Discrimination

  • September 23, 2025

    Jersey City, Mayor Pare Back Fired Aide's Retaliation Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge knocked two whistleblower claims off a lawsuit brought against Jersey City and its mayor, Stephen Fulop, by one of his former aides who alleged he was dismissed for questioning the city's investment in cryptocurrency and for supporting his conservative sister's political campaign.

  • September 23, 2025

    Ex-Discover Financial Exec Can Pursue Equity Clawback Suit

    An Illinois federal judge has rejected a bid to toss a retired Discover Financial Services executive's age and gender discrimination lawsuit, finding she has sufficiently alleged at this point that she faced disparate treatment tied to her sex and that Discover's arguments against her age discrimination claim don't hold weight.

  • September 23, 2025

    Ex-Prison Guard Loses Bias Suit Against Union For Last Time

    A Chicago-area former prison guard didn't back up her religious discrimination lawsuit against a Teamsters local with facts, an Illinois federal judge ruled, tossing the suit with prejudice after finding that her latest amended complaint was still too thin.

  • September 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Religious Bias Suit Over COVID Tests

    A split Ninth Circuit panel backed the dismissal of a religious bias suit Tuesday from a Christian hospital worker who said she was fired for objecting to COVID-19 nasal testing, ruling she hadn't made a connection between her opposition to testing and her faith.

  • September 23, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Upend Retrial Order In UPS Race Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit backed a lower court's decision to order a new trial in a Black former UPS employee's race bias suit, saying Tuesday the district court didn't err when it determined that a $238 million jury verdict was tainted by misconduct from the worker's counsel.

  • September 23, 2025

    1st Circ. Revives Fired Airport Worker's Retaliation Suit

    A First Circuit panel has reinstated a retaliation claim against a Massachusetts-based regional airline accused of wrongfully firing an injured worker several months after he reported his injury to Puerto Rico's workers' compensation program.

  • September 23, 2025

    Nonprofit Can't Sink Christian Worker's Pronoun Policy Suit

    A disability advocacy group can't nix a Christian worker's claims that she was fired in retaliation for seeking an exemption from a policy mandating that co-workers call each other by their preferred pronouns, a California federal judge ruled Tuesday, saying her allegations are detailed enough to remain in court.

  • September 23, 2025

    Ex-Verizon Employee's Race Bias Suit Over Slur Alive For Now

    A fired white Verizon employee presented enough evidence to show that he was treated differently from a black employee even though both used the N-word, a New York federal judge said Tuesday, adopting a magistrate judge's recommendation to keep the racial bias claim going.

  • September 23, 2025

    Meta Foiled Man's Disability Leave, Caregiving Time, Suit Says

    Meta failed to accommodate an employee who had disabilities and didn't allow him time off to take care of his terminally ill father in Tel Aviv, a suit filed in California state court claims.

  • September 23, 2025

    2nd Circ. Puts Cop's Harassment Claims Back On Track

    The Second Circuit restored claims Tuesday from a former police officer who alleged that a male colleague regularly subjected her to unwanted touching, saying she'd offered enough detail for a jury to potentially find she'd been sexually harassed.

  • September 23, 2025

    EX-CTA Worker's $425K Vaccine Bias Award Capped At $300K

    An Illinois federal judge lowered a former Chicago Transit Authority employee's $425,000 jury award to $300,000 Tuesday for the ex-worker's claim that he was wrongly fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, entering a judgment the judge said he'll later amend with awards that include back and front pay.

  • September 23, 2025

    Former NJ Workers' Comp Judge's Firing Suit Trimmed

    New Jersey has been granted partial summary judgment in its defense of a suit from a former workers' compensation judge who alleges that she was unconstitutionally removed from her job, with a state judge tossing her due process claims but letting certain discrimination claims proceed. 

  • September 23, 2025

    Bipartisan House Reps Float Bill Protecting Older Job Seekers

    House lawmakers from both sides of the aisle said they have introduced legislation that would amend the Age Discrimination in Employment Act to state explicitly that it shields job applicants as well as employees.

  • September 23, 2025

    Phoenix Suns Cut State Claims From Ex-DEI Head's Lawsuit

    The NBA's Phoenix Suns narrowed a suit from a former diversity, equity and inclusion chief who alleged she was fired for calling out racially insensitive remarks and disrespect toward Black employees, as a federal judge ruled she'd waited too long to bring claims under Arizona law.

  • September 23, 2025

    Philly VA Worker Settles Suit Over Denied Pregnancy Leave

    A pregnant food service worker and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reached a settlement of her suit accusing the department of denying her accommodation requests, according to an order in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • September 23, 2025

    NC Paralegal Says Cancer Is Disability In Bias Fight With Firm

    A paralegal in North Carolina said The Driscoll Firm PC can't duck her suit claiming she was fired a day after informing higher-ups that her ovarian cancer had come back, arguing the complaint contains sufficient allegations of her disability and the firm's wrongful discharge.

  • September 22, 2025

    Harvard Beats Suit Over Instructor's Vaccine-Refusal Firing

    Harvard University beat a suit by a former medical school instructor who claimed he was wrongly fired for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine, as a federal judge ruled his dismissal was automatically triggered when he was terminated by a Harvard-affiliated hospital.

  • September 22, 2025

    NJ AG Alleges Starbucks Fell Short On Breast-Pumping Space

    Starbucks violated New Jersey's antidiscrimination laws by failing to reasonably accommodate the needs of a postpartum nursing barista with an adequate, private space for her to express breast milk during her shift, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin alleged Monday.

