Discrimination

  • September 09, 2024

    DOJ Says Judge Missing 'Egregious' Slur In Race Bias Suit

    A Georgia federal judge ignored crucial context and overlooked the "egregious nature" of a racial slur leveled at a Black worker when recommending that a race bias suit brought against a Georgia county by the federal government be thrown out, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

  • September 09, 2024

    Judge Rejects Ex-Law Prof's Recusal Bid In Retaliation Suit

    A Florida federal judge has declined to step away from a retaliation and breach of contract suit brought by a former law professor at Florida A&M University, noting "even if" the professor were correct in asserting the judge had been critical of her, such critiques do not necessitate recusal.

  • September 09, 2024

    2nd Circ. Upholds Regeneron's Win In Remote Work Suit

    The Second Circuit rejected a former Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. employee's appeal seeking to revive claims it illegally denied her a remote work situation to care for her daughter while she underwent medical care, ruling Monday that there was no evidence the company had willfully broken the law.

  • September 09, 2024

    Impact Of Equal Pay Data Reporting A Mixed Bag

    Employer pay data reporting to state or city agencies is a new frontier in pay transparency, but its efficacy may be more rooted in how it alters employer behavior rather than providing valuable information to the public, attorneys say.

  • September 09, 2024

    Ohio Nursing Home Settles EEOC Bias, Harassment Probe

    An Ohio nursing home will pay $30,000 after a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation discovered reasonable cause to believe that a manager drove a worker to quit by harassing her because of her race, the EEOC said. 

  • September 06, 2024

    What's Next For Calif. Employers After AI Bias Bill's Failure

    When California's legislative session wrapped up last month, a failed bill addressing bias by artificial intelligence tools raised eyebrows. But experts say they expect Golden State lawmakers and regulators to take plenty of swings at tackling AI and discrimination in the near future.

  • September 06, 2024

    Doctor Pulls Discovery Demands Against WWE Accuser

    Celebrity doctor Carlon Colker has withdrawn his demands seeking pre-litigation discovery materials from the woman who has accused Vince McMahon and former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. executives of sexually assaulting and trafficking her.

  • September 06, 2024

    Catholic Group Wants PWFA Rule, Harassment Regs On Ice

    A Catholic employer organization urged a North Dakota federal court to block the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations and updated workplace harassment guidelines, arguing its members face a looming threat of agency action over a refusal to accommodate abortion and infertility treatments.

  • September 06, 2024

    PruittHealth Enabled Antigay Abuse, Fired Nurse Says

    The former nursing director of a PruittHealth facility in northwest Georgia has sued his former employer claiming a homophobic work environment, alleging that he was subjected to antigay abuse from his coworkers and patients alike before eventually being fired on bogus grounds.

  • September 06, 2024

    Travel Nurse Says Emory Ended Her Contract Over Race Bias

    A travel nurse alleged in a lawsuit that Emory Healthcare Inc. unlawfully terminated her three-month contract after she complained that allowing her to administer peritoneal dialysis on Black patients without proper training would be "akin to treating those patients as guinea pigs."

  • September 06, 2024

    FedEx Medical Restriction Policy Violates ADA, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission slapped FedEx with a suit Friday claiming the delivery giant unlawfully screened out drivers with disabilities by barring them from work if they required any form of medical restriction, even if it didn't prevent them from doing their jobs.

  • September 06, 2024

    Pa. Paralegal Sues Former Firm For Disability Bias

    A former paralegal for Allentown, Pennsylvania, firm Zator Law LLC claims in a federal Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit that her termination was a result of the firm's discrimination of her panic disorder and retaliation for her request for accommodations.

  • September 06, 2024

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears Amazon Security Search Row

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider a group of workers' attempt to revive their claim that Amazon owed them pay for time they spent undergoing anti-theft screenings after their shifts and during breaks.

  • September 06, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: 9th Circ. To Hear Charter Overtime Suit Args

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for Ninth Circuit oral arguments in a wage suit against Charter Communications alleging overtime pay violations. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • September 06, 2024

    Ex-Saleswoman Can't Add Back Pay To $1 Win In ADA Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge said an ex-saleswoman can't collect a six-figure back pay award after a jury found she was unlawfully fired from an information technology company over her mental health issues but only gave her $1 in damages, noting that she found another job following her termination.  

  • September 06, 2024

    Fast Food Co., EEOC End Suit Over Late Demographic Data

    A California-based fast food franchisee has agreed to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it spurned its legal duty to share demographic information about its employees, the latest company to settle the agency's claims over tardy filings.

  • September 06, 2024

    Airline Asks 9th Circ. Panel To Reconsider Military Leave Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel didn't address whether a former Alaska Airlines pilot advanced enough evidence to show the airline denied him accrued vacation and sick time while on military stints, the company said, urging the panel to revisit its decision flipping the airline's earlier win.

  • September 05, 2024

    11th Circ. Backs Miami's Defeat Of Ex-Worker's Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit backed the city of Miami's win over a building services employee's lawsuit claiming she was fired because she's a Black lesbian woman, saying Thursday she failed to take issue with the trial court's rationale for tossing the case.

  • September 05, 2024

    4 Themes Of Amici Support For PWFA Regs At 8th Circ.

    Democratic attorneys general and workers groups have backed the U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission through amicus briefs at the Eighth Circuit as the agency fights a red state challenge of its rule allowing workers to seek abortion-related accommodations. Here's a look at the arguments the rule's backers are deploying at the appeals court.

  • September 05, 2024

    Iron Co. Escapes Fired Worker's Bipolar Leave Bias Suit

    A Michigan federal judge tossed a worker's suit claiming he was fired from an iron casting company for taking medical leave to treat his bipolar disorder, ruling that his claims were brought to court too late.

