Articles Posted in MCAD

The issue of forced arbitration in discrimination suits has gained renewed attention following a high-profile legal dispute involving a major media employer, the U.S. broadcasting organization Fox News. Reports indicate the company may attempt to require arbitration for an anchor pursuing discrimination claims, shifting the lawsuit out of open court and into private dispute resolution.…

A Must Read, and not Just for Gender Bias! The Latest from Harvard Business Review and Cecchi-Dimeglio on The Corrupting Power of Gender Bias Workplace bias continues to shape careers, distort institutional decisions, and silently undermine talent. Recent analysis published by the global business publisher Harvard Business Review highlights critical research from behavioral scientist Iris…

Gretchen Carlson: How Arbitration Clauses Allow Sexual Harassment to Continue Workplace arbitration clauses have become one of the most debated areas in modern employment law. Media figure and workplace rights advocate Gretchen Carlson recently shared a firsthand account about arbitration clauses and sexual harassment, offering rare visibility into how these agreements can affect reporting options,…

EEOC Charges Climbing The government agency U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has released its annual enforcement data covering fiscal year 2016. The report confirms that workplace discrimination filings increased across every protected class, demonstrating a nationwide shift toward higher reporting rates, stronger enforcement scrutiny, broader retaliation awareness, expanded disability rights interpretation, increased record preservation before…

Big data has changed how companies hire, monitor performance, and manage worker risk. While analytics are often presented as objective decision-making tools, their real-world use raises serious legal and ethical concerns—especially for workers with disabilities. The risks of data-driven discrimination in hiring and workforce structuring are now more significant than ever. A recent industry discussion…

The National Committee on Pay Equality named Tuesday, April 14, 2015 Equal Pay Day in an effort to call attention to the inequitable pay gaps that still exist between female and male workers. Each year the organization selects a day to commemorate individuals who are making strides towards pay equality and influence business owners to examine…

The Massachusetts legislature stood up for fathers when it expanded the state’s family leave act. The Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act provided female employees with eight weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, without fear of termination or retaliation. On April 7, 2015, the law will officially become the Massachusetts Parental…

In Michigan this week, bipartisan legislation was signed protecting mothers who nurse their children in public from discrimination and prosecution. 45 states now have some form of law allowing women to breastfeed in public or private locations. The new statute confirms that mothers who breastfeed their children in public cannot be discriminated against or prosecuted…

Five years since the Fair Pay Act, women still make just seventy-seven cents for every dollar a man earns for performing the same job according to the Department of Labor. In 2009, President Obama passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act promising equal pay for equal work. However, women are still are paid considerably less…

The Americans with Disability Act (ADA) protects individuals who are associated with a disabled individual from employment discrimination. However, the ADA only applies to employers with 15 or more workers. The Massachusetts employment discrimination statute is a little more inclusive, covering employers with six or more workers.  Under the ruling of the Supreme Judicial Court…