On June 15, 2020, the US Supreme Court held in Bostock v. Clayton County that, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, employers cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Title VII protects employees, at companies with 15 or more employees, from discrimination […]
Labor & Employment Law Update
DOL’s New Proposal to Limit ESG Investments
On June 23, 2020, the Department of Labor introduced a new proposed rule to better define plan fiduciaries’ duties under ERISA involving environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) factors in investment decisions. The proposed rule embodies much of the DOL’s prior guidance about the issue, but it also adds a few […]
OFCCP Exempts TRICARE Participants from Affirmative Action Obligations
Finally, some good news in 2020! On Thursday, July 2, 2020, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”), published its final rule explicitly exempting certain health care providers from the OFCCP’s enforcement activities as they relate to affirmative action. Specifically, the final rule exempts TRICARE health care providers from […]
U.S. Supreme Court Provides Religious Institutions Limited Exemption from Anti-Discrimination Laws
On July 8, 2020, the United States Supreme Court reaffirmed that teachers at religious institutions are not entitled to the protections of federal employment discrimination laws if their duties include religious instruction. The combined decisions, Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, Case No. 19-267, and St. James School v. […]
DOL Finalizes Electronic Disclosure Rules for Retirement Plans
The Department of Labor adopted long-awaited final regulations establishing a new default safe harbor for the electronic disclosure of retirement plan information under ERISA. These final regulations do not drastically differ from the DOL’s proposed regulations which were issued in October 2019. (For more information on the proposed regulations, click […]