Discrimination

  • October 18, 2024

    NY Forecast: Workers Want Collective Status In Care Co. Suit

    This week, a federal magistrate judge will consider competing motions over the continuation of a collective action brought by former workers at a western New York home healthcare provider who claim they were not properly paid overtime required by federal law. Here, Law360 looks at this and another case on the docket in New York.

  • October 18, 2024

    Walmart Fired Managers Who Fought Biased Hiring, Suit Says

    Walmart fired two managers in retaliation for their persistent complaints about discriminatory hiring practices at an Atlanta-area fulfillment center, the pair have told a Georgia federal judge, alleging they were told not to hire or be "quick to fire" people who seemed "too Black," "too ethnic" or "overtly gay."

  • October 18, 2024

    Connecticut Bus Drivers Settle Disability Bias Claims

    A Connecticut Department of Transportation contractor and three Black bus drivers have settled a federal lawsuit in which the drivers alleged that they experienced retaliation after suffering allergic reactions to disinfectants that were used to clean the vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • October 18, 2024

    Class Status Sought For Sex Bias Suit Over Layoffs At X

    A suit alleging X targeted women in layoffs after Elon Musk bought the company should move forward as a class action because hundreds of women were impacted by sexist decision-making, a former employee for the company once known as Twitter argued in California federal court

  • October 18, 2024

    EEOC Suits Crystallize Commitment To Fighting LGBTQ+ Bias

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recently concluded fiscal year included seven new suits accusing employers of discriminating against LGBTQ+ workers, which experts say is a sign that the agency is making good on its stated commitment to fight bias based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Here are three things to know about this EEOC litigation priority.

  • October 18, 2024

    NY State Court System Escapes Ex-Employee's Bias Suit

    A federal judge has given the New York State Unified Court System a summary judgment win in a bias suit filed by a former court clerk who is a Hindu, ruling that the ex-employee didn't show that religious discrimination was a motive for denying her leave or her firing.

  • October 18, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: 9th Circ. Reviews NLRB's Cemex Decision

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for oral arguments at the Ninth Circuit in which Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters are each seeking to undo a major National Labor Relations Board decision regarding union representation. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • October 18, 2024

    Steptoe & Johnson Lands Clark Hill Employment Duo In Texas

    Steptoe & Johnson PLLC has grown its labor and employment offerings in Texas with the addition of two attorneys from Clark Hill PLC.

  • October 18, 2024

    Nev. Construction Co. Settles EEOC Disability Bias Probe

    A Nevada construction company will pay $56,000 after a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation discovered reasonable cause to believe it fired a worker after she asked for accommodation because of her disability, the agency said. 

  • October 18, 2024

    Atty Sanctioned For 'Indifference' In Tastykake Co. Bias Suit

    An attorney's "indifference" to court orders and deadlines in a Black Muslim worker's wage and discrimination suit against the maker of Tastykake warrants $30,000 in sanctions, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, warning that more serious consequences might come.

  • October 17, 2024

    Ex-CEO Of Credit Union Blames Accounting Firm For Firing

    The dismissed chief executive officer of a Connecticut credit union is suing the financial institution and Whittlesey PC, its accounting firm, claiming he was fired after following advice from the largest CPA group in the state on when to calendar a $1.2 million gain connected to a property sale.

  • October 17, 2024

    7th Circ. Won't Give Injured Prof Another Shot At ADA Suit

    The Seventh Circuit backed the dismissal Thursday of a professor's suit claiming she was denied tenure out of disability bias after she suffered a traumatic brain injury, ruling there's no evidence bias influenced the denial and her request for a "do-over" wasn't a reasonable accommodation.

  • October 17, 2024

    Texas County Can't Get Early Win In Atty's Leave Request Suit

    Harris County, Texas, cannot snag a pretrial win in an attorney's Americans with Disabilities Act suit, a federal judge ruled Thursday, keeping alive claims that the county failed to accommodate the attorney's leave requests.

  • October 17, 2024

    Man Says He Was Forced From Security Job For Being 'Too Old'

    Food, janitorial and security service provider Blackstone Consulting Inc. has been sued in Georgia federal court by a former employee who alleges the company engaged in a "relentless campaign of age-based harassment and disparate treatment" against him before demoting him, significantly decreasing his pay and effectively forcing him to resign.

  • October 17, 2024

    DHL Supply Chain Hit With Disability Bias Suit

    Logistics giant DHL Supply Chain was hit with a disability discrimination lawsuit Wednesday from a worker who says she was forced out of her job after DHL demanded she see a company physician to verify her debilitating medical condition.

  • October 17, 2024

    Ex-Worker Says She Was Fired For Threatening EEOC Charge

    A logistics company was sued Wednesday in federal court by a former Georgia employee who alleges she was sexually harassed and mistreated by "aggressive and threatening" male co-workers and then fired after warning the company she would file a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if things didn't improve.

  • October 17, 2024

    Ex-Genzyme Exec Says Anxiety Disclosure Led To Firing

    A former marketing director for Sanofi subsidiary Genzyme says he was fired on a pretext after disclosing that he suffers from anxiety, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Massachusetts state court.

  • October 17, 2024

    Disney Can't Get Quick Appeal In Actor's Political Firing Suit

    A California federal judge refused to sign off on Walt Disney Co.'s bid to immediately challenge a decision that kept a suit alive from a former Star Wars actor who said she was fired for expressing her political views, saying an appeal to the Ninth Circuit would be premature.

  • October 17, 2024

    EEOC Gets Judge To Revive Race Bias Suit He Tossed In June

    A Wisconsin federal judge said Thursday that he jumped the gun and overlooked Seventh Circuit precedent when he dismissed a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission race bias suit, reinstating the EEOC's claims that a plastics company failed to step in while a Black worker faced harassment.

