Discrimination

  • August 07, 2026

    6th Circ. Won't Reopen Ex-HR Worker's Race Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit upheld an auto parts manufacturer's win in a lawsuit alleging it unfairly disciplined a Black human resources employee because she complained about bias, concluding she hadn't overcome the company's argument that she had attendance and performance issues.

  • August 07, 2026

    EEOC Urges 2nd Circ. To Reopen NYC Teacher's Age Bias Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked the Second Circuit to reinstate a New York music teacher's age discrimination and retaliation claims, arguing that a trial court applied outdated and overly strict standards when dismissing the case last year.

  • August 07, 2026

    NY Forecast: Judge Weighs Blocking Farm Labor Contract

    In the week ahead, a New York federal judge will consider a worker's request to block a labor contract implemented at an upstate farm after an arbitration process laid out in a state law granting union rights to farmworkers.

  • August 06, 2026

    DOJ Says Duke Law Favors Black, Hispanic Applicants

    Duke University School of Law intentionally discriminated against prospective white and Asian students in its efforts to pursue racial diversity in its incoming classes, the U.S. Department of Justice asserted Thursday.

  • August 06, 2026

    Mark Zuckerberg's Foundation Can Arbitrate Gender Bias Suit

    A California federal judge on Thursday sent to arbitration claims that the foundation run by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan discriminated against women, saying the suit's sexual harassment claims weren't sufficiently severe or pervasive to invalidate the plaintiff's arbitration agreement.

  • August 06, 2026

    5th Circ. Revives Ex-College Tech Worker's Disability Bias Suit

    A split Fifth Circuit panel gave a former college technology manager a second shot at alleging she was fired for taking medical leave to deal with neurological disabilities, ruling that a jury should weigh whether discrimination or performance issues led to her termination.

  • August 06, 2026

    Circuits Aren't Waiting On High Court To Rein In Bias Test

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent refusals to revisit a long-standing employer-friendly framework for evaluating workers' discrimination claims have led federal appellate courts to explore ways to narrow the doctrine's reach without the high court's help, experts said.

  • August 06, 2026

    EEOC Says Truck Co.'s Training Policy Shortchanged Women

    A trucking company and its driver training affiliate discriminated against female students by letting some male trainers refuse to pair with them and seeking their spouses' sign-off for a male teacher to be assigned, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in Texas federal court.

  • August 06, 2026

    Mich. Contractor, Teamsters Defeat Driver's Race Bias Claim

    A former truck driver has lost his race discrimination lawsuit against Doan Construction Co. and a Teamsters local after a Michigan federal judge found the company reasonably believed it fired him for punching a co-worker and the union properly declined to take his grievance to arbitration. 

  • August 06, 2026

    Rowan University Vet School Hit With 3 Discrimination Suits

    Rowan University's new veterinary school was hit with three separate discrimination suits in New Jersey state court from a professor, a technician and an ophthalmologist who each claim the fledgling institution retaliated against them and mishandled disability‑related concerns during the animal hospital's launch.

  • August 06, 2026

    Fisher Phillips Grows With Pair Of NJ Employment Litigators

    Management-side labor law firm Fisher Phillips has brought aboard a pair of new partners in New Jersey who bring deep experience in employment litigation from Carmagnola & Ritardi LLC and Kaufman Dolowich LLP, the firm said Wednesday.

  • August 06, 2026

    Rising Star: Phillips & Associates' Melissa Berouty

    Melissa Berouty of Phillips & Associates helped secure a $5.25 million settlement for a BigLaw partner who claimed that she faced sexual harassment and assault and a $2.1 million settlement for a worker who claimed whistleblower retaliation, earning her a spot among the employment law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 06, 2026

    Fired Immigration Judge Sues DOJ Over Bias Claims

    A Democratic immigration judge fired days before her position became permanent has sued the U.S. Department of Justice, saying the Constitution does not give the president authority to discriminate against civil service employees.

  • August 06, 2026

    11th Circ. Erases Worker's $800K Win In Dreadlock Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit scrapped an $800,000 verdict in favor of a Black worker who claimed she was let go after complaining that she'd been racially targeted for wearing dreadlocks, ruling faulty jury instructions meant the security company she worked for should get a new trial.

  • August 05, 2026

    Senate Dems Grill Trump's Judge Picks For 5th Circ., Alabama

    Senate Democrats on Wednesday dug into two judges nominated by the president to serve in Alabama district court and on the Fifth Circuit over their careful answers about who won the 2020 election and one's history of advocating against a ban on forced arbitration for workplace sexual harassment and assault claims.

  • August 05, 2026

    Unread Arbitration Emails Are Unenforceable, 9th Circ. Rules

    Arbitration agreements sent to workers aren't arbitration agreements assented to by workers, the Ninth Circuit held Wednesday, rejecting assertions from medical supplies giant Thermo Fisher Scientific that its arbitration-related emails — even if never read — sufficed to keep an ex-employee's proposed class action out of court.

  • August 05, 2026

    CREXi Wants 9th Circ. To Undo Quinn Emanuel CoStar Row DQ

    Commercial Real Estate Exchange Inc. doesn't want to replace Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP after a California federal judge disqualified the firm from defending a copyright infringement suit by CoStar, seeking Ninth Circuit intervention and a pause on the district court case.

  • August 05, 2026

    7th Circ. Backs Wis. Court System's Sex Harassment Suit Win

    The Seventh Circuit has refused to reinstate a former court reporter's workplace sex harassment lawsuit against the Wisconsin state court system and a former judge, saying the alleged misconduct was too sparse to be actionable.

