Discrimination

  • May 12, 2025

    Queens College Purged Jewish Adjunct Faculty, Suit Says

    Queens College unlawfully pushed out six accounting professors under the guise of budgetary concerns and low enrollment in an effort to "clean house" and rid the department of Jewish employees, a former faculty member claimed in New York federal court.

  • May 12, 2025

    BB&K Litigator Joins Jackson Lewis In San Diego

    Employment law firm Jackson Lewis PC is growing its West Coast ranks, bringing in a Best Best & Krieger LLP litigator as a principal in its San Diego office.

  • May 09, 2025

    Ga. Auto Dealer Accused Of Race Bias By Ex-Workers

    A Georgia automobile dealership operator has been sued in Georgia federal court by six Black former employees who allege they were discriminated against because of their race, then were fired for reporting the alleged mistreatment.

  • May 09, 2025

    Wells Fargo Execs Sued In Del. Over 'Sham' Diversity Efforts

    A Wells Fargo stockholder launched a derivative suit on Friday in Delaware's Court of Chancery seeking damages from 17 of the banking giant's directors and officers for potentially billions in costs tied to alleged "sham" diversity-focused recruitment and hiring initiatives.

  • May 09, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    A D.C. federal judge appeared skeptical of the Trump administration’s claim that Susman Godfrey LLP violated anti-discrimination law, a Massachusetts federal judge ordered the government to define what it means by “diversity, equity and inclusion” and a new member was nominated to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments over the past week.

  • May 09, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Loosen Charge Requirement In Race Bias Case

    The Fourth Circuit backed Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. on Friday in a Black billing contractor's lawsuit claiming he was fired for complaining he was let go for complaining about race bias, saying he hadn't properly named the utility company in his pre-suit discrimination charge.

  • May 09, 2025

    NY Forecast: X Arbitration Fees Dispute At 2nd Circ.

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider social media platform X's attempt to reverse a lower court order requiring it to pay fees for arbitration proceedings with employees who claim they were not paid the full amount of severance they were owed. Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • May 09, 2025

    Disney Nears Prelim Approval On $43M Gender Pay Bias Deal

    A California judge said Friday he intends to grant preliminary approval of a $43.25 million class action settlement in a suit alleging Disney paid thousands of women in middle management less than their male colleagues.

  • May 09, 2025

    8th Circ. Won't Reopen IRS Employee's Promotion Bias Suit

    The Eighth Circuit refused Friday to revive an IRS special agent's lawsuit claiming she was denied a promotion because she's a Black woman in her 50s, saying she hadn't demonstrated the agency's decision not to move her up in its ranks was tainted by bias.

  • May 09, 2025

    NY Lawmakers Seek To Close Salary History Loophole

    A New York proposal to bar employers from asking job candidates about their salary expectations shows how states must keep refining and innovating pay disclosure laws as they learn lessons from real-world compliance.

  • May 09, 2025

    Souter's Clerks Remember Him As Humble, Kind And Caring

    Former clerks of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter are heartbroken over the death of a man many of them remember more for his conscientiousness, humility, kindness and disdain for the spotlight than for his undeniable brilliance as a jurist.

  • May 09, 2025

    AG Fights Ex-Immigration Judge's Disability Bias Claim In Fla.

    U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi pushed back Friday on a former immigration judge's bid for a disability discrimination ruling in her favor, telling a Florida federal court that her requested transfer wasn't approved since there were no vacancies in her desired Orlando court during her tenure.

  • May 09, 2025

    Hiker And 'Raconteur': Atty Recalls 50-Year Bond With Souter

    Behind a towering legal legacy was a man who loved to hike mountains, could recall details of things he read decades ago and was always there for those he cared about, a New Hampshire attorney said as he reflected on a lifelong friendship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

  • May 09, 2025

    EEOC Can Seek OK Of Deal That Judge Threatened To Scuttle

    A Florida federal judge walked back a threat Friday to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission race harassment suit after taking issue with its bid to approve a $1.4 million settlement in the case, following warnings from the agency that it would be "severely prejudiced" by dismissal.

  • May 09, 2025

    Fisher Phillips Opens Tokyo Office Amid Regulatory Shifts

    Employer-side labor law firm Fisher Phillips has launched a Tokyo office in response to increasing client demand from American and multinational companies doing business in Japan and from Japanese companies doing business in the Americas.

  • May 09, 2025

    A Look At David Souter's Most Significant Opinions

    The retired Justice David Souter defied simple definition, viewed as a staunch conservative until he co-wrote an opinion upholding abortion rights in 1992. He did not hew to partisan lines, but reshaped the civil litigation landscape and took an unexpected stand in an extraordinarily close presidential election.

  • May 09, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Petroleum Cos. $7M Wage Deal Before Court

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for the potential initial approval of a $7.2 million deal in a proposed wage and hour class action against Marathon Refining Logistics Services and related companies. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • May 09, 2025

    Justice Souter Was An Unexpected Force Of Moderation

    Justice David Souter, who saw the high court as a moderating force apart from the messiness of politics, subverted the expectations of liberals and conservatives alike during his 19 years on the bench.

  • May 09, 2025

    Google Strikes $50M Deal To End Black Workers' Bias Suit

    Google has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve a proposed class action claiming the technology giant paid thousands of Black workers less than their white colleagues and provided them scant opportunities for advancement, according to a filing in California federal court.

  • May 09, 2025

    Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter Dies At 85

    Retired Justice David H. Souter, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 to 2009, has died at 85, the court announced Friday. 

  • May 08, 2025

    5th Circ. Wipes Out Southwest Attys' Religious Training Order

    The Fifth Circuit on Thursday held that a lower court overstepped by ordering several in-house Southwest Airlines attorneys to undergo "religious liberty training" following a flight attendant's win in a wrongful termination suit, finding that the training wouldn't benefit the flight attendant or persuade Southwest to comply with an earlier order.

  • May 08, 2025

    Judge Seems To Favor Susman Godfrey In Trump Challenge

    A D.C. federal judge appeared poised Thursday to allow Susman Godfrey LLP's challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm to proceed or to grant the firm a summary judgment win altogether, after she pressed a government attorney on the president's basis for alleging discrimination at the firm.

  • May 08, 2025

    Panel Says Colo. Hospitals Need Notice Of Retaliation Claims

    A Colorado appeals court on Thursday sided with a Denver health system in a precedential ruling, finding healthcare workers who sue public hospitals under a state anti-retaliation statute must warn hospitals about their claims.

  • May 08, 2025

    Judge Allows WWE Accuser To Add SEC Settlement To Suit

    A former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. staffer, who has accused ex-CEO Vince McMahon of assault and sex trafficking in Connecticut federal court, was allowed to include in an amended complaint the settlement McMahon reached with the federal government regarding payments he made to her and another woman over alleged misconduct.

  • May 08, 2025

    6th Circ. Seems Open To Reviving Ex-Ford Worker's Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit appeared skeptical Thursday of Ford Motor Co.'s arguments that a fired Muslim and Middle Eastern employee had not laid out sufficient facts to keep his bias and retaliation lawsuit alive, indicating plaintiffs needn't meet a high bar in the early stages of a case.

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.