Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act

Skip Sperry January 8, 2020Blog Leave a Comment

Senate Bill 485 and House Bill 1230, identical bills entitled “Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act,” are currently before Congress. The House majority leader has indicated that the House Bill may be considered within the next week.

These bills seek to overturn the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc., 557 U.S. 167, 129 S.Ct. 2343 (2009), which held that for plaintiffs to prevail in age discrimination cases,

Supreme Court to Decide if Title VII Protects LGBTQ Communities

Skip Sperry April 23, 2019Blog Leave a Comment

On Monday, April 22, 2019, the United States Supreme Court agreed to hear three cases regarding whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act protects the LGBTQ communities from discrimination based on sex.

The Act does not specifically mention sexual orientation, gender identity, or transgender status, but many appellate courts and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have read the prohibition against “sex” as covering these groups of people. Other appellate courts have insisted that the prohibition does not apply to these groups.

President Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Shows Consistent Deference to Employment Agencies

Skip Sperry March 16, 2016Blog Leave a Comment

Today, President Obama nominated Merrick B. Garland as his choice to fill the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy left by the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Chief Judge Garland was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia by President Clinton in 1997 and became Chief Judge on February 12, 2013. He received wide, bipartisan support for his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals. Seven of the Republican Senators who voted for his 1997 nomination still serve in the U.S.