- Kings and NBA Hire Association of Workplace Investigations Board Member to Lead Investigation of Civil Rights Allegations Against Head Coach Luke Walton. Sue Ann Van Dermyden, an expert on investigations and employment law, has been hired to lead the Kings investigations team into allegations of sexual assault brought by a reporter against the newly hired Coach Walton. Van Dermyden, formerly the President of AWI, is an appropriately serious choice, given the seriousness of the claims. We at ILG will watch this case unfold with interest. Click here for more information.
- Supreme Court grants cert to hear three cases raising question of whether Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The schism in the circuits has made this issue ripe for review, as has the disagreement between the EEOC (who says the Civil Rights Act protects gay and transgender people from discrimination) and the Trump Administration, which takes the opposite view. The court will hear oral argument in the fall, with decisions expected in early 2020. Click here for more information.
- Microsoft Shakes up its Diversity and Inclusion program, and beefs up investigation protocols: The high profile tech world is proactively looking at how it improves its responses to employees reporting sexual harassment. Microsoft announced this month that it is implementing vigorous incentives and protocols, that include making diversity and inclusion a factor in executive compensation, creating an Employee Advocacy Team to assist employees going through a workplace investigation, and shortening timelines for investigations to a month or less. Click here for more information.