The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) kept active last year, investigating issues including social media passwords, domestic violence, and LGBT rights. With the onset of health care reform and an impending Supreme Court decision on the federal benefits afforded to same-sex couples, the coming months will likely bring more changes in the labor sector. Here, InsideCounsel takes a look at some of the most important—and interesting—employment trends to keep an eye on in 2013.

Overall Outlook

As 2012 came to a close, the EEOC approved a new Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP), in which it laid out its six top national enforcement priorities for the foreseeable future. The SEP gives corporate counsel a broad overview of the EEOC's main areas of concern, and could help companies to avoid any messy labor and employment lawsuits.

According to the guidance, the EEOC is focused on:

• Eliminating barriers in recruiting and hiring
• Protecting immigrant, migrant and other vulnerable workers
• Addressing emerging and developing employment discrimination issues
• Enforcing equal pay laws
• Preserving access to the legal system
• Preventing harassment through systemic enforcement and targeted outreach

Domestic Discrimination

Unfortunately, mass shootings are a reality of American life, with more than a dozen occurring in 2012 alone. Two of those shootings occurred within one week of each other, when gunmen opened fire at the workplaces of their estranged wives. The tragedies show how domestic violence can enter into the workplace, causing security concerns for employers. But those safety concerns do not give companies the right to discriminate against employees who are the victims of abuse or stalking, the EEOC warns.

In a recent fact sheet, the agency noted, although neither Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 nor the Americans with Disabilities Act explicitly prohibits discrimination against those workers, companies who treat them differently may be open to complaints of discrimination based on an employee's sex or real or perceived impairments. Before firing or transferring an employee who is a victim of domestic abuse, companies should be sure that they have concrete evidence that the person's presence imperils the safety of co-workers.