Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

05/11/2012
Overincarceration

Breaking the Addiction to Incarceration: Weekly Highlights

By Alex Stamm, ACLU Center for Justice at 5:09pm

Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it's ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we've spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.

Read More»
05/01/2012
Employment Discrimination

Updated EEOC Guidance on Criminal Records: Neither the Apocalypse nor the Total Solution

By Vanessa Torres Hernandez , ACLU of Washington at 11:26am

Last week, the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued updated guidance on employers' use of criminal records to screen potential employees. On the day the guidance was published, we applauded the EEOC for helping to balance the civil rights of workers with the legitimate concerns of employers. Now that the dust has settled, some groups have complained that the EEOC guidance creates new law that will prevent employers from ensuring safety in the workplace. Are those criticisms well-founded? In a word: no.

Read More»
04/25/2012
Employment Discrimination

EEOC: Help Stop Discriminatory Barriers to Employment

By Dan Zeidman, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:49pm

Ms. W, a Native American woman in Washington State, was convicted in 2008 for possession of marijuana. After applying for a job at a discount retail store and receiving a conditional offer of employment, Ms. W received a call from the manager telling her that a background check company had given her a failing evaluation, without providing the employer with any further information.

As a result of this evaluation, the employer rescinded the conditional offer of employment. When Ms. W investigated, she found out that her background check erroneously reflected a more serious offense. Although the background check company subsequently corrected Ms. W's report, the damage had been done.

Read More»
08/26/2011
Workers' Rights

Bloomberg L.P Decision Takes Women's Equality Two Steps Back

By Galen Sherwin, ACLU Women's Rights Project at 1:33pm

Today, as we celebrate Women's Equality Day, commemorating the passage of the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote, I find myself reflecting on a central lesson of the struggle for suffrage: the power to effect political change through collective action is critical to achieving equality. There have been some days recently when I feel like that lesson has been largely forgotten, particularly in the courts.

Read More»
08/09/2011
Disability Rights

A Day in Court for Civil Rights Claims: The Supreme Court Tackles the Ministerial Exception

By Daniel Mach at 3:44pm

Do religious institutions get a categorical free pass to discriminate against certain employees, regardless of the reason? That issue lies at the heart of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. In a friend-of-the-court brief filed today by the ACLU, the ACLU of Michigan, and a coalition of religious liberty organizations, we argue that the answer must be a resounding "no."

Read More»
Statistics image