Citizens Medical Center in Victoria, Texas, about two hours south of Houston, has suspended a highly controversial weight-based hiring policy, which banned job applicants from employment for being too overweight. The Texas Tribune broke the story in March, and it was quickly picked up by numerous local and national news sources, including CBS Houston and [...]

Last month, Brooks County, Texas, about 300 miles south of Houston, settled an employment discrimination lawsuit filed by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against the county based on charges of unlawful retaliation against an employee for filing an age discrimination complaint. Specifically, the EEOC lawsuit asserted that the county “repeatedly refused to [...]

The Equal Pay Act, a federal law requiring women to be paid the same as men when doing the same work, will turn 50 years old next year. At the time the Act was passed, women only earned about 60% of the wages men were earning for performing the same work. Today, women earn around [...]

GINA has come to your workplace to protect you from employment discrimination based on your genetic makeup. That’s because GINA is the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, now entering its third year in effect in workplaces across the United States. Like other antidiscrimination statutes, GINA prohibits discrimination in all aspects of the employment relationship, including applications, [...]

With the prevalence of social media, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to separate their personal and professional lives. Most employment situations are at-will, which means an employer can terminate an employment relationship for almost any reason that is not prohibited by law (i.e. discrimination, retaliation, whistleblowing, etc.). [...]

Despite the women’s rights movement and efforts to break the glass ceiling that occurred in the 1970s and 80s, social economists are now saying that the progress allowing for gender crossover in jobs may have stalled in the last decade. Women are still subject to unfair treatment in the workplace, and in some cases, may [...]

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, commonly referred to as the EEOC, is an independent federal law enforcement agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The primary task of the EEOC is to investigate discrimination complaints based on an employee’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, perceived intelligence, and retaliation for reporting and/or opposing a [...]

What should I do if I’ve been laid-off? In today’s economy, anyone could be laid-off at any time, so first of all, do not feel ashamed or embarrassed. The situation is likely not your fault, as lay-offs are done systematically. However, do ask as many questions as possible to learn about the situation, and do [...]

Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified individuals with disabilities who are employees or who are applicants for employment. Under the ADA, an accommodation is generally “any change in the work environment or in the way things are customarily done that enables an individual with [...]

Federal and state laws protect employees from unwelcome sexual advances and demands, and from being forced to work in a sexually hostile environment. Despite these strong and well-established legal protections, sexual harassment continues to be an issue in the workplace. Important Facts to Know about Sexual Harassment A few important facts may help you determine [...]