  • October 17, 2024

    Ex-Defender Returns To 4th Circ. With Sex Bias Case

    A former North Carolina public defender appealed her bias case against the judiciary to the Fourth Circuit for a second time after a North Carolina federal judge refused to reconsider his ruling that she did not provide adequate notice to her ex-employer before filing suit.

  • October 17, 2024

    Jackson Lewis Adds Litigator From Los Angeles Boutique

    Jackson Lewis PC has bolstered its litigation offerings with a principal in Los Angeles who came aboard from trial and appellate boutique Carpenter Rothans & Dumont LLP.

  • October 17, 2024

    Arbitration Limits Cover Anti-LGBT Harassment, EEOC Says

    A two-year-old law barring mandatory arbitration of sex harassment claims extends to harassment that targets sexual orientation or gender identity, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said, urging the Third Circuit to back a ruling keeping a former nursing assistant's suit in court.

  • October 17, 2024

    EEOC Gets Deal In Retaliation Suit Over Pregnancy Bias Claim

    A North Carolina movie theater will pay $137,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it refused to rehire a bartender because she'd complained to the agency that she was fired because she was pregnant, according to a federal court filing.

  • October 17, 2024

    Texas Sues Doctor For Providing Kids Gender-Affirming Care

    The state of Texas sued a pediatrician Thursday, alleging she broke state law by providing gender-affirming care to children. 

  • October 16, 2024

    Garth Brooks Says Rape Accuser Already Revealed Herself

    Country music star Garth Brooks on Wednesday urged a Mississippi federal court to reject a hair and makeup artist's request that he be sanctioned for publicly revealing her identity out of spite after she accused him of rape, arguing that she already agreed to use her name in the litigation.

Expert Analysis

  • Kansas Workers' Comp. Updates Can Benefit Labor, Business

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    While the most significant shake-up from the April amendment to the Kansas Workers Compensation Act will likely be the increase in potential lifetime payouts for workers totally disabled on the job, other changes that streamline the hearing process will benefit both employees and companies, says Weston Mills at Gilson Daub.

  • Fostering Employee Retention Amid Shaky DEI Landscape

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    Ongoing challenges to the legality of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs are complicating efforts to use DEI as an employee retention tool, but with the right strategic approach employers can continue to recruit and retain diverse talent — even after the FTC’s ban on noncompetes, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • Justices' Title VII Ruling Requires Greater Employer Vigilance

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Muldrow v. St. Louis ruling expands the types of employment decisions that can be challenged under Title VII, so employers will need to carefully review decisions that affect a term, condition or privilege of employment, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • 6th Circ. Bias Ruling Shows Job Evaluations Are Key Defense

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    In Wehrly v. Allstate, the Sixth Circuit recently declined to revive a terminated employee’s federal and state religious discrimination and retaliation claims, illustrating that an employer’s strongest defense in such cases is a documented employment evaluation history that justifies an adverse action, says Michael Luchsinger at Segal Mccambridge.

  • Navigating Harassment Complaints From Trans Employees

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent decision in Copeland v. Georgia Department of Corrections, concerning the harassment of a transgender employee, should serve as a cautionary tale for employers, but there are steps that companies can take to create a more inclusive workplace and mitigate the risks of claims from transgender and nonbinary employees, say Patricia Konopka and Ann Thomas at Stinson.

  • Employer Considerations Before Title IX Rule Goes Into Effect

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    While the U.S. Department of Education's final rule on Title IX is currently published as an unofficial version, institutions and counsel should take immediate action to ensure they are prepared for the new requirements, including protections for LGBTQ+ and pregnant students and employees, before it takes effect in August, say Jeffrey Weimer and Cori Smith at Reed Smith.

  • 5 Employer Actions Now Risky After Justices' Title VII Ruling

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    Last week in Muldrow v. St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that harm didn't have to be significant to be considered discriminatory under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, making five common employer actions vulnerable to litigation, say Kellee Kruse and Briana Scholar at The Employment Law Group.

  • Breaking Down EEOC's Final Rule To Implement The PWFA

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    Attorneys at Littler highlight some of the key provisions of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's final rule and interpretive guidance implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which is expected to be effective June 18, and departures from the proposed rule issued in August 2023.

  • How To Prepare As Employee Data Reporting Deadlines Near

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    As filing deadlines approach, government contractors and private companies alike should familiarize themselves with recent changes to federal and California employee data reporting requirements and think strategically about registration of affirmative action plans to minimize the risk of being audited, say Christopher Durham and Zev Grumet-Morris at Duane Morris.

  • Address Complainants Before They Become Whistleblowers

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    A New York federal court's dismissal of a whistleblower retaliation claim against HSBC Securities last month indicates that ignored complaints to management combined with financial incentives from regulators create the perfect conditions for a concerned and disgruntled employee to make the jump to federal whistleblower, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Why Corporate DEI Challenges Increasingly Cite Section 1981

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    As legal challenges to corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives increase in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on race-conscious college admissions last year, Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act is supplanting Title VII as conservative activist groups' weapon of choice, say Mike Delikat and Tierra Piens at Orrick.

  • Inside OMB's Update On Race And Ethnicity Data Collection

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    The Office of Management and Budget's new guidelines for agency collection of data on race and ethnicity reflect societal changes and the concerns of certain demographics, but implementation may be significantly burdensome for agencies and employers, say Joanna Colosimo and Bill Osterndorf at DCI Consulting.

  • New Wash. Laws Employers Should Pay Attention To

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    The Washington Legislature ended its session last month after passing substantial laws that should prompt employers to spring into action — including a broadened equal pay law to cover classes beyond gender, narrowed sick leave payment requirements for construction workers and protections for grocery workers after a merger, say Hannah Ard and Alayna Piwonski at Lane Powell.