U.S. Supreme Court Revives Suit Against UPS, Extending McDonnell-Douglas Burden Shifting Framework To Pregnancy Discrimination Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a Fourth Circuit decision Wednesday, reviving a pregnancy bias case against the United Parcel Service brought by a former delivery driver who was denied a light-duty work accommodation while pregnant. In doing so, the Court for the first time applied the well-known McDonnell-Douglas burden shifting framework to these types of pregnancy discrimination cases. However, this case may have limited impact because Congress has since amended federal discrimination laws to […]

By | March 27th, 2015 ||

United States: L-1B Denial Rates On The Rise Again: USCIS Proposes New Adjudication Standards In Response

USCIS Releases L-1B Denial Rates
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) recently released statistics related to L-1B denial rates for fiscal year 2014, in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP).  (Click here for NFAP’s report).  The denial rate reached an all-time high of 35% in 2014.  This is up dramatically from the denial rate in 2006 which was a mere 6%.  Most disconcerting […]

By | March 27th, 2015 ||

United States: EEOC Takes First Step Toward Issuing Rules On Employer-Sponsored Wellness Plans

On March 20, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) announced its submission of a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NPRM”) on employer-sponsored wellness plans to the White House Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for review. This is the first step toward official EEOC regulations on the subject of wellness plans. Assuming the OMB provides its approval, the EEOC will next open the proposed rule up for public comment.

The NPRM focuses on the relationship […]

By | March 26th, 2015 ||