Discrimination

  • July 27, 2026

    Religious Health Workers Ask Justices To Revisit Vax Battle

    A group of religious healthcare workers told the U.S. Supreme Court that recent circuit court rulings in vaccination-related cases have heightened the need for the justices to review their legal battle over a pandemic-era New York state inoculation policy.

  • July 27, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Cop's Sex Harassment Lawsuit

    The Eleventh Circuit declined to revive a former detention deputy's sexual harassment and malicious prosecution lawsuit against two officers with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, affirming a Florida district court's decision to free the sheriff and a sergeant from the suit.

  • July 27, 2026

    Consultant Says Fla. Co., Owner Stole Her Training Model

    A linguist claimed in a Florida federal court that the owner of a job consulting business breached their collaboration agreement and stole a training model she developed, alleging she wasn't given equity in the company as promised and that her copyrighted intellectual property was published in a book without her authorization.

  • July 27, 2026

    EEOC Drops Appeal Of Staffing Co.'s Escape From Bias Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has pulled its Sixth Circuit appeal of a lower court's order allowing a staffing agency to exit a race discrimination suit claiming it and a packaging company unlawfully turned away Black applicants.

  • July 27, 2026

    11th Circ. Nixes Disinfectant-Spraying Worker's ADA Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit refused Monday to reopen a now-deceased Georgia county employee's lawsuit alleging she was fired for taking precautions to protect herself during the COVID-19 pandemic due to her health problems, concluding she was let go for spraying co-workers with disinfectant rather than her disabilities.

  • July 27, 2026

    Seafood Wholesaler To Pay $265K In EEOC Sex Bias Suit

    A Georgia federal judge on Monday signed off on a $265,000 deal reached between a seafood wholesaler and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to end the agency's sex bias suit claiming the business refused to hire women for warehouse positions.

  • July 27, 2026

    Wells Fargo Finance Manager Drops Bias Suit Ahead Of Trial

    A finance manager for Wells Fargo has ended her disability bias suit accusing the bank of discriminating against her after she sought to continue working from home to deal with health issues, cutting short the case ahead of a tentative September trial date.

  • July 27, 2026

    NLRB Judge Says Worker Unlawfully Fired Over Anti-DEI Post

    A financial technology company violated federal labor law by firing a data engineer and suing him for defamation after he complained publicly about company diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, a National Labor Relations Board judge has ruled, saying the company should be ordered to rehire the worker.

  • July 27, 2026

    FedEx Will Pay $900K To End Military Leave Bias Fight

    FedEx agreed to pay $900,000 to close a suit claiming the company didn't compensate its service member employees who took short-term military leave but provided pay for other short-term leave such as jury duty and bereavement time, according to a Georgia federal court filing.

  • July 27, 2026

    Jury Says Hospital Owes $105K In EEOC Sex Bias Suit

    An Arkansas hospital should pay $105,000, a federal jury ruled, after finding in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the agency's suit claiming a male medical assistant was unlawfully barred from assisting with childbirth.

  • July 24, 2026

    2nd Circ. Partly Revives NYC Employee's Disability Case

    The Second Circuit Friday vacated a lower court's dismissal of a New York City employee's suit claiming the city failed to accommodate his disability, although it said the trial court was correct in tossing the employee's discrimination and retaliation claims.

  • July 24, 2026

    Ex-File Clerk Sues Philly Public Defender Office For Bias

    A former file clerk for the Defender Association of Philadelphia sued the organization Friday for discrimination, alleging she faced retaliation for going out on leave to address her parents' health conditions as well as termination because of her age.

  • July 24, 2026

    9th Circ. Revives Ex-Kaiser Worker's Vaccine Bias Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel Friday revived a former Kaiser Permanente employee's discrimination suit accusing The Permanente Medical Group Inc. of unlawfully firing her for refusing a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine, ruling that the worker adequately informed the company of the vaccine's conflict with her sincerely held religious beliefs.

  • July 24, 2026

    Tesla Sued For Denying Worker's Accommodation Due To THC

    Tesla Inc. faces a disability discrimination lawsuit from a worker who claims in California state court that it refused to accommodate an ongoing knee disability and disqualified him from transferring to a less demanding role due to his legal medical cannabis usage.

