Discrimination

  • May 21, 2024

    EEOC Guidance Over Gender Identity Can't Stand, Texas Says

    The Texas attorney general requested Tuesday that a federal judge do away with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's enforcement guidance over gender identity and Title VII, arguing that the agency must be stopped from requiring employers' compliance with pronoun and bathroom accommodations.

  • May 21, 2024

    MLB Scouts' Colo. Age Bias Suit Moved To New York

    A Colorado federal judge refused to dismiss an age bias suit brought against Major League Baseball by a group of 40-and-older scouts and instead transferred the case to New York, saying he was using his discretionary authority because most defendants have no ties to his district.

  • May 21, 2024

    NY High Court Upholds State Abortion Coverage Mandate

    New York's highest court on Tuesday upheld a state law requiring employee health plans to cover medically necessary abortions, finding a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision didn't change the state court's determination that an exemption process in the law was constitutional.

  • May 21, 2024

    6th Circ. Won't Restart GM Engineer's Age Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday backed General Motors' defeat of an engineer's lawsuit claiming he was harassed and transferred to less lucrative jobs because he's over 50, ruling he failed to show that a supervisor's sporadic comments created a hostile work environment.

  • May 21, 2024

    Food Cos. To Pay $245K To End EEOC Harassment Suit

    Several food companies will pay $245,000 to resolve a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging a predecessor company's executive harassed employees with crude comments and unwanted touching and then fired workers who complained about it, a filing in California federal court said.

  • May 21, 2024

    7th Circ. Skeptical Of Bias Suit Over Honeywell DEI Video

    The Seventh Circuit appeared reluctant Tuesday to revive a former Honeywell engineer's suit claiming he was unlawfully fired after declining to watch a training film he said discriminated against white people, with judges questioning how the ex-worker could prevail if he never saw the video.

  • May 21, 2024

    Caterpillar To Pay $800K To End DOL Race Bias Probe

    Heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. has agreed to pay $800,000 to resolve U.S. Department of Labor allegations that it refused to hire qualified Black applicants for welding positions at an Illinois facility, the agency said Tuesday.

  • May 21, 2024

    Jury Awards Nurse $200K In Workplace Retaliation Suit

    A Puerto Rico federal jury handed a $200,000 win to a nurse in her suit accusing a government agency of standing by as a co-worker threatened to stab her and fabricated complaints against her after she alleged the colleague's friend sexually harassed her.

  • May 21, 2024

    ABA Faces Racial Bias Complaint Over Diversity Programs

    A conservative nonprofit on Tuesday hit the American Bar Association with a Title VI complaint, claiming a handful of "nefarious" ABA-led programs meant to connect minority law school students with judges are "racially discriminatory."

  • May 21, 2024

    Littler Hires Employment Advice Leader From Lewis Brisbois

    The co-chair of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP's employment advice and counseling practice has joined Littler Mendelson PC's Providence, Rhode Island, office, the firm announced.

  • May 21, 2024

    Strategic Hiring Was The New Normal For BigLaw In 2023

    The 400 largest law firms by headcount in the U.S. grew more slowly in 2023 than in the previous two years, while Kirkland & Ellis LLP surpassed the 3,000-attorney threshold, according to the latest Law360 ranking.

  • May 21, 2024

    The Law360 400: Tracking The Largest US Law Firms

    The legal market expanded more tentatively in 2023 than in previous years amid a slowdown in demand for legal services, especially in transactions, an area that has been sluggish but is expected to quicken in the near future.

  • May 21, 2024

    Ex-Workers Drop Gender Bias Suit Against Ga. Medical Cos.

    Two female former human resources workers for a medical management company and a podiatrist center told a Georgia federal court they had agreed to drop their lawsuit accusing their ex-employers of discriminating against them based on gender, reclassifying them as hourly and firing them for complaining.

  • May 21, 2024

    3rd Circ. Revives American Airlines Pilots' Military Leave Suit

    The Third Circuit reopened a class action Tuesday accusing American Airlines of unlawfully denying pilots pay for short military assignments while compensating employees for jury duty and bereavement leave, ruling a trial is needed to determine whether time off for military service is fungible with paid absences.

  • May 20, 2024

    AMC Can Arbitrate Suit Alleging 'Hannibal' Creator Assault

    A Los Angeles judge on Monday granted AMC's request to arbitrate claims brought by a television producer who says he was sexually assaulted by "Hannibal" creator Bryan Fuller while working on a docuseries for the cable channel and also stayed claims against Fuller and all defendants.

  • May 20, 2024

    Colo. Gov. Voices 'Reservations' In Signing AI Bias Bill

    Colorado's governor has approved the nation's first framework to clamp down on algorithmic discrimination in certain artificial intelligence technologies, although he expressed several "reservations" about the measure that he urged the Legislature to address before the law takes effect in 2026. 

  • May 20, 2024

    EEOC Says Red States Can't Block PWFA Rule On Abortion

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged an Arkansas federal judge to reject a bid by 17 Republican state attorneys general to block recently finalized regulations that guide the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, arguing that concerns about its abortion accommodations are merely hypothetical.

  • May 20, 2024

    Cops Say Challenge To NJ City Pot Policy Is State Matter

    A pair of former Jersey City, New Jersey, cops who sued city officials alleging they were wrongfully terminated for their off-duty use of regulated cannabis have asserted that the city improperly moved the matter to federal court and that the case belongs under state jurisdiction.

