Discrimination

  • April 30, 2025

    McDonald's Operator Loses Assault Suit Coverage Appeal

    Two insurers were correct to deny coverage for a former Pittsburgh-area McDonald's franchisee in a lawsuit accusing it of failing to stop a supervisor from sexually harassing and assaulting underage employees, since the litigation that sent it into bankruptcy fell under exceptions to the insurance policies, a Third Circuit panel ruled Wednesday.

  • April 30, 2025

    IHOP Franchisee Dodges Most Of Fired Server's Bias Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge let an IHOP franchisee escape the bulk of a fired waitress's suit claiming she was propositioned for sex by a male manager and fired for complaining about it, ruling she had failed to put forward any corroboration about the alleged harassment to keep her claims in court.

  • April 30, 2025

    Dems Renew Effort To Enshrine LGBTQ+ Bias Protections

    Democratic lawmakers have reintroduced a bill meant to codify protections against sexual orientation and gender identity bias established by the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Bostock decision, saying the proposal is critical amid increasing attacks on LGBTQ+ rights across the U.S.

  • April 30, 2025

    $27M Union Pacific Verdict Caps Strong April For Workers

    A former Union Pacific employee who said the railroad used medical screenings to push out disabled workers scored a $27 million verdict, while the EEOC landed a $400,000 win on claims that a veteran lost a job offer after testing positive for prescribed medication. Here's a look back at four wins employment discrimination plaintiffs notched in the past month.

  • April 30, 2025

    Michael Best Gains Higher Ed Leader In Austin From Littler

    Michael Best & Friedrich LLP has deepened its labor and employment practice group with a partner in Austin who also serves as co-chair of the firm's higher education industry team and came aboard from Littler Mendelson PC.

  • April 30, 2025

    Bipartisan House Members Pitch Expanded Paid Family Leave

    A bipartisan group of House lawmakers unveiled legislation Wednesday that they said would expand access to paid family leave by incentivizing states to establish their own programs and facilitating the exchange of information between state and federal officials.

  • April 29, 2025

    Ex-Levi's Exec Loses Bid To Call Therapist At Bias Trial

    A California federal judge on Tuesday rejected a renewed bid from an ex-Levi Strauss executive suing for sex discrimination to have her therapist testify in the trial's liability phase about work-related stress, saying comments from a former Levi's colleague about the plaintiff's home struggles didn't open the door for his testimony.

  • April 29, 2025

    LA County Approves $4B Juvenile Sex Abuse Settlement

    Los Angeles County officials on Tuesday officially approved a previously announced $4 billion settlement to resolve nearly 7,000 claims of sexual abuse at juvenile detention facilities and foster homes, touted as the largest sex abuse settlement in U.S. history.

  • April 29, 2025

    6th Circ. Reopens Ex-Mich. County Worker's Firing Challenge

    The Sixth Circuit partially revived a former Michigan county department head's lawsuit claiming he was fired because he was in his 50s, finding Tuesday that while his age bias claim can't proceed, a reasonable jury could find he wasn't given an adequate opportunity to challenge his termination before it was finalized.

  • April 29, 2025

    Workday Bias Suit May Gain Collective Status

    A federal judge appeared inclined Tuesday to greenlight a collective action from job applicants over 40 who say they were unlawfully steered away from jobs by a Workday hiring tool, saying she saw a "common answer" applying across the proposed group.

  • April 29, 2025

    10th Circ. Backs Burger King Franchisee In Sex Bias Suit

    The Tenth Circuit refused Tuesday to revive a suit from a worker who said a Burger King franchisee did nothing to stop "appalling" sexual harassment by her manager, ruling she missed her chance to raise sex discrimination claims in a previous case.

  • April 29, 2025

    ​​Lawmaker Floats Bill To Bar COVID Vax Mandates In Higher Ed

    Colleges and universities that maintain a COVID-19 vaccine mandate would be barred from receiving federal funds under a bill introduced in the House. 

  • April 29, 2025

    Ex-Plant Workers Take Aim At Company's Atty Bribe Claims

    Two former employees of a plastics manufacturing plant are urging a Georgia federal court to disregard the company's attempt to push liability for an alleged bribery offer sent to their attorney onto a disgruntled former executive rather than the company's current financial director. 

  • April 29, 2025

    Littler Brings Back Arbitration Pro In Calif.

    Labor and employment firm Littler Mendelson PC is expanding its California arbitration team, announcing Tuesday that it is welcoming back an employment attorney who left briefly to join Whitney Thompson & Jeffcoach LLP.

  • April 29, 2025

    5th Circ. Says Hispanic DOT Worker Filed Bias Case Too Late

    A U.S. Department of Transportation employee was about a decade late in formally accusing his employer of discriminating against him and other Hispanic workers through failing to promote them to a higher pay level, the Fifth Circuit found, upholding a lower court's decision.

  • April 29, 2025

    1st Circ. Ruling Spotlights Shortcoming In EEOC Case Alerts

    A recent worker-friendly decision from the First Circuit on what qualifies as a right-to-sue notice from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission conflicts with another circuit's stance on the issue, highlighting an aspect of EEOC communications that lawyers said needs reform.

