Discrimination

  • August 06, 2025

    Amazon IT Unit Accused Of Ousting 'Old, White, Bald Guys'

    A 61-year-old Massachusetts man who worked in information technology sales for Amazon Web Services says he was wrongfully terminated last year as part of an alleged companywide campaign to push out older workers.

  • August 06, 2025

    LA Seeks To Nix Attys In Ex-Cop's Military Leave Bias Suit

    Attorneys for a former Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant improperly obtained and tried to use a privileged email between a city attorney and a current LAPD lieutenant in a military bias suit, the city said, urging a California federal court to disqualify them from the case.

  • August 05, 2025

    5th Circ. Wipes Out Honeywell Win In Worker's Vaccine Fight

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday resurrected a former Honeywell employee's suit claiming he was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine after his request for a religious exemption was denied, ruling that a jury could indeed determine that the worker faced religious discrimination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Grocery Chain Ralphs Wins $7M Employment Bias Trial

    A California jury cleared Kroger-owned Ralphs Grocery Co. of liability in a Muslim worker's $7 million bias suit after hearing that the worker simply refused to use the scheduling software to keep his Saturdays free for religious activities and that he had been suspended multiple times for insubordination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Biz Prof's Pay Based On Experience, Not Bias, 6th Circ. Told

    Michigan Technological University told the Sixth Circuit on Monday that a former accounting professor was paid less than her husband because he had more teaching experience and better evaluations, urging the court to reject her appeal challenging the dismissal of pay disparity claims and racial or gender discrimination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Teamsters Win Toss Of Member's Tom Hanks Film Hiring Row

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday threw out age bias and retaliation claims from a longtime Teamsters member who alleged his union and two production companies conspired not to hire him for a Tom Hanks film, finding the worker failed to show he experienced an adverse employment action.

  • August 05, 2025

    Harassment Case Immunity Ruling Too Abrupt, 10th Circ. Says

    The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday largely upheld a trial court's refusal to toss a Salt Lake City firefighter's lawsuit claiming she was subjected to undue scrutiny because she's a woman, but said the lower court was too quick to say her colleagues' conduct was clearly unconstitutional.

  • August 05, 2025

    Calif. Cafe Chain Settles EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit

    A cafe chain told a California federal judge Tuesday that it has agreed to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming a manager created a sexually hostile work environment by inappropriately touching and commenting on young workers' bodies.

  • August 05, 2025

    Reporter Drops Suit Over CBS Station's Gaza Coverage

    A Palestinian Arab-American television journalist has ended his lawsuit claiming a CBS News Detroit station fired him because of his complaints that the station favored Israeli perspectives in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

  • August 05, 2025

    Ex-Patent Examiner Fights USPTO Exclusion At High Court

    A former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review his exclusion from practicing before the agency, saying the justices should look at issues relating to a suspension he received and also federal civil rights protections.

  • August 05, 2025

    Blake Lively Wants Baldoni's Atty Sanctioned For Comments

    Actress Blake Lively has asked a Manhattan federal judge to sanction the attorney representing "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni in her ongoing defamation case, alleging the lawyer repeatedly defied a February court order blocking extrajudicial statements likely to prejudice the case.

  • August 05, 2025

    5th Circ. Backs Logistics Co.'s Defeat Of Pregnancy Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit upheld a logistics company's win in a former operations manager's lawsuit claiming she was fired months before her scheduled maternity leave, ruling she couldn't overcome her ex-employer's argument that safety lapses had cost her the job.

  • August 05, 2025

    Law Profs Urge 11th Circ. To Toss Judge-Shopping Sanctions

    A group of seven law school professors is urging the Eleventh Circuit to toss a sanctions ruling against three attorneys for judge shopping, arguing that federal law does not forbid the practice and citing the "potentially chilling effect the order will have on counsel, especially those involved in pro bono representation."

  • August 05, 2025

    Ex-Officer Says LAPD Withheld Info In Military Leave Bias Suit

    A former Los Angeles Police Department officer claiming he was passed over for a promotion because of his military status said he has not received the records he requested containing information about similarly situated employees. 

  • August 05, 2025

    5th Circ. Judge Seems Reluctant To Restore $70M Bias Verdict

    A Fifth Circuit judge said Tuesday that he had a "hard time" understanding how the evidence in a group of former telecommunications employees' race discrimination case warranted a $70 million jury award, a result a trial court threw out last year.

  • August 05, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Christian Group Shielded From Gay Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit rolled back a win Tuesday for a gay applicant who claimed a Christian humanitarian organization rescinded a job offer after learning she was married to a woman, ruling a carveout to discrimination law for religious employers doomed her claims.

  • August 05, 2025

    NC Dentist Strikes Deal To End EEOC Religious Bias Probe

    A Fayetteville, North Carolina, dental practice will pay $61,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation into allegations that it fired an employee who said she needed to wear a skirt instead of pants because of her religious beliefs.

  • August 04, 2025

    ABA Eyes Reducing Board Size, Trimming Diversity Seats

    The American Bar Association proposed reducing the size of its board of governors and proportionally cutting the number of seats reserved for women, people of color and other underrepresented groups, as the organization's president Monday reiterated a commitment to "rule of law, due process, access to justice, fairness and diversity."

  • August 04, 2025

    Celebrity Cruises Settles Ex-Employee's Sexual Assault Case

    A former Celebrity Cruises employee said Monday that she and the company have reached a settlement in her sexual assault lawsuit following a Florida federal judge's decision last month that barred it from arbitrating the case in Malta.

