Discrimination

  • May 06, 2025

    High Court Lets Transgender Troop Ban Take Effect

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday lifted a Washington federal judge's nationwide order barring implementation of the Pentagon's ban on transgender military service, allowing the controversial policy to take effect while its constitutionality is challenged.

  • May 06, 2025

    Disparate Impact Shift May Prevent EEOC Action On AI Bias

    The Trump administration's directive that federal agencies stop recognizing disparate impact discrimination will likely stymie potential U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission enforcement aimed at bias related to artificial intelligence, pushing states and private plaintiffs to the forefront of regulating workplace AI, experts say.

  • May 06, 2025

    Charter School System Settles DOJ Vaccine Bias Suit

    An Oklahoma City charter school system will pay $95,000 to end a U.S. Department of Justice suit alleging it fired a worker who refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine because of his religion, the DOJ said.

  • May 05, 2025

    3rd Circ. Revives Ex-NJ College Prof's Gender Bias Suit

    The Third Circuit said a jury should review a Ukrainian ex-professor's claim that The College of New Jersey declined to renew her contract out of gender bias, finding concerns with her commitment could have been driven by her pregnancy.

  • May 05, 2025

    How Law Firms Have Handled The EEOC's Push For DEI Data

    Perkins Coie LLP dug in its heels and scored a court order quashing the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's inquiry into its diversity, equity and inclusion programs, while seven other firms the EEOC targeted opted to negotiate. Here’s what Law360 knows about what law firms have done in response to the commission’s March request for workplace diversity information.

  • May 05, 2025

    National Guard Worker Challenges Trump Order On Gender

    The National Guard Bureau violated federal civil rights law when it barred transgender employees from using bathrooms and exercise facilities that align with their gender identity, according to a complaint Monday challenging the Trump administration's policy recognizing only two "immutable" sexes.

  • May 05, 2025

    Wash. Panel Quizzes State In Biologist's Vax Mandate Case

    Washington appellate judges hinted on Monday they might revive an ex-state biologist's suit claiming she was wrongfully denied a religious accommodation to keep her position without getting the COVID-19 vaccination, citing factual questions as to whether her job duties were essential and whether she was technically fired.  

  • May 05, 2025

    Fla. Judge Wants Briefs In ACA Trans Health Fight

    A Florida federal judge Monday requested briefing from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the state of Florida on how to handle a suit challenging the Biden administration's regulations clarifying gender identity-based discrimination under the Affordable Care Act.

  • May 05, 2025

    Levi Strauss Beats Former Exec's Sex-Bias Suit At Trial

    A California federal jury Monday cleared Levi Strauss of sex-bias claims brought by a former company executive who claims she was skipped over for a senior director's role after announcing her pregnancy, reaching their decision in about 20 minutes after a one-week trial.

  • May 05, 2025

    7th Circ. Judge Slams University's Args In En Banc Denial

    The Seventh Circuit on Friday denied en banc review of a panel's decision to revive a Chicago law professor's retaliation suit after he was disciplined for including a redacted racist slur on an exam, with one judge suggesting the university's failure to invoke arguments over its right to academic freedom meant the appeal didn't justify consideration by the full court.

  • May 05, 2025

    Pa. District Paid Female Teachers Thousands Less, Jury Told

    Central Bucks School District in Pennsylvania unfairly paid female teachers less than their male counterparts, in some cases by tens of thousands of dollars despite holding the same jobs, a federal jury was told Monday.

  • May 05, 2025

    IHOP Franchisee, Ex-Server End Sex Harassment Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge agreed to dismiss a legal battle between an IHOP franchisee and a former server who said she was fired for rejecting a manager's sexual advances, as the parties had said a previous ruling from another judge doomed the worker's suit.

  • May 05, 2025

    USPS Wraps Up Religious Bias Suit That Went To High Court

    The U.S. Postal Service and a Christian former mail carrier agreed to end a lawsuit that prompted the U.S. Supreme Court to raise the legal bar for employers seeking to deny workers' faith-based accommodation requests, according to a filing Monday in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • May 05, 2025

    Ex-Supervisor Says Carvana Fired Him Because Of Disability

    A former manager for used car giant Carvana has hit the company with a lawsuit alleging that he was fired for taking time off while disabled and that the company told him as much when it let him go last year.

  • May 05, 2025

    Holtec Worker 'Cast Aside' After Beating Cancer, Jurors Told

    A former nuclear technician told a New Jersey federal jury Monday that he was a loyal worker who was "cast aside in silence" by Holtec International when he returned to work after beating cancer and was demoted, had his work hours reduced and ultimately terminated without ever receiving a negative performance review.

  • May 05, 2025

    Morgan Lewis Employment Ace Joins Vedder Price In Miami

    A veteran Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP attorney has brought her labor and employment practice to Vedder Price PC in Miami, the firm announced Monday.

