Discrimination

  • April 18, 2024

    6th Circ. Axes Ex-Perrigo Worker's Drug Test Firing Suit

    The Sixth Circuit refused to reinstate a bias suit from a worker who said drugmaker L. Perrigo Co. unlawfully fired him after lip balm caused him to test positive for marijuana, saying he didn't show that age or disability discrimination motivated the decision to let him go.

  • April 18, 2024

    Qdoba To Pay $3.8M To Wrap Up Wash. Pay Transparency Suit

    Mexican restaurant chain Qdoba will pay $3.8 million to resolve a class action alleging it violated Washington state's pay transparency law when it failed to disclose pay information in job postings, according to a filing in state court.

  • April 18, 2024

    Red States Back Call To Overturn Nasdaq Diversity Rule

    Utah and 23 other Republican-led states have filed an amicus brief asking the full Fifth Circuit to vacate a Nasdaq board diversity rule and declare it unconstitutional, saying the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which approved the rule, is "affirmatively perpetuating" race-based discrimination instead of eliminating it.

  • April 18, 2024

    Suit Alleging COVID-Inspired Racism Cleared For Trial

    A Pennsylvania federal judge won't let a boarding school escape an Asian American electrician's suit claiming he was targeted by a supervisor with threats and profanity after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and then fired for complaining about it, ruling the case should go to a jury.

  • April 18, 2024

    Amazon Strikes Deal, Staves Off Trial In Disability Bias Suit

    Amazon reached a deal to end a suit from an ex-employee who accused the e-commerce giant of pushing him out because of a knee injury stemming from his military service, ahead of a trial slated to begin in May, according to a filing in California federal court.

  • April 18, 2024

    2nd Circ. Seems Skeptical Of Equinox Trainer's Age Bias Case

    The Second Circuit appeared disinclined Thursday to revive a fired Equinox trainer's age bias lawsuit, with one judge saying he had "trouble finding" adequate evidence to back her argument that she was subjected to ageist comments that the company ignored.

  • April 18, 2024

    Purdue Beats Chinese Professor's Promotion Bias Suit

    An English literature professor at a Purdue University campus failed to convince an Indiana federal judge that she was passed over for a promotion because she's Chinese, as the judge found that the white instructor who won the job had qualifications justifying her selection.  

  • April 18, 2024

    EEOC Stance In Bellwether AI Suit Raises Stakes For Vendors

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently suggested that software vendor Workday may be liable if its artificial intelligence-powered hiring tools unlawfully screen out certain groups of applicants, a position that experts said could encourage private class actions if courts agree.

  • April 18, 2024

    Store Chain's Background Checks Discriminate, EEOC Says

    Convenience store chain Sheetz discriminated against nonwhite job applicants by basing hiring decisions on criminal history checks and refusing to let rejected job-seekers appeal those decisions, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a Maryland federal court.

  • April 17, 2024

    6th Circ. Wont Upend Nashville Worker's Retaliation Win

    The Sixth Circuit declined Wednesday to scrap a $260,000 jury win for a Nashville, Tennessee, school administrator who said she was fired for conducting a racial bias investigation, stating it's too soon for the panel to rule on whether a bankruptcy proceeding nullifies the award.

  • April 17, 2024

    Wells Fargo Headed To Trial In Ex-Exec's COVID-Era ADA Suit

    Wells Fargo is headed to trial over a former investment director's Americans with Disabilities Act claim in a suit alleging he lost his job following an accommodation request after his employer prepared to mandate a return to office, with a North Carolina federal judge also trimming the former employee's age discrimination suit.

  • April 17, 2024

    4 Questions The Justices' Bias Ruling Leaves To Lower Courts

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Wednesday softening the requirements for bringing a Title VII case over a job transfer marked a massive win for workers, but experts said the full breadth of the ruling will remain unknown until lower courts tackle the questions the justices left unanswered.

  • April 17, 2024

    Port Authority Worker Takes Race Bias Suit To 3rd Circ.

    A Black woman who claimed the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey didn't promote her because of her race and complaints about discrimination told the Third Circuit on Wednesday that a lower court ignored facts that should have worked in her favor when it dismissed her lawsuit.

  • April 17, 2024

    Seattle Says Firefighters' Amended Vax Complaint Still Flawed

    The city of Seattle insisted Wednesday that fatal flaws remain in an amended complaint from firefighters who sued over the city's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, including a failure to link religious discrimination and due process claims to Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins and other named defendants.

  • April 17, 2024

    Fox Rothschild Hires Employment Atty In Atlantic City

    Fox Rothschild LLP has added a labor and employment partner with decades of experience in collective bargaining, resolving workplace disputes and risk management to its Atlantic City, New Jersey, office.

  • April 17, 2024

    10th Circ. Upholds Block On Job Seeker's 'Meritless' Filings

    The Tenth Circuit on Wednesday refused to let a Nigerian job applicant ask a trial court to reconsider dismissing his race and age discrimination lawsuit against Garmin International Inc., ruling the lower court was within its right not to entertain his request based on his series of frivolous motions.

  • April 17, 2024

    Marine Co. Settles EEOC Suit Over Yanked Job Offer

    A Louisiana-based marine services company agreed to shell out $45,000 settlement to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it illegally revoked a job offer after finding out the candidate took prescribed medication to treat ADHD, according to the EEOC.

  • April 17, 2024

    School District To Pay $200K To End EEOC Age Bias Suit

    An Illinois school district will pay about $206,000 to bring an end to a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it capped salary increases for teachers over 45 to dodge increased retirement payments, the agency said Wednesday.

