Discrimination

  • September 03, 2025

    Hartford Beats State Rep.'s Police Bias Suit, For Now

    The city of Hartford will not have to face a lawsuit alleging the police mishandled a state representative's sexual assault report, for the time being, with a Connecticut federal judge saying the claims are "conclusory and simply state a legal conclusion" that the department customarily mistreats women and Muslims.

  • September 03, 2025

    Ballard Spahr, Legal Tech Co. Face Disability Bias Suit

    A former records manager told a Pennsylvania federal court that Ballard Spahr LLP and a legal tech provider unlawfully passed her over for jobs in favor of younger men and ultimately forced out because of her health problems.

  • September 03, 2025

    Former TransDigm GC Launches Retaliatory Firing Suit

    The former general counsel of TransDigm Group Inc., an aerospace parts manufacturer, has filed a complaint in Ohio state court alleging she was terminated in retaliation for reporting two instances of sexual harassment and antitrust compliance concerns.

  • September 03, 2025

    Referee Blows Whistle On NBA's Partial Win In Vaccine Fight

    A fired referee suing the NBA for religious discrimination asked a New York federal court to reconsider its ruling that denied him front and back pay, arguing the judge overlooked controlling case law that makes the decision "inappropriate."

  • September 03, 2025

    Chatbot Or Not, Ind. Judge Urges Sanction For Bad Citation

    An Indiana federal judge has recommended sanctioning an attorney representing a woman in an employment discrimination suit against a county court's juvenile detention center after the lawyer included faulty citations in a discovery brief, regardless of how the citations got there.

  • September 03, 2025

    Senators Renew Bipartisan Push To Limit Age Bias Arbitration

    The track record of a law from former President Joe Biden's administration that curbed mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment allegations showed that enacting a similar ban shielding age bias claims won't trigger an avalanche of suits, Senate lawmakers were told Wednesday.

  • September 03, 2025

    More K&L Gates Attys Jump To Arnold & Porter In LA, Seattle

    Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP continues to grow its West Coast team, announcing Wednesday two more longtime K&L Gates LLP attorneys have joined as partners — a labor and employment expert in Seattle and a business litigation pro in Los Angeles.

  • September 02, 2025

    9th Circ. Rejects Unvaxxed Firefighters' Discrimination Appeal

    A Ninth Circuit panel declined on Tuesday to revive a group of Washington firefighters' suit against their employer for refusing them religious exemptions from a state COVID-19 vaccination mandate, concluding the fire agency would've faced "substantial costs" had it allowed them to continue working without the shot in 2021.

  • September 02, 2025

    Cannabis Co. Seeks To Toss Ex-COO's Fla. Whistleblower Suit

    A Canadian cannabis company urged a Florida federal court to toss a whistleblower lawsuit brought by its former chief operating officer alleging he was wrongly terminated for attempting to bring facilities into compliance with safety standards, saying the complaint fails to state a plausible claim. 

  • September 02, 2025

    Fired Male Exec's Sex Bias Suit Comes Up Short At 6th Circ.

    The Sixth Circuit refused Tuesday to revive a suit from a former health system executive who said his push to become CEO got him fired because the company wanted a woman in the role, finding that his subversion of the company's succession plan — not his gender — got him canned.

  • September 02, 2025

    Ex-Executive Slaps Novo Nordisk Unit With Sex, Age Bias Suit

    A former finance director for a Novo Nordisk unit hit the company with a sex and age bias lawsuit last week, saying in a North Carolina federal court complaint that her career was cut short after she complained about workplace safety and discrimination.

  • September 02, 2025

    11th Circ. Backs Ga. County's Win In Ex-Cop's Race Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld Tuesday a Georgia county's victory over a Black former police officer's discrimination suit, saying he didn't show that race played a part in his termination.

  • September 02, 2025

    Littler Report: Wage Rule Limbo, DEI Reversal, NLRB Shakeup

    Federal government efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs; states’ industry-specific wage hikes that have reached new heights and a National Labor Relations Board that is stuck without a quorum are employment law trends to watch, Littler Mendelson PC’s Workplace Policy Institute said in an annual report. Here, Law360 explores the report’s findings.

