Discrimination

  • May 19, 2025

    11th Circ. Says Logistics Worker's FMLA Award Lacks Support

    The Eleventh Circuit partially overturned a $1.2 million award Monday in favor of a former supervisor who claimed a logistics company prevented him from taking Family and Medical Leave Act leave after he had back surgery, saying he hadn't shown the alleged interference caused him to lose any money.

  • May 19, 2025

    FCC's Carr Claims Victory Versus DEI In Verizon-Frontier OK

    Verizon took a leap toward closing its $20 billion bid for Frontier Communications by gaining the Federal Communications Commission's approval after ditching its diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the behest of FCC Chair Brendan Carr.

  • May 19, 2025

    5th Circ. Tosses FCC Workplace Diversity Reporting Rule

    The Fifth Circuit on Monday threw out a Federal Communications Commission rule that required TV and radio broadcasters to disclose employment diversity data to the FCC.

  • May 19, 2025

    7th Circ. Won't Reopen Male Ex-School Director's Bias Suit

    The Seventh Circuit refused to upend a private school's win over a lawsuit alleging it unlawfully terminated an administrator and replaced him with a woman, saying he couldn't overcome the school's explanation that he was let go for breaching his boss's trust.

  • May 19, 2025

    Ex-CTA Worker Can Take Vaccine Bias Claim To Trial

    An ex-Chicago Transit Authority employee fired after refusing COVID-19 vaccination can take his religious discrimination claim to a jury this summer after an Illinois federal judge grilled the agency Monday on its assertion that the plaintiff didn't seek an exemption for sincerely held religious beliefs and rejected its argument that he was "cherry-picking" Catholic doctrine.

  • May 19, 2025

    DOJ To Probe Whether Chicago's Hiring Is Too Pro-Black

    The head of the U.S. Department of Justice' civil rights arm said Monday she greenlighted an investigation into whether Chicago is unlawfully favoring Black workers in hiring, a day after the city's Democratic mayor touted the number of Black staffers in his administration.

  • May 19, 2025

    Ex-CEO Accuses Omnicom Of Gender, Age Bias In Pay Suit

    Omnicom paid the CEO of one of its agencies less than her male counterparts and fired her under the pretext of a restructuring when she complained, the former executive told a Texas federal court, alleging the marketing and communications firm discriminated against her because she's a woman in her 60s.

  • May 19, 2025

    Subway Supervisor Sexually Assaulted Worker, EEOC Says

    A young employee of a Subway franchise was sexually harassed and eventually assaulted by an older supervisor, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claimed in a new lawsuit filed in Utah federal court, faulting the franchisee for failing to enact proper safeguards to halt abuse.

  • May 19, 2025

    Atty Says Texas Firm Fired Her For Taking Protected Leave

    A former associate at a prominent Texas personal injury firm who claims she was fired after she took medical leave for a disabling eye condition and bereavement leave upon her mother's death has brought a disability discrimination suit against the firm and associated entities in federal court in Houston.

  • May 19, 2025

    Ex-Staffer Fights NJ Law Firm Blume Forte's Arbitration Bid

    A former staff member who is suing personal injury law firm Blume Forte Fried Zerres & Molinari PC, alleging disability discrimination, is disputing an assertion that she signed a valid arbitration agreement with the firm, arguing that any such agreement is unenforceable in New Jersey state court.

  • May 19, 2025

    Hanson Bridgett Expands To Fresno With Ex-Littler Leader

    California firm Hanson Bridgett LLP has brought on a former office managing shareholder for employment firm Littler Mendelson PC — Hanson Bridgett's first attorney in Fresno, where it plans to open its seventh office this year.

  • May 19, 2025

    That's What The Money Is For: Pay Lessons From 'Mad Men'

    "Mad Men," the dramatic AMC television series about a 1960s-era advertising agency, offers lessons on a host of employment law issues for today's workforce, such as how to manage pay for superstar employees who go on extended leave and what not to do when it comes to paying men and women equally. Here, to accompany the 10th anniversary this month of the show's final episode, Law360 conducts a compliance audit of the storied Sterling Cooper.

  • May 19, 2025

    5th Circ. Affirms Masculinity Gibe Can't Sustain Gay Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit backed a hospice company's win over a former nurse who said a supervisor failed to take action when a colleague insulted him for being gay, saying the coworker's offensive comment wasn't enough to sustain a bias case.

  • May 19, 2025

    Ex-Litigator Settles Disability Bias Suit Against Wilson Elser

    A former Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP litigator on Monday agreed to permanently drop his federal disability bias suit against the firm, after the sides came to a confidential resolution.

  • May 19, 2025

    Law Students Say 'Thousands' At Risk From EEOC Data Probe

    Three law students who sued last month to challenge the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's requests for law firms' diversity data are looking to expand their case to represent a class of thousands of attorneys whose personal information might be swept up by the agency.

  • May 19, 2025

    'Stark' Pay Data May Revive NY Court Interpreters' Bias Suit

    Second Circuit judges Monday signaled interest in reviving a pay discrimination case brought by interpreters working for the New York State Unified Court System, as one jurist remarked on "stark" data showing they're "underpaid" and voiced curiosity about what discovery might reveal.

  • May 19, 2025

    Justices Won't Hear White Ga. Coach's Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review an Eleventh Circuit decision that ended a white Georgia high school football coach's claims that Black school board members declined to renew his contract on account of his race.