  • April 28, 2025

    Levi's Biased Against Pregnant Exec, Jury Told At Trial's Start

    Counsel for a former Levi Strauss executive suing for sex discrimination told a California federal jury Monday that her manager told the then-pregnant woman she lacked "work capacity" for a promotion, while Levi's lawyer said she merely "grew impatient" climbing the corporate ladder at a company where many mothers are leaders.

  • April 28, 2025

    Wells Fargo Investors Win Class Cert. In 'Sham' Hiring Case

    A California federal judge has certified a class of thousands of Wells Fargo & Co. investors in litigation over the bank's alleged practice of conducting "sham" job interviews to meet diversity targets, a strategy investors say led to stock prices dropping when the truth came to light, according to an order issued Friday.

  • April 28, 2025

    'Withdraw Your Accusation': Attys, Justices Clash In ADA Case

    U.S. Supreme Court arguments over the standard of proof students must meet to pursue Americans with Disabilities Act claims of discrimination in public schooling turned combative Monday when one veteran litigator accused another of lying to the justices, eliciting sharp rebukes from several members of the bench.

  • April 28, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Vegas Hotel In Ex-Worker's Disability Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit on Monday refused to reopen a former bartender's lawsuit alleging a Las Vegas hotel forced her to take leave and eventually fired her for tremors caused by her cancer treatment, saying she hadn't provided enough evidence to back up her claims.

  • April 28, 2025

    Hospital Can't Nix Fired Doctor's Atheism, Gender Bias Suit

    An Iowa federal judge declined Monday to let a hospital escape a doctor's suit claiming she was fired because of gender bias and for being an atheist, stating a jury could credit her claims that the hospital's CEO said "she doesn't fit our culture."

  • April 28, 2025

    5th Circ. Probes Rationale For Demotion In Age Bias Suit

    A Fifth Circuit panel on Monday questioned whether a geologist had sufficiently tied his alleged mistreatment at work to his age, pressing his lawyer about whether the facts of the case showed bias was behind a financially devastating demotion.

  • April 28, 2025

    Mich. Judge Can't Force EEOC To Litigate Trans Bias Suit

    A Michigan federal judge on Monday said the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seemed to be abandoning its case on behalf of a group "its mission seeks to protect" by dropping a transgender discrimination suit, but ultimately allowed the organization to dismiss its claims.

  • April 28, 2025

    Red States Want ACA Trans Health Rule Permanently Off Books

    A group of 15 red states that successfully got a Biden-era rule frozen that protected gender-affirming care under the Affordable Care Act have urged a Mississippi federal judge to rule the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overstepped its authority and cannot require states to allow gender-affirming care for transgender people.

  • April 28, 2025

    BCBS Ends Bid To Scrap $13M Vaccine Bias Suit Verdict

    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan told a federal court Monday it agreed to end its fight to nix a jury's nearly $13 million award to a former employee who claimed she was fired for requesting a religious exemption from the company's COVID-19 vaccine policy.

Expert Analysis

  • How The Tide Of EEOC Litigation Rolled Back In FY 2024

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    An analysis of the location, timing and underlying claims asserted in U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-initiated cases during fiscal year 2024 shows that the commission saw a substantial decrease in litigation activity after a surge last year, but employers should not drop their guard, say Christopher DeGroff and Andrew Scroggins at Seyfarth.

  • The Key Changes In Revised FDIC Hiring Regulations

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    Attorneys at Ogletree break down the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rule, effective Oct. 1, that will ease restrictions on financial institutions hiring employees with criminal histories, amend the FDIC's treatment of minor offenses and clarify its stance on expunged or dismissed criminal records.

  • Employer Tips For PUMP Act Compliance As Law Turns 2

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    Enacted in December 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for employees to express breast milk, but some companies may still be struggling with how to comply, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Know About Ill. Employment Law Changes

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    Illinois employers should review their policies in light of a number of recent changes to state employment law, including amendments to the state’s Human Rights Act and modifications to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination

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    As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.

  • The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media

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    As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.

  • 7th Circ. Rulings Offer Employee Vaccine Exemption Guidance

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    Dawn Solowey and Samantha Brooks at Seyfarth explain how two recent Seventh Circuit rulings in Passarella v. Aspirus and Bube v. Aspirus could affect litigation involving employee vaccine exemptions, and discuss employer best practices for handling accommodation requests that include both religious and secular concerns.

  • Employers Should Not Neglect Paid Military Leave Compliance

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    An August decision from the Ninth Circuit and the settlement of a long-running class action, both examining paid leave requirements under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, are part of a nationwide trend that should prompt employers to review their military leave policies to avoid potential litigation and reputational damage, says Bradford Kelley at Littler.

  • Old Employment Law Principles Can Answer New AI Concerns

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    Despite growing legal and regulatory concerns about how artificial intelligence tools may affect employment decisions and worker rights, companies should take comfort in knowing that familiar principles of employment law and established compliance regimes can still largely address these new twists on old questions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws

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    With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • How Anti-DEI Bill Could Affect Employers' Diversity Efforts

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    Sen. J.D. Vance's recently introduced Dismantle DEI Act would substantially limit employers’ ability to implement and promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but there are still steps employers can take to support a diverse workforce, says Peter Ennis at Cozen O’Connor.