  • July 24, 2026

    DC Prison Exec Must Face Ex-Guard's 1st Amendment Claim

    The D.C. prison system and its director have dodged a former guard's claim that they violated the First Amendment by firing her after she leaked emails and publicized pandemic-era jailhouse conditions, but the system's deputy director must keep facing this claim, a D.C. Circuit panel ruled Friday.

  • July 24, 2026

    Acquired Co.'s Founder Was Fired For Age, Race, Suit Alleges

    An Ohio-based multinational engineering firm fired the founder of a company it acquired because of his age and race just three days after suggesting that he retire, according to a complaint filed in Pennsylvania federal court Friday.

  • July 24, 2026

    Ex-Immigration Judge Says Firing Is Part Of Biased Anti-DEI Push

    A former immigration judge has sued the U.S. Department of Justice in California federal court claiming she was pushed off the bench because she is Black and female, and previously advocated for immigrant clients as an attorney — and saying dozens of similarly situated judges were also fired or denied permanent positions.

  • July 24, 2026

    8th Circ. Backs Builder's Win In Female Worker's Bias Suit

    The Eighth Circuit declined Friday to reinstate a female former construction worker's suit claiming she was forced to resign after her employer failed to curb sex discrimination, ruling her case falls apart because she never explicitly complained that she faced gendered prejudice on the job.

  • July 24, 2026

    EEOC's Pact With Penn Shields Decisive Trial Court Victory

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's decision to drop its subpoena for information on Jewish employees at the University of Pennsylvania may have been a strategic move to preserve a district court decision affirming its broad investigative authority, experts said.

  • July 24, 2026

    Property Co. Fired Director Amid Cancer Diagnosis, Suit Says

    The former director of operations for a property management company has alleged in a federal lawsuit that she was fired in the midst of finding out she had cancer, saying her ex-employer knew she might seek accommodations for her diagnosis and sacked her anyway.

  • July 24, 2026

    Car Dealerships, EEOC Strike $925K Sex Harassment Suit Deal

    A group of Texas car dealerships will pay $925,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging they did nothing to curb managers' rampant harassment of female employees and transferred or fired workers who complained, according to a federal court filing.

  • July 24, 2026

    NY Forecast: NY Judge Hears Claims Of Faulty Tip Class List

    This week, a New York federal magistrate judge will consider a class of restaurant workers' claims that a steakhouse has not provided accurate information necessary to administer an $800,000 settlement that the two sides reached in April.

  • July 24, 2026

    7th Circ. Says Jurors Should Weigh HR Manager's Bias Suit

    The Seventh Circuit reopened a human resources manager's lawsuit accusing a metal castings company of firing her for investigating and documenting workplace harassment, ruling a jury should have a chance to determine whether her termination was connected to her reports.

  • July 24, 2026

    Texas Barber School Settles EEOC Pregnancy Bias Suit

    A Texas barber and hairstylist school has struck a deal to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it rescinded a job offer to a pregnant applicant because the school already had another pregnant teacher on staff.

  • July 24, 2026

    Calif. Forecast: $24.8M Grubhub Wage Deal Up For Final OK

    In the week ahead, attorneys should watch for a final settlement approval hearing in a worker misclassification suit against Grubhub that went to the Ninth Circuit. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

Expert Analysis

  • 9 Considerations For Orgs Using AI Meeting Assistants

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    “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.

  • 10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting

    Author Photo

    This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Undoing An American Ideal Of Fairness

    Author Photo

    President Donald Trump’s orders attacking birthright citizenship, civil rights education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs threaten hard-won constitutional civil rights protections and decades of efforts to undo bias in the law — undermining what Chief Justice Earl Warren called "our American ideal of fairness," says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Employer Tips For Wise Use Of Workers' Biometrics And Tech

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
    Author Photo

    Employers that collect employee biometric data and operate bring-your-own-device policies, which respectively offer better corporate security and more flexibility for workers, should prioritize certain best practices to protect the privacy and rights of employees and safeguard sensitive internal information, says Douglas Yang at Sheppard Mullin.