By: Ridhima Bhalla, Samantha BrooksAndrew L. Scroggins, and Christopher J. DeGroff

On January 17, 2024, just days before the new presidential term began, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published its annual performance report for the preceding Fiscal Year 2024. The Report highlights a year filled with notable monetary recoveries, an overall surge in new discrimination charges

Continue Reading EEOC Issues Annual Report, Faces Future in Flux

By: Rachel V. See and Andrew L. Scroggins

Seyfarth Synopsis: On the afternoon of Tuesday, January 28, 2025, media reports confirmed that President Trump has fired EEOC Commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels, both Democratic appointees. Samuels confirmed her dismissal via her X (formerly Twitter) account. President Trump’s unprecedented move at the EEOC follows similar action yesterday and today at

Continue Reading Trump Fires EEOC Commissioners, Testing Constitutional Limits on Presidential Power Over Independent Agencies

By: Ala Salameh, Andrew Scroggins, and Christopher DeGroff

Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 2, 2025, the EEOC released a report underscoring that a gender pay gap among federal employees has an age component as well; the gap is larger for those age 40 and over relative to those under age 40. In light of these findings, the EEOC recommends

Continue Reading Mind the Gap: EEOC Report Warns of Substantial Gender Pay Gap for Federal Employees, Exacerbated by Age.

By: Taylor Iaculla, Yoon-Woo Nam, and Andrew L. Scroggins

Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 19, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) published a new fact sheet titled “Wearables in the Workplace: Using Wearable Technologies Under Federal Employment Discrimination Laws.” The fact sheet describes some of the technologies employees may be fitted with, the types of information that may

Continue Reading (Smart)Watch Out! The EEOC’s Take on Wearable Tech

By: Adam Rongo, Andrew Scroggins, and Christopher DeGroff

Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 15, 2024, the EEOC released its Agency Financial Report (“AFR”) for Fiscal Year 2024. The AFR is intended to provide a description of the Agency’s financial management and offer high-level performance information. This year’s edition marks the sixth version of the publication, following the release

Continue Reading EEOC Posts Its Internal Scorecard: Insights For Employers

Authors: Christopher J. DeGroff, Andrew L. Scroggins, Samantha Brooks, James P. Nasiri and Ridhima Bhalla

Seyfarth Synopsis: Following a handful of sluggish years in terms of EEOC litigation activity, the Commission returned to form by filing 144 merit lawsuits in Fiscal Year 2023. Given that the EEOC finally secured its Democratic majority and had a notably

Continue Reading EEOC Case Filings Plummet:  A Look at the EEOC’s Surprisingly Sluggish FY 2024

By: Anthony LaPlaca, Dawn Solowey, Andrew Scroggins & Adrienne Lee

Seyfarth Synopsis:  In June 2024, Seyfarth published a blog article warning construction industry employers of recent anti-harassment guidelines issued by the EEOC.  We predicted that the EEOC has “put the construction industry squarely in its sights.”[1] In this follow-up Alert, we discuss recent cases confirming the renewed

Continue Reading What Construction Firm Employers Should Do Right Now to Minimize Legal Risk of Discrimination and Harassment Lawsuits

Seyfarth Synopsis: EEOC Commissioner Keith Sonderling, a Republican who first joined the EEOC in 2020, has announced his departure from the Commission in August 2024. Sonderling’s tenure was marked by his significant contributions to discussions on artificial intelligence in employment, establishing him as a leading authority on the subject. His departure leaves the EEOC with a 3-1 Democratic majority, and

Continue Reading Commissioner Sonderling to Depart from EEOC in August 2024

Authors: Christopher Kelleher and Andrew Scroggins

Seyfarth Synopsis: The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has issued guidance tailored to the construction industry regarding compliance with anti-harassment laws. This lines up with our prediction in early 2024 that the EEOC had put the construction industry squarely in its sights. The guidance is important for construction-industry leaders and employers to

Continue Reading EEOC Issues Anti-Harassment Guidance To Construction-Industry Employers

By: Yoon-Woo Nam, Alexandra R. Hassell, and Christopher DeGroff

Seyfarth Synopsis: The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released its 2023 Annual Performance Report and a new dashboard highlighting resolved cases. Compared to the prior fiscal year, the EEOC contacted substantially more potential claimants and filed a great number of merits lawsuits in 2023. It also

Continue Reading EEOC Scorecard: How Did The Commission Stack Up in FY 2023?