  • May 20, 2024

    Tesla Must Face Sweeping Race Bias Class Action

    Tesla must face a class action by scores of Black workers accusing it of a widespread culture of racial discrimination at its factory in Fremont, California, a state trial court judge has ruled.

  • May 20, 2024

    EEOC Urges Reversal In State Farm Worker's Retaliation Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked the Sixth Circuit to upend State Farm's win in a former worker's suit, saying there's evidence she was fired in retaliation for helping a disabled colleague lodge a complaint against her supervisor because he abruptly yanked her accommodation.

  • May 20, 2024

    Boar's Head Can't Untangle Collective In NY Late Pay Suit

    A New York federal judge said Boar's Head can't get reconsideration of an order greenlighting a collective in a late pay suit because the workers in the case supported their claims, but granted the deli meat and cheese company's request to rework the collective definition.

  • May 20, 2024

    Ex-Detroit Tigers Worker Settles Age Bias Suit With Team

    A Michigan federal judge on Monday issued a brief order dismissing an age bias lawsuit brought by a former Detroit Tigers employee against the MLB team, saying the parties informed the court they have resolved all claims just a month before trial was set to begin.

  • May 20, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives Ex-Transit Worker's Discrimination Suit

    The Second Circuit reopened a Black former office clerk's lawsuit alleging her supervisor at a western New York transit authority harassed her by disparaging George Floyd just weeks after his death, finding a trial court should've given her more information about conducting discovery before tossing the case.

  • May 20, 2024

    3rd Circ. Backs Museum Win In Ex-Worker's Retaliation Suit

    The Third Circuit declined to reinstate a lawsuit an ex-worker brought against a Pennsylvania museum accusing it of firing him after he asked for accommodations to treat a back injury he suffered at work, saying his allegations aren't strong enough to sustain a retaliation case.

  • May 20, 2024

    Senate Gets Chance To Tackle An Overlooked Form Of Bias

    A bill invalidating mandatory arbitration agreements for workplace age discrimination claims recently won bipartisan support for a full Senate vote, a development experts say gives lawmakers a chance to curb a type of bias that's remained stubbornly persistent as some people perceive it as acceptable.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Mass. Age Bias Ruling Holds Employer Liability Lessons

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    The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling in Adams v. Schneider Electric — upholding a laid-off employee’s age discrimination claim — is an important reminder that employers may face liability even if a decision maker unknowingly applies a discriminatory corporate strategy, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Regulating AI: Litigation Questions And State Efforts To Watch

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    In view of the developing legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence systems in the U.S., including state legislation and early federal litigation, there are practical takeaways as we look toward the future, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Regulating AI: An Overview Of Federal Efforts

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    The U.S. has been carefully managing a national policy and regulatory ecosystem toward artificial intelligence, but as AI technology continues to expand into our everyday lives, so too has its risks and the need for regulation, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Justices' Job Transfer Review Should Hold To Title VII Text

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis should hold that a job transfer can be an adverse employment action, and the analysis should be based on the straightforward language of Title VII rather than judicial activism, say Lynne Bernabei and Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.

  • Employer Tips For Fighting Back Against Explosive Verdicts

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    Massive jury verdicts are a product of our time, driven in part by reptile tactics, but employers can build a strategic defense to mitigate the risk of a runaway jury, and develop tools to seek judicial relief in the event of an adverse outcome, say Dawn Solowey and Lynn Kappelman at Seyfarth.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Changing Status Quo In A Union Shop

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    A recent administrative law decision concerning a dispute between Fortune Media and the NewsGuild of New York is an important reminder to employers with unionized workforces to refrain from making unilateral updates to employee handbooks that will change the terms and conditions of employment, says Jennifer Hataway at Butler Snow.

  • What EEOC's 2023 Stats Mean For Future Enforcement

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    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s unusual burst of spring lawsuits and its new Democratic majority should cue employers and HR personnel to expect EEOC enforcement activity to ramp up to pre-pandemic rates, especially in regions where filings are on the rise and in those areas the agency appears to be targeting, such as workplace discrimination, say Andrew Scroggins and James Nasiri at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Shift In Religious Accommodation Law

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    The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Groff v. DeJoy is making it more difficult for employers to deny religious accommodations, and there are three takeaways employers should keep in mind, say William Cook and Matthew High at Wilson Elser.

  • Tick Tock: When Punctuality Raises Employee ADA Questions

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    A recent viral TikTok video — where a user claims they were disrespected by a potential employer when inquiring about accommodations for difficulty with being on time — shows that even in the most seemingly questionable situations, there may be legitimate issues that require Americans with Disabilities Act considerations, says Daniel Pasternak at Squire Patton.

  • Tips For Making And Maintaining Employee Resource Groups

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    Employers should consider creating employee resource groups to create a workplace that can flourish in the new remote work reality, and keep in mind three best practices to avoid potential legal pitfalls and challenges that come with them, say Tyler Paetkau and Catarina Colón at Husch Blackwell.

  • Employer Pointers From Tiger Woods' Legal Dispute With Ex

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    Ex-girlfriend Erica Herman's sexual harassment suit against Tiger Woods, which was recently sent to arbitration, highlights the need for employers to understand their rights and responsibilities around workplace relationships, nondisclosure agreements and arbitration provisions, say Stephanie Reynolds and Sean McKaveney at Fisher Phillips.