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In 1966, the EEOC began requiring companies with 100 or more employees to compile employment data by race/ethnicity, gender, and job category. Dubbed EEO-1 Reports, these surveys were meant to provide a snapshot of how many racial and ethnic minorities and women were working in a company.

EEO-1 Reports Expanded

During President Obama’s tenure, the EEO-1 Report was broadened into two components. Component 1 would include the same information always collected, while Component 2 would include W-2 wage information for employees by race, ethnicity, and sex. Although designed to target pay discrimination, Component 2 was viewed as overly burdensome. Data compilation would take countless hours, while the human error rate was sure to increase on account of the significantly expanded form.…

Continue Reading Federal Judge Rules that EEOC Must Collect Expanded Data on EEO-1 Forms – Current Deadline September 30, 2019

Henderson Franklin’s Employment Law and Workers’ Compensation attorneys will host the 27th Annual HR Law & Solutions on Friday, March 29, 2019 at the Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort & Spa. Florida Board Certified Civil Trial Expert Robert Shearman will moderate this annual seminar designed to update and educate business owners, managers, human resource professionals and in-house counsel on legal issues impacting the workplace.
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Continue Reading Final Week to Register for 27th Annual HR Law & Solutions

The First Amendment is commonly understood as protecting the right to free speech. But the First Amendment does not impact the ability of private citizens and organizations to punish or limit speech. This is why it’s permissible for a private employer to fire an employee for engaging in speech the employer disapproves of – private employers have the right to manage their employees as they see fit.

The situation grows more complicated when the government is the employer. Like any other employer, the government has a legitimate interest in maintaining efficient offices and agencies, which often requires managing and disciplining employee speech. At the same time, however, public sector employees have a protected right to free speech under the First Amendment.

The law attempts to balance these two interests noted above by differentiating between private and official speech. The First Amendment only protects government employees when they are speaking as a private citizen about matters of public concern. If the government employee’s speech is instead part of their official job duties, they can be disciplined or fired for what they say.

Private v. Official Speech Test

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Continue Reading Airing of the Grievances: 11th Circuit Declines to Extend First Amendment Protection to Employee’s Work Complaint