Comments being accepted thru Dec. 5.

Not a lot to the EEOC's 2018-22 Strategic Enforcement Plan, but that might be good for employers.

How much can you do - and not do - about your employees' personal appearance and grooming? Take this quiz and find out! As usual, I'll have the answers at the end, so if you get one wrong, no one but you will know.

QUESTION 1: If I operate in a jurisdiction that doesn't have a law against appearance discrimination, I can make any rules about appearance and grooming that I want. 

TRUE

FALSE

QUESTION 2: My employees are required by OSHA to wear masks on the job. The masks are no good unless there is a proper seal around the employee's mouth and nose. Since facial hair prevents a good seal from forming, we have a no-beard policy. I have one employee who is Sikh and wears a beard for religious reasons. What should I do?

A. Let him keep his beard and pray that the mask will work without the proper seal.

B. Tell him he has to shave the beard off or lose his job.

C. Meet with him and explain that the mask is required by OSHA and the safety rationale for the rule. Talk with him about reasonable accommodations, which might include use of a different type of mask that works with a beard, or transfer to another position that doesn't require use of a mask. After you've talked and perhaps consulted with vendors or safety experts, make a determination of what to do that won't violate the law or endanger his safety while accommodating his beliefs as much as you can.

Bloomberg BNA reports that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had a good year in FY 2015, which ended September 30. The agency collected more than $526 million in relief in all types of cases, involving federal as well as private-sector employees. If you have the ambition to read all 106 pages of the agency's report, please be my guest.

For the rest of us, here are some ...

You be the judge of these real-life employment disputes! (I've changed the names to make it harder for you to Google the answers right away, but the answers with links are at the end of the post.)

SO FUNNY, I FORGOT TO LAUGH

1. Susan and her husband, who are white, are cleaning out their attic one weekend. They come across some quaint old clothes and sepia-tinted ...

(As the agencies and courts enter their year-end flurry of mischief, I'll be doing quick posts as needed on the latest developments.)

Dum-da-dum-dum!

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has adopted essentially the Strategic Enforcement Plan that I posted about earlier this year. The final version has added "equal pay enforcement" to its list of high priorities. Here is the ...

Well! OK!

It's been an interesting week, hasn't it? Congratulations to President Obama on winning a second term. My Election 2012 coverage would not be complete without some labor and employment prognostications for Obama Administration II.*

*Please do not read these again in 2016 to see how accurate I was. I don't want to be known as the Dick Morris of employment law bloggers.

After Tuesday night's rather -- intense -- Presidential debate, it was fun to watch Gov. Romney and President Obama good-naturedly tease each other at last night's Al Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner to benefit Catholic Charities of New York. With two and a half weeks to go until election day (November 6 - don't forget to vote!), I thought this would be a good time to provide some guidance ...

Vote for Summer . . . and Pedro* . . . and Tracy Flick.

It appears that blog award season is upon us!

We are very honored that Employment & Labor Insider has been included as a Labor & Employment Nominee in the LexisNexis Best 25 Blogs 2011. Mike Maslanka's Texas Lawyer/Work Matters blog is also a nominee (congratulations and best wishes, Mike!).

If you are so inclined, we'd greatly appreciate ...