By: Rachel V. See Seyfarth Synopsis: Following President Biden’s comprehensive Executive Order on AI, the White House announced the formation of the “US AI Safety Institute” within the Commerce Department’s technology arm, the NIST.  The Institute has been directed to develop technical guidance used by regulators, such as the EEOC, considering rulemaking and enforcement on discrimination related to AI. The White House has also released for public comment draft guidance relating to the federal government’s use of AI. These standards contain an expansive scope of AI applications in the emp ..read more

By: Danielle Kays and Kristin Stokes Seyfarth Synopsis:  While the plaintiffs’ bar has aggressively pursued class actions under the Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”) in recent years, these cases soon may be rivaled by the influx of class actions brought under the Genetic Information Privacy Act (“GIPA”), 410 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 513/1, et seq.  After GIPA’s 1998 enactment, only two cases were brought under the statute in nearly 25 years; however, in 2023, over 40 GIPA class action complaints have been filed in Illinois courts. What is the Illinois Genetic Information Priva ..read more

By: Matthew J. Gagnon Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 17, 2023, the Second Circuit issued the eagerly-awaited decision in Eisenhauer v. Culinary Institute of America. The court clarified that the federal EPA never required employers to show that a “factor other than sex” must be related to the job in question, contrary to arguments by many plaintiffs and commentators. This was a notable appeal because it raised several critical issues, any one of which could have changed the contours of equal pay litigation dramatically. The Second Circuit chose to leave most of those issues undecided, and ..read more

By: Matthew J. Gagnon Seyfarth Synopsis: On October 17, 2023, the Second Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in Eisenhauer v. Culinary Institute of America. The Court clarified that the federal EPA never required employers to show that a “factor other than sex” must be related to the job in question, despite what many plaintiffs and commentators have argued over the years. This was a notable appeal because it raised several critical issues, any one of which could have changed the contours of equal pay litigation dramatically. The Second Circuit chose to leave most of those issues un ..read more

By: Rachel V. See and Andrew L. Scroggins Seyfarth Synopsis: The Senate has confirmed Karla Gilbride as the EEOC’s General Counsel, following an almost two and a half year vacancy. As GC, Gilbride is poised to make her mark on the EEOC’s litigation program by directing and advocating for EEOC’s litigators, both internally and externally. An accomplished disability-rights litigator, Gilbride could potentially further emphasize the EEOC’s upward trend in filing litigation involving disability rights and accommodations. On October 17, 2023, in a 50-46 largely[1]  party-line vote, the Senate ..read more

By: Michael Jacobsen Seyfarth Synopsis:  As reported here, to mark the two-year anniversary of TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez (“TransUnion”), the Workplace Class Action blog is examining how each of the federal Circuit Courts have applied this significant ruling on standing from the U.S. Supreme Court (see also here).  After serving a pair of district court rulings as an appetizer, the blog moves on now to the main course with the following rulings from the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Circuits that employers should read and consider, as these developments will drive how companies de ..read more

By: Christopher J. DeGroff, Andrew L. Scroggins, and James P. Nasiri Seyfarth Synopsis: Following the EEOC’s aggressive litigation posture in the Obama-era, the Commission’s federal case filings has been markedly sluggish, at least in part because of transitions in leadership. Seyfarth forecasted changes were imminent in FY 2023, with the EEOC’s hefty budget increase and a likely Democratic majority, and we further anticipated a substantial increase in filings from the Commission this year. The EEOC did not disappoint. The EEOC wrapped FY 2023 with a jaw-dropping 144 filings at the time of pu ..read more

By: Christopher Kelleher, Rachel See, Christopher DeGroff, and Andrew Scroggins Seyfarth Synopsis: An essential read for any employer, the EEOC’s final Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP), was released on September 21, 2023. The SEP identifies the agency’s enforcement priorities for the next five years, Fiscal Years 2024-2028. The SEP indicates that the agency intends to aggressively pursue its enforcement agenda through Commissioner Charges, directed investigations, and litigation involving systemic harassment and discrimination. The new plan also suggests a new direction for the agency on a nu ..read more

By: Rachel V. See, Christopher J. DeGroff, and Andrew L. Scroggins Seyfarth Synopsis: The EEOC and the Department of Labor Wage Hour Division (WHD) have taken an important step toward inter-agency coordination, committing to information sharing, joint investigations, training, and public outreach. The Memorandum of Understanding between the EEOC and DOL contemplates referring complaints between the two agencies, a move that should catch the attention of all employers.  What is more, the agencies have agreed to share swaths of information, including EEO-1 reports and FLSA records.  T ..read more

By: Christopher DeGroff, James Nasiri, and Rachel See Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 22, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officially adopted its new Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2022-2026. The Strategic Plan outlines the Commission’s major goals and objectives over the coming years, and also sets forth various performance metrics under which its activities will be measured. Particularly notable for employers is the EEOC’s greater emphasis on its systemic investigation program, its desire for increased compliance monitoring, and commitments to improve its charge intake p ..read more