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Q. Has the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued any recent guidance regarding employers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI)?

A. Yes. On May 18, the EEOC released new guidelines, explaining how employers’ use of AI could trigger a federal employment law violation. This development makes the government’s position clear: Employers using AI in the workplace run the risk of violating antidiscrimination law — specifically, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.…

Continue Reading With Great Hiring Power Comes Great Responsibility: EEOC Releases New Warnings for Employers Leveraging AI

Q. What is the new deadline to file an EEO-1 report?

A. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced in a press release on May 7, 2020 that it will postpone its annual collection of EEO-1 demographic data until 2021, in light of the circumstances surrounding the novel coronavirus outbreak. This comes at a time when many employers were already waiting for a determination as to when the EEOC would begin collecting reports from 2019.
Continue Reading EEOC Delays EEO-1 Data Reporting Deadline to 2021 Due to COVID-19

Q.  What is the status of the EEOC’s requirement that we submit pay data with our annual EEO-1 Form?  Also, have there been any updates on the lawsuit blocking the DOL’s rule raising the salary basis for certain non-exempt employees?

A.  As we reported previously, the EEOC, as part of its effort to detect and remedy pay discrimination, amended its EEO-1 Form to require that employers with 100 or more employees submit detailed pay data on their workforce.  On August 29, 2017, the OMB sent a memorandum to the EEOC, staying implementation of this requirement.  Thus, at least for now, employers may limit the information provided on the EEO-1 Form to data on race, ethnicity and gender by occupational category (but not data on pay or hours worked).
Continue Reading Employers Not Required to Submit Pay Data or Follow Higher Salary Basis Threshold for Exempt Employees

Q.  Are the EEOC’s Wellness Program rules still valid?

A.  The ADA and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act both permit an employer to seek medical information as part of a wellness program if the employee participates voluntarily.  However, neither statute defines the term “voluntary.”…
Continue Reading EEOC’s Wellness Program Rules in Doubt

Q.  My company is based in Philadelphia.  We often set salaries for new employees based on the applicant’s wage history.  Are we still permitted to do this?

A.  Effective May 23, 2017, a new Philadelphia Ordinance makes it unlawful for employers in Philadelphia to inquire about a prospective employee’s wage history or require disclosure of wage history as a condition of employment.  The law was passed to encourage employers to base salary offers on the job responsibilities of the position sought, rather than on the applicant’s prior wages.  Employers will no longer be able to rely on the wage history of a prospective employee when determining the wages of that individual, unless the individual knowingly and willingly disclosed his or her wage history to the employer.
Continue Reading Philadelphia Employers May Not Ask Wage History Questions Under New Ordinance

Q:  What does it mean to discriminate against someone based on their national origin?

A:  Title VII prohibits employers from acting in a way that would have the purpose or effect or discriminating against an employee because of his or her national origin.

But what does the term “discrimination based on national origin” really mean?
Continue Reading EEOC Issues Guidance Interpreting National Origin Discrimination

Q.  I work for a company that employees more than 100 employees.  I heard somewhere that we now have to include pay data and hours worked on our EEO-1 forms.  Is that true?

A. Yes!  Beginning with calendar year 2017, employers with 100 or more employees will be required to submit pay data and hours…