Discrimination

  • September 20, 2024

    Hospital Barred Male Worker From Delivery Unit, EEOC Says

    An Arkansas hospital improperly stopped a male surgical technician from assisting with childbirth even though he was hired to do so, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a new lawsuit. 

  • September 20, 2024

    Walmart Inks $100K EEOC Deal After Firing Epileptic Worker

    Walmart has agreed to hand over $100,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit filed in Arizona federal court claiming it fired a cashier because she missed too many shifts because of her epilepsy.

  • September 20, 2024

    Fla. Restaurant Axed Asst. Manager Over Age, EEOC Says

    A Daytona Beach, Florida, seafood restaurant fired an assistant manager about a month after hiring her because she was 57 years old and it wanted to hire someone younger, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court Friday.

  • September 20, 2024

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears Unsealed Arbitration Award Row

    This week the Second Circuit will consider a janitorial company's challenge to a lower court order that allowed an arbitration award in a dispute over what a janitor alleged was the company's misclassification of janitors as independent contractors to become public. Here, Law360 explores this and another employment case on the docket in New York.

  • September 20, 2024

    Microsoft Accused Of Racial Bias By Ex-Diversity Professional

    A former Microsoft employee tasked with helping advance diversity and inclusion efforts has filed a discrimination suit in Washington state court accusing the tech giant of an "ongoing campaign of intimidation, discrimination, and retaliation" against its Black female employees.

  • September 20, 2024

    King & Spalding Fights Bias Suit Over Summer Program

    King & Spalding LLP is urging a Maryland federal judge to toss a discrimination suit filed by a straight white woman who says she was dissuaded from applying to a summer associate program open only to "diverse" applicants, arguing the student suffered no injury since she did not apply.

  • September 20, 2024

    NY Phil Can Sideline Musician Accused Of Rape, It Tells Court

    A New York Philharmonic trumpeter accused of raping his colleague and an oboist accused of handing the woman a spiked drink can't prove that the orchestra sidelining them violated an arbitrator's ruling, the orchestra and the musicians' union told a New York federal judge, asking him to toss the musicians' suits.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ellenoff Grossman Denied Arbitration In Ex-Atty's Firing Suit

    A New York federal judge has sent a former Ellenoff Grossman & Schole LLP associate's suit saying she was fired for protesting sexual harassment back to state court and denied the firm's motion to compel arbitration of the matter.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ex-United Worker With Alcohol Use Disorder Loses ADA Fight

    The Seventh Circuit backed United Airlines' defeat of a former flight attendant's lawsuit claiming he was fired for taking time off to deal with his alcoholism, saying he couldn't overcome the airline's explanation that he was fired for harassing a colleague he used to date.

  • September 20, 2024

    Ariz. Framing Co. Settles EEOC Workforce Demographic Suit

    An Arizona framing company reached a deal with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to resolve a federal court suit alleging it failed to file reports on its workforce demographic data as required under federal law.

  • September 20, 2024

    LA Sees Retired Police Lt.'s Military Leave Suit Trimmed

    A California federal judge threw out several claims in a retired police lieutenant's lawsuit alleging the city of Los Angeles denied sick time and promotions to police officers who took military leave, although the parties have taken issue with the scope of the judge's order.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ex-George Mason Law Prof Can't Stop Title IX Investigation

    A former George Mason University law professor can't stop the school or its Title IX coordinator from investigating sexual misconduct claims lodged against him, but he can pursue some of the claims in his suit over the university's handling of the sexual misconduct accusations, a Virginia federal judge ruled Thursday.

  • September 19, 2024

    Transit Union, Worker Reach $350K Deal To End OT Claim

    A Maryland federal court approved a $350,000 settlement between an Amalgamated Transit Union affiliate and a former union employee, resolving the worker's overtime claim under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

  • September 19, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Mortgage Workers' Sex, Age Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld on Thursday a bank's win over a sex and age discrimination suit lodged by two female former employees, with the panel using the case as an opportunity to "clear up" what it characterized as tricky areas of anti-discrimination case law. 

  • September 19, 2024

    MrBeast Co., Amazon Accused Of Exploiting TV Contestants

    Reality show contestants have hit an Amazon Studios unit and the maker of the MrBeast YouTube channel with a proposed labor class action in California court, alleging they "shamelessly" exploited "Beat Games" contestants while threatening their livelihoods and misrepresenting their odds at winning the new show's $5 million grand prize.

  • September 19, 2024

    NC Justice Dept. Resolves Atty's Sex, Race Bias Suit

    The North Carolina Department of Justice agreed to settle a Black attorney's lawsuit alleging she was passed over for promotion in favor of a less qualified white man, according to court filings, just weeks after a federal judge refused to toss the case.

