Jury to Decide Whether Law Protects Gay Man from Workplace Harassment

On Friday, the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a gay man claiming that he was harassed at work based on sexual stereotyping may have a jury decide whether the harassment was because of his gender.

Federal law protects workers from discrimination on the basis of gender stereotypes, but it does not currently provide express protection based on sexual orientation.

This case is important because it recognizes that gay workers can be protected by federal law too, in that harassment of gay and straight workers is prohibited if the harassment is based on stereotypes of how they should act or look based on their gender.

"There is no basis in the statutory or case law to support the notion that an effeminate heterosexual man can bring a gender stereotyping claim while an effeminate homosexual man may not," wrote 3rd Circuit Judge Thomas M. Hardiman.

Paula Reed Ward wrote an excellent article about this case, and you can read more here in the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette.

Severance Agreements: To sign or not?

Many employers offer departing employees money or benefits in exchange for a release or “waiver,” of liability for all claims connected with the employment relationship, including discrimination claims under the civil rights laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Employers want to keep from getting sued be departing employees, so these waivers can be very important to them, even if they make it sound like these are "just a few minor papers you need to sign" to close out your job and get a check.

While it is common for senior-level executives to negotiate severance provisions when initially hired, other employees typically are offered severance agreements and asked to sign a waiver at the time of termination.

When presented with a severance agreement, many employees wonder: Is this legal? Should I sign it?

The EEOC has posted some guidance on this issue to help workers recognize some of their rights and potential pitfalls that can arise from signing severance agreements without enough information.

This guidance is only general information, and if your company offers you a severance agreement, you would be well advised to seek legal counsel for your particular situation.

More information about severance agreements is also available on a previous Hot Button post, Severance Agreements: What Workers Should Know.

Source: See the EEOC's Guidance on Understanding Waivers of Discrimination in Employee Severance Agreements.

EEO-1 Reports Due in September

The Employer Information Report EEO-1, otherwise known as the EEO-1 Report, is required to be filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's EEO-1 Joint Reporting Committee.

The EEO-1 Report – formally known as the "Employer Information Report" – is a government form requiring many employers to provide a count of their employees by job category and then by ethnicity, race and gender. The EEO-1 report is submitted to both the EEOC and the Department of Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

The filing deadline for the 2009 EEO-1 Survey is September 30, 2009. Notification letters were mailed to employers beginning in July 2009.

According to the US EEOC, the preferred method for completing the 2009 EEO-1 reports is the web-based filing system. Online filing requires you to log into your company's database with a Login ID and Password. All companies should receive 2009 EEO-1 filing materials by mail no later than mid August 2009.

For more information, see the EEOC's EEO-1 FAQ's.