  • April 17, 2024

    WashU Medical School Settles Claims Of Asylee Bias, Firing

    The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has settled claims that it fired a worker who complained that he was being forced to prove he held asylum, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

  • April 17, 2024

    Lewis Brisbois Adds Employment Pro From Fisher Phillips

    Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP announced Wednesday it has brought aboard a new partner to lead the Denver branch of its national labor and employment practice who has more than 10 years of law firm experience, most recently at Fisher Phillips.

  • April 17, 2024

    Ogletree Expands Into Western NY With Ex-Goldberg Atty

    Management-side employment firm Ogletree Deakins is expanding into western New York, announcing Tuesday that it is adding a shareholder in Buffalo from Goldberg Segalla.

  • April 17, 2024

    Welch's Rehire Challenge Should Fail, Judge Recommends

    Welch Foods should comply with an arbitrator's order to rehire a Teamsters-represented worker fired for making vulgar comments to a female co-worker, a Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge said, recommending that the district judge toss the company's challenge to the order.

  • April 17, 2024

    11th Circ. Says Haitian Worker's Bias Suit Isn't 'Shotgun' Case

    The Eleventh Circuit revived a Black Haitian worker's suit claiming she was fired from two government contractors for complaining that she wasn't receiving raises or promotions because of her race, saying the lower court was too critical when it tossed her suit as a "shotgun pleading."

  • April 17, 2024

    Fisher Phillips Adds Longtime Littler Atty In Ohio

    A longtime Littler Mendelson PC attorney has joined international labor and employment firm Fisher Phillips as a partner in its Cleveland office.

  • April 17, 2024

    Discovery In $500M Severance Fight Against X, Musk Will Wait

    A California federal judge paused discovery in a suit claiming X, formerly Twitter, owes $500 million in severance to the workers the company laid off after Elon Musk's takeover, saying the court should wait to sort out the company's dismissal bid.

Expert Analysis

  • Gauging The Scope Of NYC's New AI Employment Law

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    Although employers have received some guidance on the requirements of New York City's new restriction on the use of automated employment decision tools, there are many open questions to grapple with as Local Law 144 attempts to regulate new and evolving technology, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Eye On Compliance: Women's Soccer Puts Equal Pay In Focus

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    As the U.S. Women's National Team returns from World Cup, employers can honor the fighting spirit of the athletes — which won them a historic gender pay equality settlement in 2022 — by reviewing federal equal pay compliance requirements and committing to a level playing field for all genders, says Christina Heischmidt at Wilson Elser.

  • Inflexible Remote Work Policies Can Put Employers In A Bind

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    As made clear in the recent decision by a Pennsylvania federal court in Oross v. Kutztown University, employers need to engage in individualized assessments of all requests for exemptions or accommodations to return-to-work policies to avoid potentially violating the Americans with Disabilities Act or Rehabilitation Act, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper. 

  • Congress Should Ban Employee Body Size Discrimination

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    New York City's recent enactment of a law that bans employers from discriminating against applicants and employees because of their height or weight should signal to Congress that now is the time to establish federal legislation that would prohibit such harmful practices, says Joseph Jeziorkowski at Valiant Law.

  • Why Employers Should Heed High Court Web Designer Ruling

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    While not an employment law ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in the First Amendment case 303 Creative v. Elenis raises serious questions for employers that constitute public accommodations and have related anti-discrimination policies, says Tanner Camp at Foley & Lardner.

  • What To Expect From The EEOC's Proposed Pregnancy Law

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    U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act require accommodations for many conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, and while the final rule won't be published until the public comment period expires in October, employers should act promptly, says Amy Gluck at FisherBroyles.

  • Employer Best Practices For Pay Transparency Compliance

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    With conflicting pay transparency and disclosure laws appearing across the country, employers must carefully develop different strategies for discussing compensation with employees, applicants, and off-site workers, disclosing salaries in job ads, and staying abreast of new state and local compliance requirements, says Joy Rosenquist at Littler Mendelson.

  • Congress Must Level The Employer Arbitration Playing Field

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    Federal courts have largely eviscerated state bans on arbitration of employment claims through Federal Arbitration Act preemption holdings, and they are also limiting the impact of the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, so Congress needs to step in and amend both laws, says Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.

  • What 11th Circ. Revival Of Deaf Employee's Bias Suit Portends

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent Beasley v. O'Reilly Auto Parts decision, which created a circuit split involving the issue of linking accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act to essential job functions, is a curiosity about the court's analysis at least and a potential game changer for employer duties at most, says John Doran at Sherman & Howard.

  • What To Watch As Justices Take Up Title VII Job Transfer Case

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    With its recent decision to hear Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether an involuntary job transfer can count as employment discrimination under Title VII — an eventual ruling that has potential to reshape workplace bias claims nationwide, says Adam Grogan at Bell Law Group.

  • Parsing EEOC Guidance On Accommodating Low Vision

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    Employers need to examine recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance on provisions for employees who are blind or partially sighted, particularly on the consequences of terminating an employee with blindness or low vision without meeting obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, says Amy Epstein Gluck at FisherBroyles.

  • 5 Tips For Employers Handling Generative AI Privacy Risks

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    Employers should carefully consider the privacy implications of using generative artificial intelligence tools, and employ steps to mitigate the risks, such as de-identifying data, providing notice and identifying data flows, say Zoe Argento and Amy Kabaria at Littler.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'The Bear' Serves Up Advice For Managers

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Ernst & Young’s Laura Yehuda about Hulu's "The Bear" and the best practices managers can glean from the show's portrayal of workplace challenges, including those faced by young, female managers.