  • September 19, 2024

    Boeing Beats Suit Over Workers' Love-Triangle Murder

    A Washington federal judge has again tossed a lawsuit against Boeing over a love triangle that led a Boeing employee to murder his coworker, dismissing the case for good because the killing did not occur during working hours or at the workplace.

  • September 19, 2024

    5th Circ. Won't Revive Black Cops' Racial Retaliation Suit

    The Fifth Circuit upheld the dismissal of a suit from three Black Louisiana police officers who claimed they suffered racist harassment and were fired or demoted after complaining that the city botched a use-of-force investigation, ruling they lacked proof of retaliation and the abuse they allegedly endured didn't qualify as severe.

  • September 19, 2024

    Ex-Ballard Spahr Legal Assistant Drops Wrongful Firing Suit

    A former Ballard Spahr LLP legal assistant on Thursday agreed to drop a Pennsylvania civil rights lawsuit alleging that the firm fired her in retaliation for taking leave protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act in order to care for her husband, who was battling cancer.

  • September 19, 2024

    Staffing Co. Accused Of Obliging Client Bias Ends Fed Probe

    An Indiana-based staffing agency struck a deal to resolve allegations that accommodated clients' preferences for workers based on protected characteristics like race and sex, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said. 

  • September 19, 2024

    7th Circ. Asks If Law School Should Be 'Safe Space'

    Seventh Circuit judges considering a retaliation suit from a University of Illinois Chicago Law School professor who used a racist slur in an exam hypothetical asked Thursday if law schools should really be a "safe space" shielding students from the kind of "horrific facts" courts deal with regularly. 

  • September 19, 2024

    Feds, Wis. Military Affairs Office Ink Deal In Pay Bias Suit

    The Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs will pay $175,000 to end a U.S. Department of Justice suit alleging it offered a female job applicant a lower salary than what it paid a man for the same position, according to a filing Thursday in federal court. 

  • September 19, 2024

    Philly Legal Org Fights Attorney's Race Bias Claims

    The Defender Association of Philadelphia says a Black former public defender has no basis for racial bias allegations stemming from her allegedly discriminatory firing, arguing that her claims were investigated and rejected by the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

  • September 19, 2024

    Airline Sinks Bias Suit From Worker Fired Over Drug Test

    A Pennsylvania federal judge tossed a race and disability bias suit from an American Airlines worker who said she was fired over a positive drug test triggered by her ADHD medication, ruling she hadn't presented evidence that bias drove the decision to let her go.

  • September 19, 2024

    Logistics Co. Can't Avoid Ex-Worker's Suit Over Racist Threat

    A logistics company must face a Black former employee's suit alleging it failed to prevent a white co-worker who displayed a Confederate flag on his phone from subjecting him to a racist threat, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, saying a jury should weigh whether the company should have stepped in.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Where Anti-Discrimination Law Stands 4 Years After Bostock

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    On the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Bostock ruling, Evan Parness and Abby Rickeman at Covington take stock of how the decision, which held that Title VII protects employees from discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, has affected anti-discrimination law at the state and federal levels.

  • Politics In The Workplace: What Employers Need To Know

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    As the 2024 election approaches and protests continue across the country, employers should be aware of employees' rights — and limits on those rights — related to political speech and activities in the workplace, and be prepared to act proactively to prevent issues before they arise, say attorneys at Littler.

  • What High Court Ruling Means For Sexual Harassment Claims

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    In its recent Smith v. Spizzirri decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court compelling a case to arbitration is obligated to stay the case rather than dismissing it, but this requirement may result in sexual harassment cases not being heard by appellate courts, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.

  • 5 Steps For Gov't Contractor Affirmative Action Verification

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    As the federal contractor affirmative action program certification deadline approaches, government contractors and subcontractors should take steps to determine their program obligations, and ensure any required plans are properly implemented and timely registered, say Christopher Wilkinson at Perkins Coie and Joanna Colosimo at DCI Consulting.

  • New OSHA Memo Helps Clarify Recordkeeping Compliance

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    Based on recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidance on whether musculoskeletal disorders are recordable injuries under the agency's recordkeeping regulation, it appears that OSHA may target active release techniques and stretching programs during its inspections, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Cos. Must Stay On Alert With Joint Employer Rule In Flux

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    While employers may breathe a sigh of relief at recent events blocking the National Labor Relations Board's proposed rule that would make it easier for two entities to be deemed joint employers, the rule is not yet dead, say attorneys at ​​​​​​​Day Pitney.

  • One Contract Fix Can Reduce Employer Lawsuit Exposure

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    A recent Fifth Circuit ruling that saved FedEx over $365 million highlights how a one-sentence limitation provision on an employment application or in an at-will employment agreement may be the easiest cost-savings measure for employers against legal claims, say Sara O'Keefe and William Wortel at BCLP.