Compliance Stuff

From the feds. This week, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Justice issued  technical assistance materials  on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, including one document titled  “What to Do if You Experience Discrimination Related to DEI at Work,”  and another titled  “What You Should Know About DEI-Related Discrimination at Work.” Employers with DEI programs will want to review both documents and determine whether they need to make any adjustments to avoid legal challenges. Meanwhile, here are seven quick (and, in my opinion, very helpful) tips from the materials: Tip No. 1: Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to all employees, male and female, "majority" and minority.   One big issue  before the U.S. Supreme Court right now  is whether “reverse” discrimination plaintiffs have a more stringent burden of proof than plaintiffs who are women claiming sex discrimination, or members of minor...

  Among the multitude of executive orders issued by President Trump in his first few days of office, he issued  Executive Order 14168  “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” (the EO ).  This EO states that the U.S. Federal Government recognizes only two sexes – male and female – and aims to remove what it describes as “gender ideology extremism.”    Purpose of the Executive Order This EO reverses President Biden’s position on diversity, equity, and inclusion and transgender rights. Its stated purpose is to keep women safe from men who “self-identify as women and gain access to single sex spaces and activities designed for women, from women’s domestic abuse shelters to women’s workplace showers.”   “Gender ideology” is described in the EO as a “false claim” that “replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity.”   Direction Unde...