  • September 22, 2025

    Back-To-Work Push Blamed For Dip In Female Workers' Ranks

    More than 380,000 women dropped out of the labor force between January and August, government data shows, an atypical exodus that employment experts attribute in part to employers' recent rollback of flexible telework policies.

  • September 22, 2025

    Cruz Urges Trump To Back Pilot Retirement Age Increase

    Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, urged the White House to support a proposal that would raise an international aviation agency's standard for pilot retirement age from 65 to 67, saying the arbitrary age limit makes flying more dangerous and expensive.

  • September 22, 2025

    Calif. County Defender To Pay $200K In Harassment Probe

    A California public defender's office has agreed to pay $200,000 to an employee to resolve the worker's claims that a superior sexually harassed them on the job through inappropriate comments and unwanted touching, the state's Civil Rights Department announced Monday.

  • September 22, 2025

    DOJ, College Reach Deal On Servicemembers' Job Rights

    A community college in Kansas struck a deal to resolve the federal government's allegations that it unlawfully fired an Army National Guard officer after his return from active duty, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.

  • September 22, 2025

    Novant Escapes Black Ex-Lab Worker's Race Bias Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge tossed a Black lab supervisor's suit claiming hospital system Novant Health cut ties with her because she complained that a cartoon shared at work was racist, saying she hadn't done enough to show the company was motivated by prejudice.

  • September 22, 2025

    Freeman Mathis Employment Atty Joins Stradley Ronon

    Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP announced Monday that it has hired a Freeman Mathis & Gary LLP employment attorney based out of New York and Newark, New Jersey, as a partner.

  • September 22, 2025

    5th Circ. Won't Reopen Former USPS Carrier's Retaliation Suit

    The Fifth Circuit won't revive a former mail carrier's suit claiming the U.S. Postal Service unlawfully removed her from the schedule and paid her less because she complained about a hostile work environment, finding no fault with a lower court's dismissal of the case.

Expert Analysis

  • A Path Forward For Employers, Regardless Of DEI Stance

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    Whether a company views the Trump administration's executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs as a win or a loss, the change rearranges the employment hazards companies face, but not the non-DEI and nondiscriminatory economic incentive to seek the best workers, says Daniel S. Levy at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.

  • Bias Suit Shows WNBA Growing Pains On Court And In Court

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    A newly filed disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the Los Angeles Sparks is the latest in a series of employment discrimination disputes filed by WNBA professionals, highlighting teams' obligation to meet elevated workplace expectations and the league's role in facilitating an inclusive work environment, say attorneys at Michelman & Robinson.

  • 2 Areas Of Labor Law That May Change Under Trump

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    Based on President Donald Trump's recent moves, employers should expect to see significant changes in the direction of law coming out of the National Labor Relations Board, particularly in two areas where the Trump administration will seek to roll back the Biden NLRB's changes, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Justices' Revival Ruling In Bias Suit Exceeds Procedural Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Waetzig v. Halliburton allowed the plaintiff in an age discrimination lawsuit to move to reopen his case after arbitration, but the seemingly straightforward decision on a procedural issue raises complex questions for employment law practitioners, says Christopher Sakauye at Dykema.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'Late Night' Shows DEI Is More Than Optics

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    Amid the shifting legal landscape for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Troutman's Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter chat with their firm's DEI committee chair, Nicole Edmonds, about how the 2019 film "Late Night" reflects the challenges and rewards of fostering meaningful inclusion.

  • 9 Considerations For Orgs Using AI Meeting Assistants

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    When deciding to use artificial intelligence meeting assistants, organizations must create and implement a written corporate policy that establishes the do's and don'ts for these assistants, taking into account individualized business operations, industry standards and legal and regulatory requirements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Determining What 'I Don't Feel Safe' Means In The Workplace

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    When an employee tells an employer "I don't feel safe," the phrase can have different meanings, so employment lawyers must adequately investigate to identify which meaning applies — and a cursory review and dismissal of the situation may not be a sufficient defense in case of future legal proceedings, says Karen Elliott at FordHarrison.

  • How EEOC Enforcement Priorities May Change Under Trump

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already been rocked by the Trump administration's dramatic changes in personnel and policy, which calls into question how the agency may shift its direction from the priorities set forth in its five-year strategic enforcement plan in 2023, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Back To Basics After Admin Change

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    Having an up-to-date employee handbook is more critical now than ever, given the recent change in administration, and employers should understand their benefits and risks, including how they can limit employers’ liability and help retain employers’ rights, say Kasey Cappellano and Meaghan Gandy at Kutak Rock.

  • What Axed Title IX Gender Identity Rule Means For Higher Ed

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    Following a Kentucky federal court's recent decision in State of Tennessee v. Cardona to strike down a Biden-era rule that expanded the definition of Title IX to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity, institutions of higher education should prepare to reimplement policies that comply with the reinstated 2020 rule, say attorneys at Venable.

  • A Path Forward For Cos. Amid Trump's Anti-DEIA Efforts

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    Given the Trump administration’s recent efforts targeting corporate diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs — including threatening possible criminal prosecution — companies should carefully tailor their DEIA initiatives to comply with both the letter and the spirit of antidiscrimination law, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Workforce Data Collection Considerations After DEI Order

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    Following President Donald Trump's executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, employers should balance the benefits of collecting demographic data with the risk of violating the order’s prohibition on "illegal DEI," say Lynn Clements at Berkshire Associates, David Cohen at DCI Consulting and Victoria Lipnic at Resolution Economics.