  • August 05, 2026

    Drexel Can't Shake Prof's Retaliation Suit, Pa. Judge Rules

    A tenured philosophy professor's retaliation claims against Drexel University will proceed to trial after a Pennsylvania federal court denied the university's bid for an early win, finding that genuine factual disputes remain over whether the university's course format change was retaliatory.

  • August 05, 2026

    A State Law Cheat Sheet For Discrimination Attorneys

    Maine's new law imposing pay transparency requirements on employers' advertisements for open jobs took effect, and Illinois' governor signed a bill that enshrines the concept of disparate impact discrimination into state antidiscrimination law. Here, Law360 looks at several state-level legislative developments over the past week that discrimination lawyers should know about.

  • August 05, 2026

    Rising Star: Littler's Rocio Blanco Garcia

    Littler Mendelson PC shareholder Rocio Blanco Garcia's litigation work helped to clarify how employers can beat whistleblower cases in the Eleventh Circuit, and her advisory work gave thousands of employees of a Florida county access to paid parental leave, earning her a spot among the employment lawyers under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • August 05, 2026

    Calif. Hotel To Pay $2.75M To End COVID Rehiring Probe

    An Anaheim, California, Marriott hotel will pay $2.75 million to resolve a state Labor Commissioner's Office investigation into allegations that it violated state law by failing to rehire two dozen employees who were laid off during the pandemic, the agency announced.

  • August 05, 2026

    UPS Driver Says Late Sick Pay Can't Sink Colo. Suit

    A UPS driver urged a Colorado federal judge to reject the company's early win bid in a proposed class action, arguing late payments cannot erase paid-sick-leave violations.

  • August 05, 2026

    Penn Orgs Ask 3rd Circ. To Nix EEOC Subpoena Order

    Groups affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania urged the Third Circuit to nix a lower court's order mandating the school's compliance with a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission subpoena seeking information about Jewish employees, arguing an agreement between the commission and Penn doesn't fully protect workers and students.

  • August 04, 2026

    OpenAI To Pay $3.2M In DOJ Visa Worker Bias Settlement

    OpenAI and its subsidiary will pay $3.2 million to settle allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division that the technology giant discriminated against U.S. workers in favor of workers with temporary employment visas in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the DOJ announced Tuesday.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 Areas Of Labor Law That May Change Under Trump

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    Based on President Donald Trump's recent moves, employers should expect to see significant changes in the direction of law coming out of the National Labor Relations Board, particularly in two areas where the Trump administration will seek to roll back the Biden NLRB's changes, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Justices' Revival Ruling In Bias Suit Exceeds Procedural Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Waetzig v. Halliburton allowed the plaintiff in an age discrimination lawsuit to move to reopen his case after arbitration, but the seemingly straightforward decision on a procedural issue raises complex questions for employment law practitioners, says Christopher Sakauye at Dykema.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'Late Night' Shows DEI Is More Than Optics

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    Amid the shifting legal landscape for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Troutman's Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter chat with their firm's DEI committee chair, Nicole Edmonds, about how the 2019 film "Late Night" reflects the challenges and rewards of fostering meaningful inclusion.

  • 9 Considerations For Orgs Using AI Meeting Assistants

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    When deciding to use artificial intelligence meeting assistants, organizations must create and implement a written corporate policy that establishes the do's and don'ts for these assistants, taking into account individualized business operations, industry standards and legal and regulatory requirements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Determining What 'I Don't Feel Safe' Means In The Workplace

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    When an employee tells an employer "I don't feel safe," the phrase can have different meanings, so employment lawyers must adequately investigate to identify which meaning applies — and a cursory review and dismissal of the situation may not be a sufficient defense in case of future legal proceedings, says Karen Elliott at FordHarrison.

  • How EEOC Enforcement Priorities May Change Under Trump

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already been rocked by the Trump administration's dramatic changes in personnel and policy, which calls into question how the agency may shift its direction from the priorities set forth in its five-year strategic enforcement plan in 2023, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Back To Basics After Admin Change

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    Having an up-to-date employee handbook is more critical now than ever, given the recent change in administration, and employers should understand their benefits and risks, including how they can limit employers’ liability and help retain employers’ rights, say Kasey Cappellano and Meaghan Gandy at Kutak Rock.

  • What Axed Title IX Gender Identity Rule Means For Higher Ed

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    Following a Kentucky federal court's recent decision in State of Tennessee v. Cardona to strike down a Biden-era rule that expanded the definition of Title IX to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity, institutions of higher education should prepare to reimplement policies that comply with the reinstated 2020 rule, say attorneys at Venable.

  • A Path Forward For Cos. Amid Trump's Anti-DEIA Efforts

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    Given the Trump administration’s recent efforts targeting corporate diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs — including threatening possible criminal prosecution — companies should carefully tailor their DEIA initiatives to comply with both the letter and the spirit of antidiscrimination law, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Workforce Data Collection Considerations After DEI Order

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    Following President Donald Trump's executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, employers should balance the benefits of collecting demographic data with the risk of violating the order’s prohibition on "illegal DEI," say Lynn Clements at Berkshire Associates, David Cohen at DCI Consulting and Victoria Lipnic at Resolution Economics.

  • How DOGE's Severance Plan May Affect Federal Employees

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    President Donald Trump's administration, working through the Department of Government Efficiency, recently offered a severance package to nearly all of the roughly 2 million federal employees, but unanswered questions about the offer, coupled with several added protections for government workers, led to fewer accepted offers than expected, says Aaron Peskin at Kang Haggerty.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.