March 6, 2017 marks a significant development in the case of Gloucester v. G.G., the closely followed and highly publicized Virginia transgender student bathroom case. The Gloucester case involves a local school board policy that effectively denies a transgender male high school student use of his school’s male bathroom and, in turn, the student’s claim […]
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) guarantees students with disabilities access to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) and establishes a formal administrative framework within which disputes concerning the denial of FAPE are addressed. In addition, other federal statutes, such as the Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and § 504 […]
Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy has acted quickly to respond to recent developments in Federal law affecting the rights of transgender students by issuing an executive order reasserting the State’s protections for transgender people. Despite a change in Federal guidance, and as detailed below, Connecticut affords greater protections to transgender people than currently provided under […]
On February 10, 2017, the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Trump administration withdrew a motion made in November 2016 under the Obama administration with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit; in its motion, the DOJ objected to a Texas Federal Court judge’s nationwide ban on the enforcement by the […]
A new tide of political involvement has swept the nation after the election of President Donald Trump. Groups of people are marching, participating in Town hall rallies, and organizing at the grass roots level at an unprecedented rate. Recently, the group that organized the Women’s March on Washington has announced that they are organizing a Woman’s […]
Ever since the enactment of Public Act 16-67 last summer, school employers and contractors servicing them have faced the challenge of complying with new requirements for background checks for employees who will have direct contact with students. The central aspect of the legislation is a prohibition against offering employment to an applicant for a position […]
On January 25, 2017, recently elected President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States.” The stated purpose of the Order is to direct executive departments and agencies to employ “all lawful means” to enforce the immigration laws of the United States. Among other things, the Order bolsters […]
President Trump has tapped National Labor Relations Board Member Philip Miscimarra to be acting Chairman. Mr. Miscimarra will replace Mark Gaston Pearce who served as the NLRB Chairman under President Obama since 2011. Mr. Miscimarra is a graduate of the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Law and the Wharton School of Business. Prior to joining […]
In late December of 2016, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued information to school districts regarding how the use of restraint and seclusion may result in discrimination against qualified students with disabilities in violation of Federal laws that prohibit disability discrimination, including Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section […]
A recent judgment awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages (including emotional distress) resulting from an employer’s inaction against a customer who for more than a year engaged in a pattern of harassment including inappropriately touching the employee and stalking. In EEOC v. Costco, the EEOC proved that Costco failed to take steps to protect an employee from […]
