REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: Reengineering Your Employment Procedures in Light of Recent Court Decisions Webinar
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12:00 NOON TO 1:00 PM, WEDNESDAY, JULY 29, 2020
The United States Supreme Court recently ruled that a landmark federal civil rights law protects gay and transgender workers. The Court ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination “because of sex,” includes gay and transgender employees. While New Hampshire’s law against discrimination has included both sexual orientation and gender identity protections, the case serves as an important reminder of employers’ obligations.
Closer to home, the New Hampshire Supreme Court overruled its decision in Union Leader Corp. v. Fenniman, 136 N.H. 624 (1993) that “internal personnel practices” are categorically exempt from disclosure under RSA 91-A:5, IV. In Fenniman, the Court ruled that under the “internal practices” exemption a public agency’s records concerning the internal discipline of an employee were categorically exempt from disclosure. The Court has now concluded that the “internal personnel practices” exemption only applies to a narrow set of governmental records pertaining to an agency’s internal rules and practices governing operations and employee relations.
Whether employee disciplinary documents are subject to disclosure under RSA 91-A will now be determined using a balancing test.
As a result of these recent court decisions, municipal employers will need to review their internal personnel practices to determine if existing policies and practices are in compliance. Join labor and employment law attorneys Mark Broth and Anna Cole, as well as municipal law generalist, Attorney Huddy Grandy, of Drummond Woodsum who will help ensure that employer policies, practices and decisions reflect these most up-to-date developments in federal and state law.