  • September 05, 2024

    United, Food Hall Face EEOC Suits Over Managers' Conduct

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Thursday it had filed federal lawsuits alleging that a Virginia food hall operator and United Airlines hadn't done enough to protect their respective employees from managers who used racial slurs.

  • September 05, 2024

    11th Circ. Revives White Miami-Dade Ex-Worker's Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit reinstated a white policy director's suit Thursday claiming he was canned by Miami-Dade County because of age and racial bias, ruling a trial court jumped the gun by tossing his case before he was given the chance to collect proof.

  • September 05, 2024

    Ex-Defender Wants Judge To Reassess Judiciary Bias Ruling

    A former assistant public defender in North Carolina has asked a Massachusetts federal judge to reconsider his bench ruling siding with the federal judiciary in her due process and equal protection case, saying the facts all point in her favor and the judge misapplied the law in rendering his decision.

  • September 05, 2024

    New Weinstein Charges Loom In NY As Women Step Forward

    A New York state grand jury may indict Harvey Weinstein for additional sex crimes as soon as Friday based on allegations from three new complaining witnesses, a source familiar with the proceedings told Law360.

  • September 05, 2024

    Calif. City Lodges Sick Leave Suit Against Southwest

    Southwest Airlines failed to restore the paid sick hours to workers as part of a settlement it reached with the city of Oakland in 2020 and denied employees their right to take sick leave, the city said in a complaint in California state court.

Expert Analysis

  • Navigating Title VII Compliance And Litigation Post-Muldrow

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Muldrow v. St. Louis has broadened the scope of Title VII litigation, meaning employers must reassess their practices to ensure compliance across jurisdictions and conduct more detailed factual analyses to defend against claims effectively, say Robert Pepple and Christopher Stevens at Nixon Peabody.

  • Why Employers Shouldn't Overreact To Protest Activities

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    Recent decisions from the First Circuit in Kinzer v. Whole Foods and the National Labor Relations Board in Home Depot hold eye-opening takeaways about which employee conduct is protected as "protest activity" and make a case for fighting knee-jerk reactions that could result in costly legal proceedings, says Frank Shuster at Constangy.

  • Best Practices To Accommodate Workplace Service Animals

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    Since the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently pledged to enforce accommodations for people with intellectual, developmental and mental health-related disabilities, companies should use an interactive process to properly respond when employees ask about bringing service animals into the workplace, say Samuel Lillard and Jantzen Mace at Ogletree.

  • Kansas Workers' Comp. Updates Can Benefit Labor, Business

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    While the most significant shake-up from the April amendment to the Kansas Workers Compensation Act will likely be the increase in potential lifetime payouts for workers totally disabled on the job, other changes that streamline the hearing process will benefit both employees and companies, says Weston Mills at Gilson Daub.

  • Fostering Employee Retention Amid Shaky DEI Landscape

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    Ongoing challenges to the legality of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs are complicating efforts to use DEI as an employee retention tool, but with the right strategic approach employers can continue to recruit and retain diverse talent — even after the FTC’s ban on noncompetes, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • Justices' Title VII Ruling Requires Greater Employer Vigilance

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Muldrow v. St. Louis ruling expands the types of employment decisions that can be challenged under Title VII, so employers will need to carefully review decisions that affect a term, condition or privilege of employment, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 6th Circ. Bias Ruling Shows Job Evaluations Are Key Defense

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    In Wehrly v. Allstate, the Sixth Circuit recently declined to revive a terminated employee’s federal and state religious discrimination and retaliation claims, illustrating that an employer’s strongest defense in such cases is a documented employment evaluation history that justifies an adverse action, says Michael Luchsinger at Segal Mccambridge.

  • Navigating Harassment Complaints From Trans Employees

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in Copeland v. Georgia Department of Corrections, concerning the harassment of a transgender employee, should serve as a cautionary tale for employers, but there are steps that companies can take to create a more inclusive workplace and mitigate the risks of claims from transgender and nonbinary employees, say Patricia Konopka and Ann Thomas at Stinson.

  • Employer Considerations Before Title IX Rule Goes Into Effect

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    While the U.S. Department of Education's final rule on Title IX is currently published as an unofficial version, institutions and counsel should take immediate action to ensure they are prepared for the new requirements, including protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students and employees, before it takes effect in August, say Jeffrey Weimer and Cori Smith at Reed Smith.

  • 5 Employer Actions Now Risky After Justices' Title VII Ruling

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    Last week in Muldrow v. St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that harm didn't have to be significant to be considered discriminatory under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, making five common employer actions vulnerable to litigation, say Kellee Kruse and Briana Scholar at The Employment Law Group.

  • Breaking Down EEOC's Final Rule To Implement The PWFA

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    Attorneys at Littler highlight some of the key provisions of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's final rule and interpretive guidance implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which is expected to be effective June 18, and departures from the proposed rule issued in August 2023.

  • How To Prepare As Employee Data Reporting Deadlines Near

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    As filing deadlines approach, government contractors and private companies alike should familiarize themselves with recent changes to federal and California employee data reporting requirements and think strategically about registration of affirmative action plans to minimize the risk of being audited, say Christopher Durham and Zev Grumet-Morris at Duane Morris.

  • Address Complainants Before They Become Whistleblowers

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    A New York federal court's dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation claim against HSBC Securities last month indicates that ignored complaints to management combined with financial incentives from regulators create the perfect conditions for a concerned and disgruntled employee to make the jump to federal whistleblower, say attorneys at Cooley.