done it before. https://bit.ly/396PBvM

A California woman has sued her former employer, saying that she was fired because her young children were making noise during business calls while she was working from home because of the coronavirus pandemic. https://nyti.ms/3ffB4zP

The U.S. Supreme Court has carved out a major exception to the nation's fair employment laws. In a 7-2 vote, the court ruled on Wednesday that the country's civil rights laws barring discrimination on the job do not apply to most lay teachers at religious elementary schools. https://n.pr/2W2W5Xf

A 2017 study from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that 2.4 million employees across the ten largest U.S. states lost $8 billion annually to just one form of wage theft employers paying less than the minimum wage https://bit.ly/31vqhxy

The ADEA would prohibit a covered employer from involuntarily excluding an individual from the workplace based on his or her being 65 or older, even if the employer acted for benevolent reasons such as protecting the employee due to higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, the EEOC added to it’s Q&A section on the topic recently. Employers are, however, permitted to provide flexibility to workers age 65 and older.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets and to social media in recent weeks to express solidarity with or in some cases, objections to the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality. But can they say and do anything without risking their jobs? #EmploymentLaw https://bit.ly/2AKKGUn

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is prohibited under federal civil rights law. https://abcn.ws/2UM385T

Employers are prohibited from discriminating against you on the basis of your disability. You have the right to reasonable accommodation: changes to company policies and your work environment that will allow you to do your job.

There are some measures officials can use to limit protests, and it's easy to accidentally tiptoe into legally murky territory if you don't know the specifics. https://cnn.it/3cw6D6D

Return-to-work plans on the horizon and companies reducing their workforce may mean a spike in age discrimination claims, employment attorneys and academics say. https://bit.ly/2zzWt7D

If your employer offers you your job back and you refuse it, generally speaking, you're not supposed to be able to keep collecting unemployment benefits. But there are strategies and special protections that workers should know about. https://n.pr/2zj3rh0

Some nursing home administrators have sounded the alarm about the lack of protections and have been candid about the outbreaks and shortages at their workplaces. But at other facilities, workers say their management has been unresponsive to their concerns - in some cases allegedly retaliating against staff members for speaking up, which would violate federal labor law. https://nbcnews.to/2ym6EMe

Employment lawyers and advocates expect lawsuits to increase as working parents struggle to manage their work and child-care responsibilities amid school and child-care closings because of the coronavirus. https://wapo.st/2ZjYFKH

The Supreme Court heard arguments on whether lay teachers at parochial schools are exempt from the nation's fair employment laws. The court's eventual decision could reach beyond teachers, affecting the lives of millions of other employees who work for religiously affiliated institutions. https://n.pr/2T3i1Qh

A federal judge tossed pay-bias claims by the U.S. women’s soccer team, finding that the women actually earned more on an average per-game basis than men. The women said team members receive lower bonuses than men, and the women would have received more money if they were paid under the same method as men. The women plan to appeal. https://bit.ly/2yBBaBX

The federal government’s workplace civil rights agency has made a second attempt to advise employers on how to handle employees with medical conditions that could cause a more severe case of Covid-19. The new guidance makes clear that an employer can’t bar an employee from the workplace solely because of an underlying medical condition. Instead, that action can be taken only after a series of steps are followed that consider ways to accommodate the employee, including by possibly altering their job responsibilities. https://bit.ly/2zhBZzN

Shocking Killing of unarmed African American, Kenneth Ross, Jr. by Sgt. Robbins of City of Gardena,California Police Dept. https://youtu.be/0cLH7aGT_p8

While employment discrimination based on HIV status has been banned under the Americans With Disabilities Act since 2008, the EEOC reported that 155 people brought claims of workplace discrimination based on their HIV status in 2019. https://nbcnews.to/3aTz4dJ

In reopened states, workers who are uncomfortable returning to work may be forced to sacrifice their unemployment benefits. #EmploymentLaw https://bit.ly/2VVhyBA

The National Labor Relations Board is looking into whether Amazon unlawfully retaliated against workers for speaking out against the company's coronavirus response. https://bit.ly/2xIPPuQ

Surprisingly, the Supreme Court recently made it easier for only federal employees 40 and older to sue for age discrimination, holding that the more plaintiff-friendly motivating factor test guides such claims, but earlier this year made it more difficult for all plaintiffs under Section 1981 which prohibits racial discrimination in the making and enforcement, including employment discrimination, by making it to require but-for causation. https://bit.ly/3eGrI0i.

We at Maduegbuna Cooper LLP send our best wishes to everyone as we face this unprecedented COVID-19 global health challenge. The health, safety, and well-being of our staff and clients and attention to client matters continue to be top priority. All of our efforts will be consistent with the latest federal and local government guidelines and measures to help stem the spread of COVID-19. These measures include temporary closure of our office requiring us to work from home.... In any event, we will be sure to return emails and phone calls, whether in the office or at home, and are available to discuss over the telephone, Skype, Zoom, other electronic means. We will do our best to remain responsive to you, but we ask for your patience if we are slower than usual in our communications. Please continue to visit our website and social media for the latest operating updates. Our thoughts are with those directly impacted by this crisis, here in New York City, the United States, and around the world. We hope you and your families stay safe and we look forward to welcoming you and our community back soon. Thank you for your continued support in this uncertain time, and stay safe.