  • September 02, 2025

    3M Beats Fired COVID-19 Vax Refuser's Religious Bias Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge tossed a suit Tuesday from a Christian worker who claimed 3M fired her out of religious bias when she refused its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling her termination was fair game because letting her remain unvaccinated would have made the company less competitive.

  • September 02, 2025

    EEOC Brokers $145K Deals In Dairy Queen Harassment Probe

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Tuesday it reached a pair of deals worth $145,000 with a Virginia-based Dairy Queen franchise after finding evidence that female workers, some of them teenagers, faced sexual harassment at two of its locations.

  • September 02, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs X In Arb. Fees In Severance Case

    Courts can't sort out who pays arbitration fees, and employers' refusal to pay such fees isn't a failure to arbitrate, the Second Circuit ruled Tuesday, siding with X in a case accusing the social media platform of owing workers severance.

  • September 02, 2025

    7th Circ. Ends Age Bias Suit But Says ADEA Bans Harassment

    A former kindergarten teacher did not properly back up her case alleging she was denied proper classroom support and micromanaged because she's older, the Seventh Circuit found, declining to reinstate her suit but concluding that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act can cover harassment claims.

  • September 02, 2025

    Northrop Defeats Black Engineer's Pay, Promotion Bias Suit

    A Maryland federal judge tossed a Black electrical engineer's suit claiming defense contractor Northrop Grumman handed him lackluster promotions and pay raises out of racial bias, saying he hasn't put forward evidence that prejudice was the reason for the offers he received.

  • August 29, 2025

    5 Arguments For Discrimination Attorneys To Watch In Sept.

    The Fourth Circuit will consider whether a trial court rightly blocked parts of two Trump administration executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and the Fifth Circuit will consider whether United Airlines employees correctly won class certification for Title VII claims challenging the company's COVID-19 accommodation practices. Here are five argument sessions that discrimination attorneys should keep tabs on in the coming month.

  • August 29, 2025

    Logistics Cos. Can't Escape Worker Visa Misuse Class Action

    Two logistics companies have failed to escape a proposed class action accusing them of misusing a professional worker visa program to lure workers from Mexico, with a Georgia federal judge trimming out some discrimination and fair labor claims, but allowing several others to proceed.

  • August 29, 2025

    EEOC, Sam's Club Strike $60K Deal In ADA Suit

    The operators of warehouse club retail store Sam's Club will pay $60,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging a worker was refused accommodations and ultimately fired after attempting to return to work following an automobile accident.

  • August 29, 2025

    Amazon Workers Get Class Nod In Military Leave Bias Suit

    A New York federal judge handed class certification to a group of workers alleging Amazon did not provide equal leave benefits to service members compared to those who took other forms of leave such as jury duty, although he found the class representative couldn't lead the case.

  • August 29, 2025

    US Education Dept. Finds Denver Schools Flouted Title IX

    The first Title IX investigation undertaken by the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights since President Donald Trump returned to office found Denver Public Schools violated Title IX by converting two bathrooms at a local high school to multi-stall, all-gender bathrooms, according to a Thursday news release from the OCR.

  • August 29, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    The city of Seattle has attempted to block the Trump administration from enforcing executive orders that condition federal grants partly on recipients curtailing diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and the state of Texas was hit with a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a law curbing inclusivity in public schools. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments from the past week.

  • August 29, 2025

    GardaWorld Can't Avoid Tobacco, Vaccine Health Fee Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge trimmed — but refused to toss — a proposed class action challenging a security company's health plan surcharges to employees who refused COVID-19 vaccinations and who use tobacco, opening discovery on claims that the fees violated nondiscrimination provisions in federal benefits law.

Expert Analysis

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • How To Comply With Chicago's New Paid Leave Ordinance

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    Chicago's new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance went into effect earlier this month, so employers subject to the new rules should update leave policies, train supervisors and deliver notice as they seek compliance, say Alison Crane and Sarah Gasperini at Jackson Lewis.

  • 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.