Rojgar Job News

It was only a few years ago that the phrases “unconscious bias” or “implicit bias” started making the rounds in the legal community. I can trace the discussion on this blog to a 2014 guest post from a former law professor of mine, Kim Norwood, who talked about it in the context of her own experiences here.  I also talked about it in the context of a 2014 study that showed that married men with stay-at-home wives had negative attitudes towards working women.   Implicit bias has gained steam over the last several years. Indeed, Professor Norwood came to our firm in 2015 to give a presentation on The Mischief Biases Play in Law and the Legal Profession.  Suffice to say, it was well received and she was asked back again for a further presentation. All of this is a precursor to what I think may be the biggest development thus far in the mainstreaming of the “implicit bias” theory and training. Earlier this week, Starbucks announced that it w...

Employers are generally familiar with the complex web of federal and state statutes that prohibit workplace discrimination on grounds including sex, race, color, national origin, religion, genetic information, age, and disability and they are, by and large, vigilant to prohibit explicit forms of discrimination on these protected bases. But rare is the case where direct evidence of explicit bias is alleged. Cases alleging disparate treatment are more often than note based on circumstantial evidence. Another class of cases – those alleging disparate impact – are even further attenuated. In such cases, facially neutral policies or practices are examined to determine if, as applied, they disproportionately affect protected classes – what the Supreme Court has explained as “practices that are fair in form, but discriminatory in operation.” Griggs v. Duke Power Co ., 401 U.S. 424 (1971). How can otherwise neutral policies result in discriminatory results? The ans...

On December 6, 2019, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (which hears appeals from federal district courts located in Connecticut, New York, and Vermont) unanimously held that employees can allege gender-based pay discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act even if they cannot show that a member of the opposite sex is paid more for equal work.  This ruling will make it easier for employees in the Second Circuit to bring claims alleging discriminatory compensation practices.  Danielle Markou, a former Systemax Vice President of Risk Management, sued her former employer, as well as the company’s CEO and CFO in their personal capacities, alleging violations of various laws, including the Equal Pay Act of 1963 (“EPA”), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, the whistleblower protections of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, and related provisions of New ...