  • August 04, 2025

    CIA Officers Press 4th Circ. To Uphold Bar On DEIA Firings

    A group of intelligence officers urged the Fourth Circuit on Friday to affirm a federal judge's order blocking the Trump administration from terminating them for their involvement with diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility-related assignments in the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

  • August 04, 2025

    UT Austin Denies Threatening Prof Who Criticized Leaders

    The University of Texas at Austin denied threatening a professor who publicly criticized its leadership, telling the Fifth Circuit that its employee has remained on staff three years after his speech was allegedly chilled and "refuses to take 'yes' for an answer."

  • August 04, 2025

    Sinclair Strikes $100,000 Deal To Resolve EEOC Pay Bias Case

    Sinclair Broadcast Group agreed to pay $100,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit claiming the company paid a Black employee less than white colleagues and denied her a promotion, according to an announcement Monday from the federal bias watchdog.

  • August 04, 2025

    Jury Finds For Drexel In Professor's Gender Bias Suit

    A federal jury has sided with Drexel University in a gender discrimination case by one of its former doctors, finding the school is not liable for her claims of retaliation over reporting instances of discrimination against female doctors in the medical college, according to a verdict docketed Monday.

  • August 04, 2025

    10th Circ. Ends Age Bias Suit After High Court Remand

    The Tenth Circuit refused to let an ex-Halliburton employee continue fighting an age discrimination case that led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that voluntarily dismissed suits can be reopened, ruling he hadn't shown there were extraordinary circumstances that warranted pulling his claims from arbitration.

  • August 04, 2025

    NYU Must Pay Fired Doc $4M In Disability Bias Suit, Jury Says

    An ex-New York University doctor nabbed a $4 million trial win in his disability bias case claiming he was fired after his employer denied his request to work from home so he could recover from a COVID-19 infection that left him in a coma for nearly two months.

Expert Analysis

  • EEOC Wearable Tech Guidance Highlights Monitoring Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent fact sheet on wearable technologies cautions against potential issues with federal anti-discrimination laws and demonstrates growing concern from regulators and legislators about intrusive technologies in the workplace, say attorneys at Littler.

  • 4 Employment Law Areas Set To Change Under Trump

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    President Donald Trump's second term is expected to bring significant changes to the U.S. employment law landscape, including the potential for updated worker classification regulations, and challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion that are already taking shape, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • What Employment Bias Litigation Looks Like After Muldrow

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    Nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court created an undemanding standard for discrimination claims in Muldrow v. St. Louis, Eric Schnapper at the University of Washington discusses how the Title VII litigation landscape has changed and what to expect moving forward.

  • 10 Key Worker-Friendly California Employment Law Updates

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    New employment laws in California expand employee rights, transparency and enforcement mechanisms, and failing to educate department managers on these changes could put employers at risk, says Melanie Ronen at Stradley Ronon.

  • How PAGA Reform Can Inform Employer Strategies In 2025

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    While recent changes to California's Private Attorneys General Act will not significantly reduce PAGA claims, employers can use the new law to potentially limit their future exposure, by taking advantage of penalty reduction opportunities and more, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • How Deregulation Could Undermine Trump's Anti-DEI Agenda

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    While rolling back federal agency power benefited conservative policies during the Biden administration, it will likely undermine President Donald Trump's ability to wield agencies like the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives beyond the federal workforce and into the private sector, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • Trump Should Pass On Project 2025's Disparate Impact Plan

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    The Trump administration should reject Project 2025's call to eliminate the disparate impact doctrine because, as its pro-business Republican creators intended, a focus on dismantling unnecessary barriers to qualified job candidates serves companies' best interests more successfully than the alternatives, says Susan Carle at American University.

  • Expect A Big Shake Up At The EEOC Under 2nd Trump Admin

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    During President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is likely to significantly shift its focus and priorities, especially where workplace DEI initiatives, immigration enforcement, LGBTQ+ rights and pregnancy protections are concerned, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.

  • 4 Novel Issues From The Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Suits

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    A series of lawsuits arising from actress Blake Lively's sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against her "It Ends With Us" co-star, Justin Baldoni, present novel legal issues that employment and defamation practitioners alike should follow as the litigation progresses, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.

  • Religious Accommodation Lessons From $12.7M Vax Verdict

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    A Michigan federal jury’s recent $12.7 million verdict against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan starkly reminds employers of the risks they face when assessing employees’ religious accommodation requests, highlighting pitfalls to avoid and raising the opportunity to consider best practices to follow, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • Lessons From United's Axed Win In Firing Over Online Pics

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    In Wawrzenski v. United Airlines, a California state appeals court revived a flight attendant’s suit over her termination for linking photos of herself in uniform to her OnlyFans account, providing a cautionary tale for employers navigating the complexities of workplace policy enforcement in the digital age, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How Trump Admin May Approach AI In The Workplace

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    Key indicators suggest that the incoming Trump administration will adopt a deregulatory approach to artificial intelligence, allowing states to fill the void, so it is critical that employers pay close attention to developing legal authority concerning AI tools, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Lessons Learned From 2024's Top FMLA Decisions

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    Last year's major litigation related to the Family and Medical Leave Act underscores why it is critical for employers to understand the basics of when leave and accommodations are required, say attorneys at Dechert.