04-24-2025

A North Dakota federal district court has permanently blocked the EEOC from enforcing its regulation requiring employers to accommodate employees who have abortions or undergo certain fertility treatments. The Catholic Benefits Association and the Bismarck Diocese sued the EEOC over its regulations regarding reproductive protections for employees under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA required employers to provide reasonable accommodation for a worker’s pregnancy or childbirth-related needs. The judge concluded that the association and diocese established that the PWFA violated their constitutional right to religious freedom.

04-23-2025

Three law students filed a lawsuit against the EEOC in a Washington, D.C., federal court. They assert that the scrutiny over the diversity policies at 20 law firms is illegal and may expose personal information about attorneys and job applicants. Acting chair Andrea Lucas asked for information from these firms, including law students’ names, sex, race, contact information, academic performance, compensation, participation in affinity groups, and numerous details about their employment history. The three anonymous students claim Lucas did not have the power to require law firms to provide extensive information about the firms’ respective diversity initiatives.

04-22-2025

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive directive intended to help increase the number of men going to college or enrolling in skills training programs. The gap between men and women in the state enrolling in additional education has widened in recent years (Bridge Michigan). This growing gap is evident in an ongoing community college program that offers reduced fees or free tuition to resident adults. 67% of the enrollees in that program are female.

04-17-2025

A UC Riverside School of Business professor led a study on how sharing information about employee pay alters workplace relations. The study by Professor Boris Maciejovsky was published in the Journal of Business Ethics. According to the study, disclosing employee compensation impacts “workplace ethics, motivation, and performance.” When employees learn how their wages compare to that of their peers, “feelings of entitlement—and the salary they believe they deserve—can rise or fall depending on how close they are to the top of the performance rankings lists.” (UCR News)

04-16-2025

As IL law students at top schools consider their pursuit of large law firms, they are looking at the executive orders and where firms stand with the administration. Some students are concerned about which of these firms will survive. Other students wonder if they can do the pro bono work that interests them at firms that have reached an agreement with the administration.

04-15-2025

The Associated Press secured a copy of an internal email from the Food and Drug Administration telling some employees that they do not have to return to the office. FDA staffers returned to work in mid-March based on an order they received this year. The agency instituted a hybrid work arrangement decades before the COVID-19 pandemic. It used the perk of working two days a week from home to help recruit highly-trained experts who could earn higher pay working outside the federal government.

04-10-2025

Reddit is used by many employees to anonymously share job struggles, office experiences, and workplace issues. One recent thread involved a user who expressed frustration after her boss pushed back on the amount of leave she took. The user, SML, said she took 11 days of annual leave by March 2025, which was not unusual. The company provides 31 days for everyone, and SML had three extra days under contract and four days carried over from the prior year. She laid out her plan for the 27 days she had left for 2025 to her boss. The Boss challenged the number as “excessive” and referred the matter to HR.

04-09-2025

Angel Tudor worked as a Whitehall Central School District (WCSD) teacher. She had developed PTSD from severe workplace harassment at a prior job. She asked WCSD to allow her to take two 15-minute breaks during the day in addition to lunch as an accommodation of her PTSD. The district allowed her to take one break in the morning, but Tudor alleged she did not have permission to do so in the afternoon. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals evaluated whether WCSD was required to accommodate Tudor.

04-08-2025

Medical conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, sensory processing disorder, and Tourette’s Syndrome are commonly considered types of neurodivergence. The ADA protects employees from discrimination based on physical and mental conditions that substantially impair a major life activity, including some types of neurodivergence. Data released by the EEOC earlier this year shows a rise in claims alleging discrimination based on neurodivergence.