  • May 05, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Estee Lauder Worker's Wage Claims

    The Second Circuit partly reinstated a former employee's lawsuit against cosmetics company Estee Lauder on Monday, saying she put forward enough details to support her unpaid overtime claims but not her race, gender orientation and age bias allegations.

  • May 02, 2025

    Judge Axes Trump's Perkins Order With Shakespearean Flourish

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Friday struck down as unconstitutional President Donald Trump's retaliatory executive order targeting Perkins Coie LLP, permanently blocking enforcement of the directive and likening the president's action to a Shakespeare character's suggestion that the way to amass power is to "kill all the lawyers."

  • May 02, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    Perkins Coie LLP convinced a federal judge to invalidate an executive order targeting it in part for its diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and Jenner & Block LLP sparred with the U.S. Department of Justice in a Washington, D.C., courtroom over whether to toss that firm's challenge to a similar presidential directive. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments over the past week.

  • May 02, 2025

    O'Reilly Auto Pregnant Worker Suit Geared Up For Wash. Trial

    The Washington State Attorney General's Office may proceed to trial with claims that O'Reilly Auto denied pregnant employees' accommodation requests it was legally required to grant, an Evergreen State judge said Friday, while trimming certain retaliation claims from the suit.

  • May 02, 2025

    Ex-Travelers Employee Can't Yet Appeal Arbitration Ruling

    The Connecticut Appellate Court ruled Friday that a trial court's refusal to vacate a woman's arbitration loss in an age discrimination case against Travelers Indemnity Co., her former employer, wasn't a final order that could be appealed.

  • May 02, 2025

    American Airlines Seeks To Disband Military Leave Suit Class

    American Airlines urged a Pennsylvania federal court to revoke class certification in a lawsuit claiming the company unlawfully denied pilots pay for time spent on military leave, arguing the case involves too many individual inquiries about whether workers can control when they take time off.

  • May 02, 2025

    Civil Rights Groups Told They Can't Block Trump's DEI Orders

    A D.C. federal judge declined Friday to block executive orders from President Donald Trump canceling funding for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and contracts, ruling the orders haven't infringed on the missions of the three civil rights groups behind the suit beyond federally funded projects.

  • May 02, 2025

    Quest Settles Fired Black Phlebotomist's Retaliation Suit

    Quest Diagnostics and a Black worker who claimed the company retaliated against her when she reported racist threats patients allegedly made to her have settled their dispute, according to an order Friday in Pennsylvania federal court dismissing the case.

  • May 02, 2025

    White House Says Unions Can't Block Columbia Funding Pull

    The Trump administration urged a New York federal judge to reject unions' challenge to the administration's decision to end $400 million in federal money for Columbia University, saying the unions have not shown they have a legal right to the money or that its loss will cause them or their members harm.

Expert Analysis

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

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    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • A Timeline Of Antisemitism Legislation And What It Means

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    What began as hearings in the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce has expanded to a House-wide effort to combat antisemitism and related issues, with wide-ranging implications for education, finance and nonprofit entities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Colo. Ruling Adopts 'Actual Discharge' Test For The First Time

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    After a Colorado court’s recent decision in Potts v. Gaia Children, adopting for the first time a test for evaluating an actual discharge claim, employers must diligently document the circumstances surrounding termination of employment, and exercise particular caution when texting employees, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.

  • It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

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    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • FIFA Maternity Policy Shows Need For Federal Paid Leave

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    While FIFA and other employers taking steps to provide paid parental leave should be applauded, the U.S. deserves a red card for being the only rich nation in the world that offers no such leave, says Dacey Romberg at Sanford Heisler.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Brief History Of Joint Employer Rules

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    It's important to examine the journey of the joint employer rule, because if the National Labor Relations Board's Fifth Circuit appeal is successful and the 2023 version is made law, virtually every employer who contracts for labor likely could be deemed a joint employer, say Bruno Katz and Robert Curtis at Wilson Elser.

  • Top 5 Issues For Employers To Audit Midyear

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    Six months into 2024, developments from federal courts and regulatory agencies should prompt employers to reflect on their progress regarding artificial intelligence, noncompetes, diversity initiatives, religious accommodation and more, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • Tailoring Compliance Before AI Walks The Runway

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    Fashion industry players that adopt artificial intelligence to propel their businesses forward should consider ways to minimize its perceived downsides, including potential job displacements and algorithmic biases that may harm diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, say Jeffrey Greene and Ivory Djahouri at Foley & Lardner.

  • Where Anti-Discrimination Law Stands 4 Years After Bostock

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    On the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Bostock ruling, Evan Parness and Abby Rickeman at Covington take stock of how the decision, which held that Title VII protects employees from discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, has affected anti-discrimination law at the state and federal levels.

  • Politics In The Workplace: What Employers Need To Know

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    As the 2024 election approaches and protests continue across the country, employers should be aware of employees' rights — and limits on those rights — related to political speech and activities in the workplace, and be prepared to act proactively to prevent issues before they arise, say attorneys at Littler.