  • May 16, 2025

    Workday Hiring Bias Suit Wins Collective Status

    A California federal judge on Friday agreed to certify a collective action of job applicants over 40 who claim they were illegally steered away from jobs by a Workday hiring tool, finding that whether Workday discriminated on the basis of age is a question that "cuts across" the collective.

  • May 16, 2025

    5th Circ. Revives ADA Suit Over 6-Month Wait For Service Dog

    The Fifth Circuit on Friday breathed new life into a U.S. Army veteran's lawsuit claiming a Texas school district slow-walked her request for a service dog at work, ruling her allegations were detailed enough to suggest the delay may have violated federal disability law.

  • May 16, 2025

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears Court Interpreters Bias Case

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider an appeal of a federal judge's decision dismissing a discrimination lawsuit brought by New York court interpreters who claim they are systematically paid less than a federal benchmark because they are foreign born.  Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • May 16, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    Harvard University assured the Trump administration that it doesn't use race- or ethnicity-based quotas in hiring, a law firm pipeline program was accused of disadvantaging white applicants, and Indiana's attorney general demanded that the University of Notre Dame answer questions about its efforts to diversify its faculty. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments from the past week.

  • May 16, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Reopen Ex-Police Officer's Religious Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit refused to revive a former police officer's lawsuit claiming an Arizona town fired him because it believed he was a member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, saying his allegations weren't detailed enough to stay in court.

  • May 16, 2025

    Culver's Franchise To Pay $261K To Settle EEOC Suits

    A Culver's franchise will pay $261,000 to end a pair of U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuits alleging it ignored sexist, racist and ableist harassment, according to Minnesota federal court papers filed Friday.

  • May 16, 2025

    Trucking Co. Worker Says Tobacco Surcharge Violates ERISA

    An employee of Marten Transport Ltd. is suing the trucking company in Wisconsin federal court, alleging that a tobacco surcharge in its health plan violates federal antidiscrimination law.

  • May 16, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: State Justices To Hear Arbitration Fee Dispute

    In the coming two weeks, attorneys should keep an eye out for oral arguments at the California Supreme Court regarding whether federal law preempts state statutes involving arbitration fees. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in the Golden State.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Ways To Prepare For An I-9 Audit Or Immigration Raid

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    Because immigration enforcement is likely to surge under the upcoming Trump administration, employers should take steps to ensure their staff is trained in employment eligibility verification requirements and what to do in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement I-9 audit or workplace raid, say attorneys at Littler.

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • Disentangling Various Forms Of Workplace Discrimination

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    Pay inequity can be missed where it exists and misidentified due to incorrect statistics, leaving individuals to face multiple facets of discrimination connected by a common root cause, meaning correct identification and measurement is crucial, says Daniel Levy at Advanced Analytical.

  • Key Requirements In New Maryland Pay Transparency Laws

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    Although several jurisdictions now require pay transparency in job advertisements, Maryland's new law is among the broadest in the country, both in terms of what is required and the scope of its applicability, says Sarah Belger at Quarles & Brady.

  • Lessons From EEOC Case Of Fla. Worker Fired After Stillbirth

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    A recent federal court settlement between a Florida resort and a fired line cook shows that the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission sees stillbirth as protected under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, also providing four other important lessons, says Gordon Berger at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Advising Employers As AI Meets DEI And Discrimination

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    Though companies can use artificial intelligence tools to develop more diverse and inclusive workforces, counsel should also prepare employers for how AI can stymie these efforts, provoke discrimination claims and complicate resulting litigation, says Emily Schifter at Troutman Pepper.

  • A Look At The Hefty Demands In Calif. Employer AI Draft Regs

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    California's draft regulations on artificial intelligence use in employment decisions show that the California Privacy Protection Agency is positioning itself as a de facto AI regulator for the state, which isn't waiting around for federal legislation, says Lily Li at Metaverse Law.

  • Federal Salary History Ban's Reach Is Limited

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    Though a newly effective Office of Personnel Management rule takes important steps by banning federal employers from considering job applicants' nonfederal salary histories, the rule's narrow applicability and overconfidence in the existing system's fairness will likely not end persistent pay inequities, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • 2nd Circ. Hostile Workplace Ruling Widens Arbitration Pitfalls

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision, affirming the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act applies to a worker whose workplace hostility claims arose before the law’s 2022 enactment, widens the scope of the law — and the risks of unenforceable arbitration agreements for employers, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • Title VII Compliance Lessons From Raytheon Age Bias Suit

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    A Texas federal court’s recent refusal to dismiss age discrimination claims from a former Raytheon employee, terminated after he admitted to acts that Raytheon says violated its harassment policy, nonetheless illustrates strategies employers can use to protect themselves when facing competing Title VII workplace obligations, say attorneys at Segal McCambridge.

  • How The Presidential Election Will Affect Workplace AI Regs

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    The U.S. has so far adopted a light-handed approach to regulating artificial intelligence in the labor and employment area, but the presidential election is unlikely to have as dramatic of an effect on AI regulations as it may on other labor and employment matters, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Eye On Compliance: ADA Accommodations For Obesity

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    As the classification of "obesity" as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act continues to evolve, employers should note federal district and state court deviations from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines, which have deemed obesity to be a qualifying impairment, no matter the cause, says Lauren Stadler at Wilson Elser.

  • 3rd. Circ. Ruling Shows Employers Where To Put ADA Focus

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    A recent Third Circuit decision in Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging, confirming that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects some temporarily impaired employees, reminds employers to pursue compliance through uniform policies that head off discriminatory decisions, not after-the-fact debates over an individual's disability status, says Joseph McGuire at Freeman Mathis.