Discrimination

  • September 24, 2026

    EEOC Says Hotel's '100% Healed' Policy Violates ADA

    A North Carolina hotel operator fired an employee rather than accommodate him after he faced disabling injuries from a bus crash, stating he needed to be fully healed to return to work, according to a Thursday lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

  • September 24, 2026

    3rd Circ. Eyes 'Compromise' Instruction In Equal Pay Case

    A Third Circuit panel on Thursday appeared to take issue with a district judge's suggestion that a jury "compromise" in reaching a verdict in favor of female teachers who alleged Central Bucks School District paid them less than a male colleague.

  • September 24, 2026

    5 Circuit Splits To Watch At The High Court

    The U.S. Supreme Court has been deciding fewer and fewer cases over the past three decades, with its caseload reaching a historic low just last term. While attorneys believe several factors have contributed to that trend, they say one of the most consequential is the court's apparent declining interest in resolving circuit splits. 

  • September 24, 2026

    YMCA Accused Of Firing Director After Race Bias Complaint

    The YMCA of Metro Atlanta was sued in Georgia federal court by a Black former employee who claimed he was accused of improperly using funds and ultimately fired after he complained about race-related harassment he said he was experiencing at work.

  • September 24, 2026

    Ogletree Lands New GC From Cooley In NY

    Labor and employment law firm Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC has tapped Cooley LLP's deputy general counsel to serve as its legal leader, the firm announced Thursday.

  • September 24, 2026

    9th Circ. Reinstates Vax Objector's Religious Bias Case

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday reopened a nurse's lawsuit alleging an Oregon hospital unlawfully put her on unpaid leave rather than accommodate her religious objection to its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, faulting the trial court for overlooking a letter in which she explained why she wanted an exemption.

  • September 24, 2026

    EEOC Asks 5th Circ. To Reopen Black Truck Driver's Bias Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission called on the Fifth Circuit in a new amicus brief to reinstate the retaliation allegations brought by a Black truck driver who said he was punished for flagging discriminatory treatment at work.

  • September 24, 2026

    Fired Jewish Doc Faced Harassment 'Barrage,' EEOC Says

    A Jewish orthopedic surgeon faced antisemitic harassment on the job that surged after Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel and culminated in his firing, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a new lawsuit.

  • September 24, 2026

    Retailer Rejected Deaf Warehouse Applicant, EEOC Says

    A bargain retailer refused to hire a deaf job applicant for four jobs at a Texas warehouse because of unlawful qualification standards requiring workers to have the ability to hear, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a new lawsuit.

  • September 24, 2026

    Philly Jury Sides With Drexel In Professor's Retaliation Case

    A Pennsylvania jury has cleared Drexel University of liability in a professor's lawsuit alleging the school retaliated against her for winning a separate case claiming the university paid her less than her male colleagues, according to her attorney.

  • September 24, 2026

    Litigation Spending To Keep Climbing While Biz Risks Mount

    Big companies will increase their litigation budgets yet again next year, as navigating legal risk is now an essential element of achieving strategic business goals, according to a new report.

  • September 23, 2026

    Gay JPMorgan Ex-Worker Claims Discrimination By Supervisor

    A gay former employee of JPMorgan Chase sued the bank Wednesday, claiming a supervisor discriminated against him because of his sexual orientation and in response to his work with an LGBTQ+ affinity group at the bank, and told the employee to keep his "gay job" separate from his other work.

  • September 23, 2026

    Google Ex-Executive Says Bias Led To Layoff

    A former Google sales executive hit the tech giant with a lawsuit in Colorado state court claiming it pushed him out because of his age and retaliated after he complained that his manager was discriminating against him based on his age, sex and religion.

  • September 23, 2026

    Walmart Can't Nix Worker's $300K Retaliation Trial Win

    A Washington federal judge declined Wednesday to scrap a $300,000 trial win for a former Walmart employee who claimed she was fired for reporting that her manager failed to shut down sexual harassment, calling the jury's verdict fair amid evidence of her boss' unfair treatment.

  • September 23, 2026

    NJ Bias Case Judge Won't Nix Hospital's NDA Rule Yet

    A New Jersey state judge said it was too early to strike down a hospital's nondisclosure agreement provision for internal investigations in a former director's suit alleging she was the target of a retaliatory investigation.

  • September 23, 2026

    Ski Park Reaches $20K Deal To End EEOC Religious Bias Suit

    A Wisconsin ski resort agreed to pay $20,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming the business fired a Christian manager for posting Bible passages online that it deemed homophobic.

  • September 23, 2026

    Nepotism Allegation Can't Sustain Race Bias Suit, Judge Says

    An automotive parts manufacturer does not have to face a Black former employee's lawsuit alleging she was fired for using her cellphone at work while a human resources manager's white daughter evaded discipline, a Michigan federal judge ruled, concluding Wednesday that the worker's nepotism accusations couldn't support race bias claims.

  • September 23, 2026

    Feds Say UCSF Med School Favored Black, Hispanic Students

    The University of California's San Francisco School of Medicine admitted Black and Hispanic applicants at higher rates than their white and Asian counterparts, even when they performed worse academically, the U.S. Department of Justice has claimed.

  • September 23, 2026

    Mail Delivery Co. Strikes Deal In EEOC Sunday Work Suit

    A mail delivery contractor agreed to pay $60,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming the business demanded a Christian employee work on Sundays, even though he complained those shifts made him miss church.

