Compliance Stuff

  E mployer-sponsored networking events and leadership programs are often created to support professional development and employee engagement . But when access to those opportunities is limited based on a protected characteristic, the program itself can become the basis for a Title VII claim. That issue is at the center of the EEOC’s recent lawsuit against Coca-Cola Beverages Northeast, Inc. In its complaint filed February 17, 2026, t he agency alleges the company violated Title VII by excluding male employees from an employer-sponsored trip and networking event and by providing female attendees with workplace and economic benefits not offered to male employees . [1] According to the complaint, Coca-Cola Northeast held the event at Mohegan Sun and Casino in Connecticut on September 10 and 11, 2024. [2]  The EEOC alleges the company privately invited female employees, did not invite male employees, and gave attendees several associated benefits. Those alleged benefits included...

A California appellate court recently affirmed a jury verdict awarding $4 million to a police captain who was subjected to a hostile work environment after a sexually explicit, AI-generated image resembling her was widely circulated in the workplace, holding that the dissemination of such fabricated content constituted unlawful harassment under California law. In a separate case, a Washington State trooper filed suit alleging that a supervisor used AI to create and circulate a deepfake video of him intimately kissing a coworker; the officer is suing his employer for discrimination, retaliation, and invasion of privacy. These high-profile incidents highlight a disturbing trend: AI-generated content—especially deepfakes—is emerging as a powerful new form of workplace harassment.  As AI tools become more accessible and ubiquitous in the workplace, employers should prepare for the possibility that deepfake content could be weaponized to humiliate, retaliate against, or intimidate col...

On July 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a memorandum to federal agencies titled “ Guidance for Recipients of Federal Funding Regarding Unlawful Discrimination ”. The Guidance is intended to clarify how federal antidiscrimination laws apply to “programs or initiatives that may involve discriminatory practices, including those labeled as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs.” Although the Guidance’s title suggests that it applies only to entities receiving federal funding, the Guidance advises entities that are “otherwise subject to federal antidiscrimination laws, including educational institutions, state and local governments, and public and private employers” to “review this guidance carefully to ensure all programs comply with their legal obligations. ” This Guidance builds on Executive Order 14173 ( Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity ), dated January 21, 2025, which condemns “illegal DEI discrimination and preferences” an...

President Donald Trump’s executive orders (EOs) addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs among federal contractors and private-sector employers do not supersede well-established workplace anti-discrimination law. However, experts have said that organizations should review their inclusion and diversity (I&D) practices and policies to withstand new federal scrutiny.    SHRM CHRO Jim Link, SHRM-SCP, was joined by Tara Singh Param, a partner at Holland & Knight in Philadelphia, and Patricia Timmons-Goodson, the dean and chief academic officer of North Carolina Central University School of Law in Durham, N.C., during a  Feb. 26 SHRM webinar  to help employers navigate compliance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 amid changing federal directives on I&D.   “The executive orders have introduced  substantial shifts to inclusion and diversity  within federal agencies and among federal contractors,” Link said....