Jul 1, 2021
by Kylie Piatt In an 8-1 decision issued on June 23, 2021, the United States Supreme Court upheld a student’s First Amendment right to free speech related to comments made via social media while off-campus. In Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L., B.L. was a rising sophomore high school student at Mahanoy Area High School, who tried out for but did not make the school’s varsity cheerleading squad. Concurrently, B.L. had tried out for a certain position on her private
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Jun 21, 2021
by Jenna Lakamp On June 16, 2021, the United States Department of Education (the “Department”) issued a Notice of Interpretation (the “Notice”) confirming that Title IX’s prohibition of sex-based discrimination includes discrimination based on students’ sexual orientation and gender identity. This interpretation of Title IX stems from the Supreme Court decision, Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. __ , 140 S. Ct. 1731; 207 L. Ed. 2d 218; 2020 WL 3146686; 2020 U.S. LEXIS 3252 (2020), which was issued on
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Jun 10, 2021
by Mandi Moutray On May 28, 2021, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (“EEOC”) updated and expanded its guidance regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and specifically addressed questions relating to COVID-19 vaccinations. The full guidance can be found in the EEOC publication, What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws. The updated guidance confirms that federal EEO laws do not prohibit employers from mandating vaccination for all employees physically entering the
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Feb 1, 2021
by Christine Self In our recent Insight, EEOC Updates its COVID-19 Guidance to Address Vaccines, Tueth Keeney discussed the grant of FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for two COVID-19 vaccines. Our guidance indicated that employers could encourage their employees to take the COVID vaccines without running afoul of the ADA, Rehabilitation Act and other EEO requirements, if they ensure that any mandate (post-EUA period) provides exemptions for sincerely held religious beliefs and employees with disabilities. Of
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Dec 17, 2020
by Jim Layton On a 3-2 party-line vote, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently proposed a substantial revision of Section 12: Religious Discrimination in the EEOC Compliance Manual. The Manual provides comprehensive guidance to EEOC investigators, employers, and employees with regard to EEOC enforcement of the Civil Rights Laws. The current version of the Manual notes that the number of religious discrimination claims filed with the EEOC has “increased significantly” – from 1,709 claims in 1997 to 2,880 claims in
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Dec 10, 2020
by Christine Self Tueth Keeney provided an Insight on Tier 3 Mitigations imposed statewide starting November 20, 2020 by Governor J.B. Pritzker (linked here). While the ISBE initially opined that Tier 3 Mitigation Measures applied to school board meetings, it later reconsidered and on November 24, the ISBE updated its Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigations FAQ (linked here). ISBE states in those FAQs that the Tier 3 Resurgence Mitigation measures do not apply
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Nov 19, 2020
by Christine Self In a press briefing on November 17, 2020, Governor Pritzker announced that Tier 3 Mitigations would be imposed statewide, starting November 20, 2020. Tier 3 Mitigations (linked here) substantially limit capacity for gatherings, close some in-person activities in indoor settings, and reduce capacity at indoor venues allowed to remain open, such as retail stores. According to Tier 3 Mitigations, schools may continue to operate in compliance with guidance previously issued by the Illinois
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Oct 27, 2020
by Christine Self Illinois Sexual Harassment Training The Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) was amended by P.A. 101- 0221 to require that all Illinois employers, regardless of size, provide annual sexual harassment training to all employees. The initial training must be completed and documented by December 31, 2020 and annually thereafter. The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) developed a model training program (available via this link), which may be used for this purpose. Alternatively, employers
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Sep 1, 2020
by Christine Self The Public Access Counselor (PAC) determined that the Board of Education of Bloomingdale School District 13 (Board) violated section 7(e)(4) of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) by improperly restricting access to its July 27, 2020 regular meeting. Section 2.01 of OMA, as amended by Public Act 101-0640, requires all public meetings be “held at specified times and places which are convenient and open to the public.” Section 7(e)(4), added to OMA on June 12, 2020, created a
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Aug 31, 2020
by Christine Self The opening of the 2020-2021 school year looks very different than previous school years for many school districts, students, and families. While some school districts are starting the school year fully in-person, others are opting for a fully virtual return to school, offering a hybrid schedule, or offering options for families to choose between some combination of those. As schools reopen in these varied formats, parents may be requesting leave from their employers under the Families First
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Kylie S. Piatt
Mandi D. Moutray
James R. Layton