  • September 23, 2026

    Weinstein Sentenced To 15 Years After NY Trials

    A New York state judge on Wednesday sentenced Harvey Weinstein to 15 years for sexually assaulting "Project Runway" production assistant Miriam Haley, following a series of trials against the already-imprisoned former Hollywood producer.

  • September 22, 2026

    UMass Hospital Co. Beats Ex-VP's COVID Vaccine Firing Claim

    A jury cleared a central Massachusetts hospital system of liability for terminating a compliance officer who refused a COVID-19 shot, finding Tuesday she failed to show a sincere religious belief against vaccination.

  • September 22, 2026

    Michigan School District Denies Race Bias In COVID Stipends

    When a Michigan school district distributed federal COVID grant stipends only to white school administrators, Black administrators were excluded not because of their race, but because they worked at a high school rather than a middle or elementary school, counsel for the district told a federal judge Tuesday.

  • September 22, 2026

    Amtrak, Union Say Conductor Can't Reopen Settled Bias Suit

    A train conductor should not be allowed to reopen a case accusing Amtrak and her union of teaming up to prevent her from advancing in union leadership, the railroad and union argued, asking a Connecticut federal judge to toss the conductor's bid to revive the settled discrimination suit.

  • September 22, 2026

    Pitt Beats Gender, Race Bias Claims In Prof's Discipline Suit

    A federal judge granted the University of Pittsburgh summary judgment Tuesday for most of the claims brought by a business school professor who said he was disciplined and denied an appeal over sexual harassment complaints.

  • September 22, 2026

    EEOC Beats NM School Board's Bid To Halt Native Bias Probe

    A district court judge has dismissed a New Mexico school board's challenge against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for lack of subject matter jurisdiction over the agency's bid for subpoenas as part of an investigation into alleged race discrimination.

Expert Analysis

  • What Greek Tragedy Teaches About Mediating AI Disputes

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    While ancient Greek writers could not have anticipated modern arbitration, their tragic plays illustrate new and familiar questions for mediators dealing with artificial intelligence disputes, including the functional differences between adjudication and resolution, says Giuseppe De Palo at JAMS.

  • Tracking Trends In State-Level Regulatory Enforcement

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    State-level enforcement now increasingly involves antitrust, artificial intelligence and data privacy issues, and the key for organizations to reducing risk is having the ability to respond across governance, public affairs, discovery and remediation in multiple states simultaneously, say consultants at FTI Consulting.

  • Tips From Apex Ruling On Handling Workers' Public Criticism

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    A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent finding that Apex Fintech Services illegally reined in an employee’s public criticism on LinkedIn should caution employers that overbroad policies and reflexive responses may not only fail to defend the company’s reputation, but compound risks of federal labor charges, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

  • Risk Considerations As EEOC Moves To Ax Data Reports

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    While the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent proposal to rescind requirements for workforce demographic reporting wouldn't bar employers from collecting data, companies would have to be especially careful to gather and use such information in legally defensible ways, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Raises Bar For Arbitration Pacts Via Email

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent holding in Rickes v. Thermo Fisher that the mere delivery of an email doesn't establish an employee's assent to the arbitration agreement underscores that rollout processes should both give employees notice of the agreement and create evidence of their assent, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • OpenAI Deal Highlights AI Hiring Risks In PERM Process

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement of allegations that OpenAI discriminated against U.S. applicants for positions connected to the permanent labor certification process underscores that employers providing or using artificial intelligence must align their recruitment practices with their overlapping compliance obligations, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • How Rogue AI May Shape Corporate Liability, Responsibility

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    Recent artificial intelligence cyber incidents offer a window into how companies deploying autonomous systems should document risk controls even when systems exceed their intended boundaries, as jurors may treat unexpected AI conduct as foreseeable evidence of inadequate safeguards, says Jorge Monroy at Verdict Insight Partners.

  • Meta Layoff Suit Serves As Early Test Of AI Bias Claims

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    A lawsuit in California federal court alleging that Meta's use of artificial intelligence in recent layoffs negatively affected employees on protected leave provides insight for plaintiffs about what evidence to preserve and how to build these discrimination claims, says Manny Starr at Frontier Law Center.

  • Flashpoints In Focus: Minimizing Midterm Politics At Work

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    With the upcoming midterm elections producing a steady stream of controversy, employers would benefit from planning in advance and developing guardrails to ensure that election-related rifts do not jeopardize the company's culture or results, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Navigating Rising AI Use In Pro Se Employment Suits

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    As federal pro se employment filings climb, largely due to increased use of artificial intelligence, defense attorneys can combat AI misuse by building AI-specific protective order language, screening documents for hidden prompt injections and seeking sanctions over fabricated citations, says Ashley Prickett Cuttino at Ogletree.

  • Trending Legal Implications Of Employee Influencer Programs

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    Employee-generated content is rapidly becoming a popular marketing strategy, as illustrated by Starbucks' new TikTok program, but it raises several legal risks for employers, including wage and hour exposure, federal disclosure obligations, and intellectual property concerns, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Flashpoints In Focus: Shifting Workplace Violence Responses

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    Amid recent threats of violence against artificial intelligence company executives and Jewish-owned businesses, employers can use policies, processes and safety controls to help prevent workplace violence and abate its recognized hazards, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • EEOC Bias Guidance Rollback Doesn't Negate Employer Risks

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    Despite the U.S. Department of Justice recently challenging Title VII's disparate impact provisions and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rescinding affirmative action guidance, employers should resist the temptation to restructure employment practices, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.