Respected Attorney K. Todd Wallace is
featured Guest Speaker at NOLA Society for Human Resource Management
Attorney
Kenneth Todd Wallace served as the guest speaker at the New Orleans Louisiana (NOLA)
Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) Legal Perks meeting on July
24, 2018. This presentation followed a similar discussion led by Mr. Wallace on
May 22, 2018. Due to the interest
generated by the important topics addressed by Mr. Wallace in May, he was asked
to lead a second round-table discussion at this most recent meeting.
Mr. Wallace
led a presentation to local HR professionals on the latest developments and court
decisions involving discrimination based on an employee’s physical appearance.
His discussion included potential liability under Title VII, the American
with Disabilities Act, and relevant state laws. Recent decisions regarding
alleged discrimination based upon an employee’s hairstyle, weight, clothes,
jewelry, sexual orientation, and transgender status present significant issues
for employers to consider. As Mr.
Wallace explained, a number of recent court decisions have potentially expanded
an employer’s liability in the workplace due to discrimination based on an
employee’s physical appearance. Employees and employers alike should understand
the implications of this evolving area of the law.
Mr. Wallace had this to say during his presentation to local labor,
employment attorneys and HR professionals, “for years, the courts rarely
interfered with an employer’s business judgment to impose appearance and
grooming standards unless the standard bore a clear and unequivocal
relationship to a protected class. However, such policies should not have a
disparate impact on any particular protected class regardless of the employer’s
intention. Today, more and more courts have begun to expand Title
VII liability in certain areas and, as a result, employers must stay on top of
these developments.” He went on to add “employers
should conduct training sessions with their human resource departments and
supervisory personnel to ensure any workplace investigations, employment
decisions and benefit offerings comply with Title VII protections as this area
of the law evolves and potentially expands.”
Mr. Wallace also explained that most employers
would agree that appearance is important. As a result, courts have upheld an
employer’s legitimate business interest in employee appearance because first
impressions, maintaining a certain corporate image, and the appearance’s impact
on the perception of certain characteristics, are important and legitimate
considerations.
While Title VII prohibits discrimination based
on certain protected classes including race, color, age, religion, national
origin, or disability, there are no comprehensive federal laws preventing an
employer from making an employment decision based on an employee’s hairstyle,
jewelry, facial hair, etc. However, an employer’s insistence on an employee’s
“professional appearance” and “maintaining the right image” can be legitimate
or nothing more than a means of cloaking intentional discrimination.
NOLA SHRM serves local affiliate of the Society for Human Resources
Management, the world’s largest HR professional society representing 285,000
members in more than 165 countries. With more than 530 local members,
NOLA SHRM is the only Louisiana SHRM Chapter to reach Mega-level membership
providing us a greater professional networking benefit. Through NOLA SHRM
learning opportunities, its members are empowered to be the voice of the
profession using sound and ethical practices on human resource management
issues. Since 1962, NOLA SHRM has served as a resource for local human
resources professionals and businesses providing a forum for personal and
professional development on issues related to human resource management,
promoting fellowship, and offering various networking experiences to keep
our members engaged and current on industry trends.
Mr.
Wallace received his Juris Doctor, cum
laude, from Loyola University College of Law, New Orleans, LA. While at Loyola,
he served as the Managing Editor of the Loyola
Law Review, and as a member of the William C. Vis International Commercial
Arbitration Team. Before law school, he received his Bachelor of Arts,
Political Science, from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
Website of NOLA: https://nola.shrm.org
About the event: https://nola.shrm.org/events/2018/07/legal-perk-july
*** Mr. Kenneth Todd Wallace is an attorney and founding partner of the law firm. He has nearly 20 years of experience in the legal and business professions with established excellence in trial advocacy, negotiation, strategic and initiative planning, government relations, mergers and acquisitions, and team building. See http://www.walmey.com/
