Discrimination

  • May 27, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Packaging Co. In Fired Worker's Sex Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit declined Tuesday to scrap a packaging manufacturer's win in an ex-manager's suit claiming she was fired out of gender bias, ruling she couldn't overcome the company's position that she was actually terminated for verbally abusing subordinates.

  • May 27, 2025

    Conn. Firefighters Say Age Bias Taints Retirement Program

    Connecticut's municipal employee pension system unlawfully barred a group of firefighters with over two decades of service from participating in a deferred retirement program because they're under 55 years old, the workers and their union claimed in a federal lawsuit.

  • May 27, 2025

    Upcoming State And Local Wage Laws To Watch

    Washington employers will get some reprieve from steep penalties for pay transparency violations, and workers in Los Angeles County will have the benefit of predictive scheduling. Here, Law360 explores a sampling of new developments employers should keep in mind in the coming weeks.

  • May 27, 2025

    Energy Cos. Ink $700K Deal To End EEOC Harassment Suit

    Two oil and gas exploration services companies have agreed to pay nearly $700,000 to close a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming they allowed sexual comments and racial slurs in the workplace and fired workers who spoke up about the harassment.

  • May 27, 2025

    Congress Needed For Major Changes To Workplace Vax Rules

    The Trump administration is exploring changes to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's stance on workplace vaccine mandates, but legal experts say an act of Congress would be necessary to bring about significant change in this arena.

  • May 27, 2025

    ArentFox Schiff Says Workers' 'Antics' Should Get Suit Tossed

    An Illinois federal judge handling age discrimination claims from two longtime former ArentFox Schiff LLP information technology contractors should permanently dismiss their lawsuit as a consequence for routinely destroying case evidence and discarding their mobile phones while the litigation has been pending, the firm says.

  • May 27, 2025

    Auto Co. Seeks Judge's Recusal For Pushing Bias Settlement

    A Pennsylvania magistrate judge has been improperly pushing an automotive dealership to settle a former manager's suit claiming she faced daily sexual advances and inappropriate comments from her boss, the company said, arguing the judge needs to step aside before an upcoming trial.

  • May 27, 2025

    Vice Media VP Rejoins Ogletree In NYC

    A seasoned BigLaw attorney who left Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC five years ago to move into an in-house legal position at Vice Media has rejoined the labor and employment law firm Tuesday as a shareholder.

  • May 23, 2025

    Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

    This past year, a handful of attorneys secured billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for both classes and individual plaintiffs against massive companies and organizations like Facebook, Dell, the National Association of Realtors, Johnson & Johnson, UFC and Credit Suisse, earning them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2025.

  • May 23, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    Jenner & Block LLP convinced a Washington, D.C., federal judge to invalidate an executive order by President Donald Trump targeting it in part for its diversity, equity and inclusion practices as unconstitutional, and the U.S. Department of Justice announced the formation of an initiative to use the False Claims Act to quell discrimination by federal funding recipients tied to their DEI programs. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments over the past week.

  • May 23, 2025

    Service Members' COVID Vax Claims Sent To Military Boards

    A Court of Federal Claims judge said an executive order directing the reinstatement of service members discharged over a COVID-19 vaccine mandate warranted sending the claims of 10 people who refused to comply with the mandate to military records boards for consideration.

  • May 23, 2025

    Car Dealership Can't Swerve Around EEOC Firing Suit

    An Arkansas federal judge declined Friday to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming a car dealership fired a Black worker for complaining that a co-worker called him a "monkey," stating the business couldn't overcome a "Catch-22" it presented the employee before canning him.

  • May 23, 2025

    NJ Panel Revives Ex-Nursing Director's Discrimination Suit

    A New Jersey appeals court panel on Friday revived a former Capital Health nursing director's suit alleging the state nurses association discriminated against her for receiving treatment for alcoholism, finding that the trial court could hear her complaint.

  • May 23, 2025

    Insurer Accused Of Firing Worker Out Of Pregnancy Bias

    An insurance company reneged on its promise to provide its benefits adviser with paid maternity leave and then fired her not long after she raised several concerns about unpaid commissions, according to a lawsuit removed to North Carolina federal court.

