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Weekly litigation update — September 17, 2016

September 17, 2016 | By JAMES BURLING

First Amendment challenge to ban on automobile “For Sale” signs EEOC gets a haircut Petition for rehearing denied in Florida takings case Amicus brief filed in support of right to earn a living First Amendment challenge to ban on automobile “For Sale” signs We filed this complaint in Cefali v. San Juan Capistrano, challengin ...

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EEOC loses its hairstyle discrimination case

September 15, 2016 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

Earlier today, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s dismissal of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s lawsuit against Catastrophe Management Solutions. This an important decision concerning the proper scope of Title VII. At issue was whether a business’s policy requiring professional-looking haircuts & ...

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Why hairstyle requirements don't violate Title VII in one sentence

January 19, 2016 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

In EEOC v. Catastrophe Management Solutions, Inc., the federal government is claiming that a business’s decision to ban dreadlocks in the workplace violates Title VII’s requirement that the workplace be free of racial discrimination. Briefing was completed long ago, and PLF filed an amicus brief in the case arguing that requiring profe ...

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EEOC suffers minor setback

April 29, 2015 | By RALPH KASARDA

Today’s Supreme Court decision in Mach Mining, LLC v Equal Employment Opportunity Commission appears to be another minor setback for the EEOC. The EEOC has a statutory duty under Title VII to attempt to eliminate a violation by informal means before it resorts to a lawsuit.  The question in this case was whether a court may review … ...

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Requiring professional-looking haircuts is not racial discrimination

April 28, 2015 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

Think about the following scenario.  A job seeker sees an ad for a sales job.  She has all the correct qualifications.  Her interview goes great.  The business says they want to hire her, but because she will be selling the business to the public, she must get a professional-looking haircut.  The job seeker refuses.  Instead, … ...

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Victory in EEOC v. Freeman; strong rebuke for the EEOC

February 20, 2015 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

This morning the Fourth Circuit rejected the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s latest attempt to expand disparate impact law.  In EEOC v. Freeman, the government brought suit against a company that ran employee applicants through criminal background checks before hiring them. The EEOC alleged that Freeman’s criminal backgro ...

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EEOC : disparate impact for thee, but not for me

April 10, 2014 | By ANASTASIA BODEN

Yesterday the Sixth Circuit shut down the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s suit against Kaplan University in EEOC v. Kaplan.  EEOC had alleged that Kaplan’s policy of conducting credit checks on job applicants had a disparate impact on minorities.  Perhaps EEOC is unaware of the saying, “when you point one finger at oth ...

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"An egregious example of scientific dishonesty"

April 08, 2014 | By JOSHUA THOMPSON

Back in August I reported on a case out of the federal district court in Maryland, where the EEOC was trying to stop a business from undertaking criminal background checks on job-applicants.  In EEOC v. Freeman, the district court rejected the EEOC’s disparate impact lawsuit, because the data it collected was woefully insufficient.  In a & ...

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Study shows EEOC’s disparate impact cure is worse than the disease

January 02, 2014 | By ANASTASIA BODEN

A group of congressmen have introduced a bill that would ban employers from considering job applicants’ credit histories.  As we’ve noted before, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has proscesuted companies’ for using credit and background checks due to the practices’ purported disparate impact on minority applica ...