On May 9, 2017, the Missouri Legislature passed a significant amendment to the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA), which would bring the Act into closer alignment with federal and other states' anti-discrimination statutes.
On April 4, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination under Title VII.
Last week, North Carolina lawmakers repealed the state’s controversial House Bill 2 (“HB 2”), which had required individuals to use the public bathroom that corresponds with the sex on their birth certificate, along with several other provisions.
As we turn the calendar to April, state legislatures are starting to hit their stride. Bills introduced earlier this year continue to advance, with more than 400 labor and employment-related measures remaining under consideration across the nation.
Even outside the Capital Beltway, this has been a strange year. As April Fools’ Day approaches, we pause to review some of the more bizarre labor and employment opinions and developments from the last year.
State and local laws protect individuals from discrimination in employment on the basis of gender identity. Many jurisdictions—including 20 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 200 cities and counties nationwide—prohibit discrimination.
Last November, Maine voters approved An Act To Legalize Marijuana. Emergency legislation since enacted provides employers with operations in Maine a temporary reprieve from complying with the anti-discrimination provisions of the law until Feb. 1, 2018.