  • May 23, 2025

    Pest Co. Seeks To Stamp Out Workers' Tobacco Fee Case

    Global pest control company Rentokil urged a Pennsylvania federal court to toss a proposed class action claiming it unlawfully charged tobacco users more for health benefits without providing a reasonable way to avoid the fee, arguing it's not the company's fault the workers refused to quit the habit.

  • May 23, 2025

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears Speech Therapist Race Bias Suit

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider a New York speech therapist's attempt to revive her lawsuit claiming she was discriminated against on the basis of her race when her school district fired her in 2022. Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • May 23, 2025

    Mo. Says Starbucks Lacks Grounds To Escape DEI Bias Suit

    The state of Missouri urged a federal judge to reject Starbucks' bid to dismiss its suit claiming its diversity policies discriminate based on race and gender, arguing it has put forward enough evidence showing how the company's practices have harmed its citizens to keep the case in court.

  • May 23, 2025

    DOL Picks New Acting Leaders For Wage Compliance Unit

    The U.S. Department of Labor announced Friday a new acting administrator as well as four policy advisers to serve in the agency's division tasked with ensuring employers pay their employees in line with federal minimum wage and overtime laws.

  • May 23, 2025

    EEOC's Acting Chair Eyes Federal Sector Program Revisions

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told federal agencies they will no longer face monetary penalties for disobeying orders during administrative proceedings and warned that workers shouldn't immediately lose opportunities when they're accused of bias, moves the EEOC framed as opening efforts to remold its federal sector program.

  • May 23, 2025

    Cooley Hires 'Next-Gen' Boston Labor & Employment Partner

    A Choate Hall & Stewart LLP partner has joined Cooley LLP's labor and employment practice and global litigation department in Boston.

  • May 23, 2025

    Ruby Tuesday Fired Bartender On Medical Leave, Court Told

    Ruby Tuesday fired a bartender while she was out on medical leave recovering from a broken hip that she sustained in a car accident and refused to let her return to her former role, she said in a suit filed in North Carolina federal court.

  • May 23, 2025

    Southwest Flight Attendant Fights To Revive Nixed Sanctions

    A flight attendant urged the Fifth Circuit to reconsider its move to axe a contempt order against Southwest Airlines in her wrongful termination suit, arguing it shouldn't be scrapped just because the panel took issue with court-ordered religious liberty training for Southwest attorneys.

  • May 23, 2025

    Ex-Immigration Judge Fights To Keep Fla. Bias Suit Alive

    A former immigration judge has urged a Florida federal court to reject U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's bid for an early win against her disability bias claims, arguing she was denied a hardship transfer and reasonable accommodation due to her gender and age.

  • May 22, 2025

    California City Cleared In Employment Discrimination Trial

    A Los Angeles jury cleared the city of Baldwin Park, California, of liability on Thursday in a wrongful-termination suit by a former longtime employee who claimed that she was forced to resign after complaining about race and gender bias and misuse of federal housing funds.

  • May 22, 2025

    Levi Strauss Calls For Sanctions Against Boies Schiller

    Levi Strauss is seeking more than $15,000 from Boies Schiller Flexner LLP and training for the firm's litigation attorneys in the proceeding over a former executive's sex discrimination claims, telling a California federal judge that Boies Schiller flouted deadlines and refused to meet with opposing counsel.

Expert Analysis

  • 5 Employer Defenses To Military Status Discrimination Claims

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    A Colorado federal court's recent ruling, finding a Navy reservist wasn't denied promotion at his civilian job due to antimilitary bias, highlights several defenses employers can use to counter claims of violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, say attorneys at Littler Mendelson.

  • Justices Mull Sex-Based Classification In Trans Law Case

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. v. Skrmetti this week, it appears that the fate of the Tennessee law at the center of the case — a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents — will hinge on whether the majority read the statute as imposing a sex-based classification, says Alexandra Crandall at Dickinson Wright.

  • 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.