Discrimination

  • October 24, 2024

    State Farm Agrees To Settle Immigration Bias Row With DOJ

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday that State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. will pay $30,000 in back pay and penalties to settle claims that one of its Texas corporate offices fired a worker for flagging citizenship discrimination.

  • October 24, 2024

    MSU Moves To Spike Ex-Football Coach's Termination Fight

    Michigan State University officials want a federal judge to toss the wrongful termination suit of its former football coach Mel Tucker, whom the school fired amid sexual misconduct allegations, arguing Wednesday it followed policy and has immunity based on state and federal law.

  • October 24, 2024

    IBM Pans Fired White Worker's Diversity Quota Claims

    IBM disputed a white former consultant's claim that the company fired him to fulfill diversity targets in a court filing Wednesday, saying the worker's allegations that the company has racial and gender-based hiring quotas are unsupported. 

  • October 24, 2024

    Co-Worker's Affair With Father Made Work Hostile, Suit Says

    A former employee of a healthcare research company has said she was forced to resign from her job after a co-worker developed an "unhealthy obsession" with her father, making sexual comments about him and engaging in a torrid affair while he participated in one of the company's clinical trials.

  • October 24, 2024

    Conn. High Court Snapshot: $13M Tax Appeals, Will Dispute

    The Connecticut Supreme Court's second term of the 2024-2025 season will commence Monday with a dispute over whether an attorney bungled a will that sought to divide a $845,368 TD Ameritrade account among five beneficiaries, only one of whom received any cash.

  • October 24, 2024

    Sports Gear Co. Hit With EEOC Age Bias, Retaliation Suit

    A sports gear company fired a worker after she complained about an organizational restructuring that favored younger workers with less experience than older workers, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in Colorado federal court.

  • October 24, 2024

    Cop's Fitness Exam May Qualify As Retaliation, 6th Circ. Told

    A trial court wrongly tossed an Ohio police officer's suit claiming he was sidelined for complaining about age bias, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said, telling the Sixth Circuit that forcing him to undergo a fitness assessment could qualify as unlawful retaliation.

  • October 24, 2024

    Auto Co. Inks Deal With EEOC To Settle Sex Harassment Suit

    An automotive services company has agreed to pay $80,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit in Michigan federal court claiming it failed to step in when a female worker complained that a male supervisor repeatedly propositioned her for sex.

  • October 24, 2024

    DOL Says H-2A Farmworker Protections Must Remain

    The U.S. Department of Labor urged a Georgia federal court to uphold its new protections for foreign H-2A farmworkers, arguing that conservative-led states' bid to block its rule should fail because safeguarding foreign workers is key to ensuring better pay and conditions for American-born farmworkers.

  • October 23, 2024

    Ex-Kia, Hyundai Workers Seek Conditional Cert. In FLSA Suit

    Mexican nationals accusing Kia and Hyundai units of failing to pay overtime have urged a Georgia federal court to grant them conditional certification for their fair labor collective action claims, saying there are others who likely also didn't get proper wages.

  • October 23, 2024

    Jury Awards Fired SF Rail Workers Over $7.8M In Vax Trial

    A California federal jury on Wednesday awarded combined damages of more than $7.8 million to six former Bay Area Rapid Transit District employees after finding the rail agency committed religious discrimination by refusing to exempt them from a COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

  • October 23, 2024

    Fla. Law Firm Gets Win In Trial Over Pregnancy Bias

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday granted a judgment in favor of a law firm accused of firing its former human resources manager because she was pregnant, agreeing that the evidence presented at trial wasn't sufficient to prove a discrimination claim.

  • October 23, 2024

    How A California Intersectionality Law Might Boost Equal Pay

    A new law enshrining the principle of intersectionality in California's anti-discrimination statutes may lead to ripple effects in equal pay litigation and discourse, attorneys say, as courts will be more inclined to recognize that unequal pay can be driven by a combination of factors.

