Discrimination

  • May 20, 2025

    Injunction On Trump Order Limited To Perkins, Judge Clarifies

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday clarified the scope of her injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order targeting Perkins Coie LLP, explaining that her ruling prohibits the president from directing government agencies to investigate only Perkins Coie's employment practices and not the other BigLaw firms.

  • May 20, 2025

    Lawmakers Refloat Bipartisan Bill To Support Age Bias Suits

    A bipartisan group of lawmakers announced Tuesday they will be reintroducing a bill that aims to lower the legal hurdles workers must clear to show they have been discriminated against because of their age.

  • May 20, 2025

    Texas A&M Says Prof's Pregnancy Leave Wasn't Under FMLA

    Texas A&M University told a state appellate court that it should be freed from a lawsuit brought by a professor who was denied tenure because she technically never took family medical leave as she claimed.

  • May 20, 2025

    3rd Circ. Revives Ex-Prison Officer's Rumor Harassment Suit

    The Third Circuit reversed Tuesday the dismissal of an ex-correctional officer's suit claiming she was tricked into resigning after complaining that her colleagues spread rumors that she slept with superiors, ruling a lower court was wrong to downplay the alleged harassment as mere gossip.

  • May 20, 2025

    5th Circ. Service Dog Ruling Highlights Circuit Split On ADA

    A recent Fifth Circuit decision finding that failing to accommodate a disabled worker can violate the Americans with Disabilities Act — even if that failure doesn't translate to harm like job loss — underscores disagreement among federal appeals courts that the U.S. Supreme Court needs to resolve, experts say.

  • May 20, 2025

    Red Cross Seeks Clarity On Deposition Order In Vax Bias Case

    The American Red Cross asked a Michigan federal judge on Monday to clarify that an April ruling allows the organization to depose the husband of a Christian nurse alleging she was fired for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine, saying the worker's attorneys refused to make him available.

  • May 20, 2025

    Rehab Co. Will Pay To End EEOC Bias Probe Over Vaccine

    An Oregon-based rehabilitation and therapy provider will pay damages to a former employee who told the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission she was fired because of her religious opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine, the federal agency announced Tuesday.

  • May 20, 2025

    Colorado Bans Deadnaming Transgender Workers

    It is now illegal in Colorado to intentionally deadname or misgender a transgender person at work or school, according to a new law signed by the state's governor that expands anti-discrimination protections for transgender residents.

  • May 20, 2025

    Detroit Tigers, Former VP Spar Over Age, Race Bias Claims

    The Detroit Tigers said a former vice president was let go as part of a COVID-19 pandemic workforce reduction while the ex-executive said the pandemic was a smokescreen for firing an older Black woman, as each argued the other side should not get an early win in the lawsuit. 

  • May 20, 2025

    9th Circ. Revives Ex-Army Corps Boat Operator's Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived a lawsuit claiming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers refused to rehire a boat operator because he was in his 50s and has diabetes, saying a trial court held the civilian worker's allegations to an incorrectly high standard.

  • May 20, 2025

    Doctor's Disability Bias Claim Too Late, Mass. Court Says

    A former Brigham and Women's Hospital anesthesiologist and Harvard Medical School faculty member is time-barred from pursuing disability bias claims for actions by the hospital that he was aware of as early as 2006, an intermediate Massachusetts appellate court has concluded.

  • May 20, 2025

    EEOC Annual Worker Data Bid Opens With Diversity Warning

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's annual workplace demographic data collection window opened Tuesday with a warning from the EEOC's acting chair that employers can't act on protected characteristics like race and sex to try to enhance diversity.

  • May 19, 2025

    Former Kite Pharma Exec Alleges Gender Bias, Retaliation

    Gilead Sciences and its subsidiary Kite Pharma have been hit with a suit in California state court by a former company executive alleging she was underpaid compared to her male counterparts and fired while out on medical leave after she raised concerns about equal pay. 

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • Pa. Ruling Highlights Challenges Of Employer Arb. Appeals

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    A Pennsylvania federal court's recent ruling in Welch Foods v. General Teamsters Local Union No. 397 demonstrates the inherent difficulties employers face when seeking relief from labor arbitration decisions through appeals in court — and underscores how employers are faced with often conflicting legal priorities, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 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

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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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.