Defensible Decisions: The EEOC’s New Direction and Courts’ Expanding View of Workplace Harm

In this episode of our Defensible Decisions podcast, Scott Kelly (shareholder, Birmingham) sits down with Nonnie Shivers (office managing shareholder, Phoenix) to discuss the implications for employers following EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas’s social media video soliciting discrimination charges from white males. Scott, who is chair of the firm’s Workforce Analytics and Compliance Practice Group, and Nonnie, who is co-chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance Practice Group, delve into historical and recent Supreme Court decisions like Muldrow and Ames, which affirm the viability of such claims and expand the definition of actionable harm. The conversation emphasizes critical best practices for employers, including the necessity of thorough investigations, accurate position statements, comprehensive real-time documentation of employment decisions, and updated, inclusive training modules, especially given the continued risk of disparate impact claims and potential fast-tracked EEOC investigations.