  • October 23, 2024

    NYC Lawmakers Propose Giving Workers Sick Time For Pets

    Two New York City Council members introduced a bill Wednesday that would let workers use sick leave to care for pets and service animals, a novel move that one lawmaker said is meant to promote the health benefits of animal ownership.

  • October 23, 2024

    Texas, Think Tank Say EEOC Bostock Guidance Should Get Ax

    Texas and a conservative D.C. think tank told a federal court Wednesday it should block the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from issuing workplace harassment guidance based on the U.S. Supreme Court's Bostock decision, arguing the agency repeatedly misconstrued the ruling and exceeded its authority.

  • October 23, 2024

    8th Circ. Hints Minn. Bias Law Doesn't Reach Remote Worker

    The Eighth Circuit appeared skeptical Wednesday that Minnesota anti-discrimination protections extend to a Michigan-based remote employee, but the judges seemed at odds over whether court clarification is needed to flesh out when teleworkers generally merit the law's coverage.

  • October 23, 2024

    Ex-VA Worker Must Repay Sex Harassment Award, Judge Says

    A former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs worker must return a $90,000 award she won in internal proceedings accusing a supervisor of sexual harassment, a Mississippi federal judge ruled, saying she must pay back the money because she lost a subsequent court case over the same allegations.

  • October 23, 2024

    Fired Norton Rose Worker Ends Suit Over COVID Vax Mandate

    A Texas federal judge on Wednesday signed off on a former Norton Rose Fulbright IT worker's agreement to drop his lawsuit, which accused the firm of discriminating against the ex-employee when it fired him after he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine because he didn't feel peace with the Holy Spirit about being inoculated.

  • October 23, 2024

    United Worker Fired Over Online Pics Gets Bias Suit Revived

    A California appeals court revived a United Airlines flight attendant's sex bias suit claiming she was unlawfully fired for appearing in uniform on a social media page advertising her OnlyFans account, crediting her argument that male flight attendants didn't face the same consequences for similar behavior.

  • October 23, 2024

    Law Firm Accuses Ex-Paralegal Of 'Sabotage' In Bears Case

    An Illinois law firm has accused one of its former paralegals of attempting to stiff the firm for work it did settling his discrimination suit against the Chicago Bears, alleging that the erstwhile employee declined to file key paperwork and deleted critical files.

  • October 23, 2024

    Chemical Co. GC Fires Back At Pregnancy Bias Claims In NJ

    Arxada and its general counsel struck back at a former in-house attorney's claims in a New Jersey state court lawsuit that the specialty chemicals company unlawfully dismissed her in the days after she talked about taking leave to recover from a miscarriage.

  • October 23, 2024

    Harvard Enabling 'Outrageous' Antisemitism, Court Told

    Harvard University is intentionally protecting students and faculty accused of antisemitism and an assault on a Jewish student last year, "hoping this whole thing goes away," a lawyer for two student groups said during a hearing Wednesday on the Ivy League school's bid to end a second civil rights lawsuit.

  • October 23, 2024

    Harvey Weinstein Must Face All NY Charges At Retrial

    A New York state judge on Wednesday denied Harvey Weinstein a separate trial for his new sexual assault charge, ruling that he must face that allegation alongside his original indictment at a retrial that is now expected to begin in early 2025.

  • October 22, 2024

    Connecticut GOP Challenges Ex-Aide's Bias Suit Timeline

    A former press secretary for Republican lawmakers in the Connecticut House of Representatives failed to prevent or correct alleged workplace harassment that included cursing by waiting a year to report a key incident cited in her complaint, state House Republicans argued in an answer to the ex-spokesperson's discrimination lawsuit.

  • October 22, 2024

    Ex-Worker Says DOJ Retaliated Over Accommodation Request

    A former human resources officer in the Southern District of Texas lodged a retaliation suit against the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday, claiming she had to wait 100 days for her post-traumatic stress disorder-related accommodation request to be approved.

Expert Analysis

  • How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.

  • 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.