Stereotyping: Think Fast, Think Slow

Strangers will sometimes look at my family and try to work out the relationships. My mother is Scottish and my father is Chinese. My husband’s heritage is Irish, our three biological sons look Scotch-Irish, and our daughter, who was adopted from China, looks like her Chinese grandfather. We clearly are a family unit, but people…
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Why the Debate about Transgender Employee Access to Restrooms Matters

As a federal contractor, you have probably been told in no uncertain terms that federal laws (and specifically, anti-discrimination laws) pre-empt state laws. You may have also heard some rumblings from the EEOC about transgender employees’ access bathrooms. You may also have heard of some controversy on this point in North Carolina. If you are…
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Criminal Background Checks, Affirmative Action – and You…

Many employers, federal contractors included, run criminal background checks on their candidates. If you do not, you run the risk of hiring a dishonest or even violent employee. If you do and you do not run them correctly, you risk running afoul of federal and state anti-discrimination laws and fair credit reporting acts—and OFCCP scrutiny….
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Why You Should Care About the Gender Pay Gap

Just last week, Tuesday April 12 to be exact, the Equal Pay Act turned 53 years old. We all know why we have an Equal Pay Act – to ensure that men and women receive equal pay for equal work and, conversely to eradicate pay inequities based on gender. Under the Equal Pay Act, we…
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The Federal Government’s United Front Against Religious Discrimination

The Federal Government is serious about combating religious discrimination—serious enough to launch an inter-agency initiative designed to confront religious discrimination from pretty much every possible angle. The initiative’s stated goal is “to promote religious freedom, challenge religious discrimination in employment and education, and enhance enforcement of religion-based hate crimes”. Who exactly is involved in this…
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