Discrimination

  • June 26, 2025

    SMU Law Professor's Tenure Suit Partly Revived By 5th Circ.

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday partially revived a former Southern Methodist University law professor's suit over the denial of her tenure application following a ruling last month by the Texas Supreme Court.

  • June 26, 2025

    Gender Identity Bias Suits Regain Steam After EEOC Retreats

    The gender identity discrimination cases that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission abandoned due to President Donald Trump's order only recognizing two sexes are getting back on course after new legal teams stepped in to represent the workers.

  • June 26, 2025

    Vegas Casino Strikes Deal To End EEOC Religious Bias Suit

    The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas has agreed to pay $850,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit claiming it refused to accommodate employees' religious beliefs for nearly a decade, according to a filing Thursday in Nevada federal court.

  • June 26, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs FedEx In Fired Driver's Age, Race Bias Suit

    The Second Circuit declined Thursday to revive a suit from a Black worker who said FedEx let him endure on-the-job harassment and fired him for complaining about being mistreated, ruling the former employee failed to show prejudice was what cost him his job.

  • June 26, 2025

    EEOC's Lucas Cleared For Full Senate Vote On New Term

    The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions voted along party lines Thursday to advance the nomination of acting U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Chair Andrea Lucas, setting the stage for a full Senate vote on a fresh five-year term.

  • June 26, 2025

    10 Years Later: Obergefell Attorneys, In Their Own Words

    Marking the decade anniversary of the Obergefell opinion, Law360 asked the attorneys who argued the case at the Supreme Court what it was like being at the center of such a monumental case, how a ruling favoring same-sex marriage changed the legal landscape over the past decade, and the remaining legal appetite to overturn it.

  • June 26, 2025

    DOJ Puts U. Of California Diversity Plans Under Microscope

    The U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights arm said Thursday it's launching an investigation into whether a University of California strategic plan prompted its campuses to discriminate against job applicants and employees based on their race and gender.

  • June 26, 2025

    Ex-McCarter & English Atty Questioned On Bias Pleading

    A New Jersey state judge pressed a former McCarter & English LLP attorney on Thursday to show how his anti-veteran discrimination complaint against the firm met the pleading standards for a whistleblower suit as he faces the firm's motion to dismiss.

  • June 26, 2025

    NY School Gets Bias Suit Narrowed But Must Face Pay Claims

    Hilbert College can escape a former associate professor's gender discrimination and retaliation claims but must face her claims that she was paid less than male colleagues, a New York federal judge ruled, saying a jury should evaluate the school's explanation that other factors could account for the pay disparities.

  • June 26, 2025

    Ex-Truist Banker Says Age Got Her Fired

    A Truist manager subjected a 57-year-old banker to unfair criticism and abruptly fired her, the former employee said in a wage and discrimination suit in Georgia federal court, adding that her direct manager resigned in part to protest her termination.

  • June 26, 2025

    ICE Agents Could Testify Anonymously In 1st Am. Trial

    A Massachusetts federal judge suggested Thursday he is open to allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to testify anonymously at an upcoming bench trial in a suit brought by academic groups challenging the detention of noncitizen students and faculty who express pro-Palestinian views.

  • June 26, 2025

    Famed Architect Fired Associate Out Of Age Bias, Suit Says

    Renowned architect Frank Gehry and his firm fired an associate in his 60s out of age discrimination after claiming there was no work for him, even as the firm hired half a dozen employees in their 20s, the associate told a California state court.

  • June 26, 2025

    Fire Chief Says City Got 'Cold Feet' On Race Bias Deal

    A $180,000 settlement resolving a race bias suit should be enforced, a fire chief told a North Carolina federal court, saying he canceled his jury trial against the city of Charlotte because the parties reached a deal, despite the city's argument that no final written agreement exists.

  • June 26, 2025

    Seyfarth Adds Lagasse Branch Employment Litigator In LA

    Seyfarth Shaw LLP is growing its labor and employment team, announcing Wednesday it is bringing in a Lagasse Branch Bell + Kinkead LPP employment litigator as a partner in its Century City office in Los Angeles.

  • June 25, 2025

    Workday Gave 'No Protection' From Harassment, Worker Says

    A former software engineer at human resources software firm Workday Inc. alleged in a Wednesday lawsuit that she was driven out of the company after it "offered no protection or assistance" to her as she faced years of harassment and mistreatment from her manager.

  • June 25, 2025

    Nordstrom Accused Of Anti-Muslim Bias Over Pendant Ban

    Nordstrom refused to let a Muslim employee wear a necklace with the outline of historic Palestine while allowing workers of other faiths to wear jewelry depicting their religious symbols, the worker claimed in a filing with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

  • June 25, 2025

    Georgia College Settles Ex-Groundskeeper's Race Bias Suit

    A Georgia chiropractic school has settled a lawsuit filed by a former groundskeeper who claimed he was fired after reporting his boss for helping his girlfriend steal company time.

  • June 25, 2025

    Trans Worker Says Metal Co.'s Health Plan Discriminatory

    A subsidiary of Kaiser Aluminum discriminated against transgender employees by including an exclusion in its health plan barring coverage for medical treatments related to gender-affirming care, according to a new suit filed in Washington federal court.

  • June 25, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs Johns Hopkins In Vaccine Refuser's ADA Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday upheld a Johns Hopkins University lab's defeat of a former engineer's lawsuit claiming she was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of a Lyme disease-related immune condition, saying the worker didn't provide enough information to justify a medical exemption.

  • June 25, 2025

    Judge OKs Most Of Attorney Fees In MGM Vax Exemption Suit

    A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday awarded nearly $394,000 in attorney fees to a former MGM Grand Casino worker who won a religious bias suit after being fired for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine, slightly cutting the requested award after reducing hours because of discrepancies between two submissions.

  • June 25, 2025

    Fed. Circ. Backs EPA's Firing Of 'Disruptive' Whistleblower

    The Federal Circuit upheld a decision finding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would've fired a federal employee even if she wasn't whistleblowing on its failure to submit affirmative employment plans, ruling Wednesday that while there was significant motive to retaliate, there's also evidence the employee was "disrespectful, disruptive and discourteous" toward colleagues.

  • June 25, 2025

    Latino Atty Says Va. Law Firm Axed Him For Flagging Bias

    An employee-side law firm repeatedly stood in the way of a Latino attorney's career advancement, underpaid him, and fired him after he advocated for increasing a Black attorney's pay to match that of a white colleague, a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Maryland federal court said.

  • June 25, 2025

    Muslim Worker Says Meta Censored Pro-Palestinian Views

    Facebook parent Meta disciplined a Muslim employee for statements that supported Palestinians, while declining to penalize those who supported other social and humanitarian movements, according to a new religious bias suit in Texas federal court.

  • June 25, 2025

    Colorado Attorney Settles Bias Suit With DC-Area Firm

    A Colorado lawyer has settled claims she brought against her former employer in December, when she accused the law firm of having "abruptly and unlawfully" terminated her employment due to her age and gender.

  • June 25, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs Biz Management Co. In Retaliatory Firing Suit

    The Fourth Circuit declined to reinstate a retaliation suit from a maintenance company director who said he was fired for complaining that a female colleague was being sexually harassed, ruling his case lacked evidence that bias, not pandemic-related budget constraints, drove his termination.

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.