Discuss the below in detail:
1. New Rights for Pregnant Workers
On January 30, 2014, an amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law went into effect that expanded the City's protections against discrimination on the basis of pregnancy and required City employers to notify employees of their rights under the amendment. See New York City Expressly Requires Reasonable Accommodation of Pregnant Employees, Adds Notice Obligations, by Katherine Parker, Daniel L. Saperstein and Kelly Anne Targett of Proskauer Rose LLP, https://www.proskauer.com/publications/client-alert/new-york-city-expressly-requires-reasonable-accommodation-of-pregnant-employees/.
On July 1, 2014, The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a case called Young v. UPS, which deals with whether UPS discriminated against a pregnant driver by failing to provide her, upon her request, the type of light duty assignment it might have given to a worker injured on the job. We can anticipate a decision next spring. See Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Appeal in Young v. UPS, by Steven E. Kaplan in the Workforce Policy Update blog published by Littler Mendelson PC. https://www.littler.com/workplace-policy-update/supreme-court-agrees-hear-appeal-young-v-ups?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+EmploymentLawUpdateBlog+(Workplace+Policy+Update)
A Cheat Sheet on the EEOC's Extensive Pregnancy Guidance, by Christian Schappel writing for HR Morning, and EEOC: PDA and ADA Require Accommodations by Allen Smith of SHRM.org (both ATTACHED), which deal with the EEOC's July 14th Guidance.
Answer : You are the HR Director for a New York City company with 250 employees. Write an Interim Policy for your company on how the issues of employees anticipating childbirth should be handled at least until the Supreme Court's decision in Young v. UPS is known. Write a memo to management explaining the new legal developments that demand this change in policy. Submit your policy and memo.
2. Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Transgender Status
Review
Affirmative Action Alert: Obama Prohibits Contractors from Discrimination Because of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity, from Constangy, Brooks & Smith LLP https://www.constangy.com/communications-532.html
OFCCP's Newest Directive: Gender Identity and Sex Discrimination by Leigh M. Nason for Ogletree Deakins' Affirmative Action/OFCCP blog
View: EEOC Transgender Decision Protects against Job Discrimination, from the Employment Law Channel of the LB Network, featuring attorney Carmelyn Malalis of Outten & Golden LLP
Respond: You are employment counsel to a federal contractor. Your client contacts you about a claim filed against it by a former employee currently named Charles. The complaint alleges that Charles was not rehired to a position he had once occupied solely because of his transgender status, a violation of provisions outlawing discrimination on the basis of sex in the New York State Human Rights Law and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The former employee notes that he had previously worked for the company for several years as a cost accountant, during a time in his life when he was a woman named Mona. Mona earned good performance appraisals during her years with the company, but resigned for unexplained personal reasons. Several years had elapsed since Mona's departure when Charles decided to respond to an ad the company was running seeking a cost accountant. Charles called his former supervisor and explained that, despite the new name on the resume he had submitted, he was the former Mona, and hoped to return to the position in which he had previously succeeded. The supervisor did not contact HR or counsel for advice on how to proceed. He did not hire Charles or anyone else for the cost accountant position and chose to instead have other cost accountants absorb the work internally. How do you advise your client to proceed in response to this claim?
3. The RFOA Defense
This question deals with an important defense that is available to employers that are the subject of claims under the Age Discrimination in Employment ACT (ADEA). If you have not taken HRMG 630 or need to refresh your memory about the ADEA, read/re-read Chapter 9 in our text (Cihon and Castagnera) or research it on the Internet before you attempt this assignment.
In March of 2012, the EEOC released its Final Rule Concerning Disparate Impact and Reasonable Factors Other Than Age (RFOA).
Read: this Q & A from the EEOC regarding the Final Rule: https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/regulations/adea_rfoa_qa_final_rule.cfm.
Response the following questions in your own words:
Why did the EEOC issue this final rule?
When would an employer seek to use the RFOA defense?
What should an employer be able to prove to successfully use the RFOA defense?