Discrimination

  • July 24, 2025

    Talent Exec Says Firm Took OnlyFans Clients, Ousted Her

    A Massachusetts talent management agency is facing a lawsuit in state court alleging it convinced a smaller competitor to bring her clients, including multiple OnlyFans performers, to the firm, then sidelined her and later broke an agreement to continue paying her commissions after she quit in frustration over her treatment.

  • July 24, 2025

    DOL Relaunches Employer Self-Audit FLSA Program

    The U.S. Department of Labor relaunched an employer self-audit program Thursday that supports employers that seek to resolve potential wage violations and avoid litigation — an initiative from the first Trump administration that was popular among employers.

  • July 24, 2025

    Paralegal Sues Firm, Alleging Harassment By Leader's Spouse

    A former senior paralegal for Connecticut-based Vargas Chapman Woods LLC claims in a recently filed federal lawsuit that the firm leadership retaliated against her and created a hostile workplace when she alleged sexual and racial harassment by the managing partner's spouse.

  • July 24, 2025

    5th Circ. Tells School District To Rehire Fired Worker

    The Fifth Circuit said an ex-maintenance worker who won his wrongful termination suit against a school district should be reinstated, faulting the lower court for finding that he couldn't be given a job because his previous position had been filled.

  • July 24, 2025

    EEOC Acting Chair Introduces New Leadership Team

    The acting chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Thursday that she had made three appointments to leadership roles at the agency.

  • July 24, 2025

    Trump's EEOC Nominee Teed Up For Full Senate Vote

    A Senate committee voted along party lines Thursday to advance the nomination of President Donald Trump's pick to join the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, bringing the agency closer to regaining its full decision-making capacity after months of limited operations.

  • July 24, 2025

    Seyfarth Shaw Employment Atty Jumps To Akerman In LA

    Akerman LLP is boosting its employment team, bringing in a Seyfarth Shaw LLP class action litigator as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • July 23, 2025

    Columbia Says It'll Pay $200M To Put To Rest Beef With Trump

    Columbia University said Wednesday that it has agreed to pay a $200 million settlement to the federal government to resolve the Trump administration's allegations the institution didn't do enough to protect Jewish students, a move Columbia said means the "vast majority" of federal funding will be restored.

  • July 23, 2025

    4th Circ. OKs Firing Of Worker After Pregnancy Complications

    The Fourth Circuit upheld a win for media giant Nexstar in a former account executive's pregnancy disability discrimination suit, finding the accommodations she'd proposed for her postpartum health issues were not reasonable for the company.

  • July 23, 2025

    As Dust Settles After Muldrow Ruling, Patterns Emerge

    A little more than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court eased the requirements for bringing workplace bias claims in Muldrow v. St. Louis, it's clear that the ruling is helping more workers keep discrimination cases alive. Here's a look at how courts have been applying the plaintiff-friendly decision.

  • July 23, 2025

    Race, Sex Bias Claims Against British Automaker Trimmed

    The former director of public relations and marketing for Ineos Automotive Americas LLC failed to support her claims that the automotive company discriminated against her because of her race and sex, but her wage and hour claims can continue, a North Carolina federal court has ruled.

  • July 23, 2025

    4th Circ. Backs Walmart In Pregnancy Bias, Retaliation Case

    The Fourth Circuit declined to revive a suit from a worker who said Walmart failed to accommodate her pregnancy and fired her for complaining about it, ruling her claims were either filed too late or lacked evidence that bias — not poor attendance — triggered her termination.

  • July 23, 2025

    DLA Piper Employment Atty Jumps To Davis Wright In LA

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is expanding its employment law team, announcing this week that it has brought in a DLA Piper litigator as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • July 23, 2025

    Abraham Watkins, Partners Move To Toss Atty's Firing Suit

    A prominent Texas personal injury firm and three of its partners have moved to dismiss a wrongful termination suit brought by a former associate who says she was discriminated against for taking medical leave related to an eye condition.

  • July 23, 2025

    EEOC, GOP States Drop Swords In Harassment Guidance Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and a Tennessee-led group of Republican attorneys general agreed to drop a suit challenging parts of workplace harassment guidance that laid out protections for transgender workers, since a Texas federal judge has erased those provisions in a similar case.

  • July 22, 2025

    4 Illinois Bills That Employment Attys Should Keep An Eye On

    Several pieces of legislation that would expand protections for workers are awaiting Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker's signature. Here, experts discuss four bills that should be on employment lawyers' radar.

  • July 22, 2025

    11th Circ. Looks Likely To Ground Delta Pilots' Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit appeared skeptical Tuesday of a group of Delta Air Lines Inc. pilots' claims they were forced out of their jobs for taking military leave, expressing incredulity at their arguments that a pilot should be allowed to go skiing while purportedly saying he was out sick with the flu.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ex-Boeing Engineer's Racial Bias Appeal Divides Wash. Panel

    A Washington state appellate judge appeared doubtful on Tuesday of an ex-Boeing engineer's claims that he was targeted for his Middle Eastern background, citing an internal probe purportedly justifying his firing, while another panelist suggested that the company is missing "linchpin" evidence to preserve its trial court win in the case.

  • July 22, 2025

    USDA Nets 8th Circ. Win In Employee's Bias Suit

    The Eighth Circuit upheld a win Tuesday for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in a bias suit by a Hispanic employee, finding her allegations didn't qualify as adverse employment actions under federal anti-discrimination law.

  • July 22, 2025

    Netflix Fired Atty For Reporting On 2 Senior Execs, Suit Says

    Netflix's ousted labor relations counsel filed a retaliation suit in California state court on Monday alleging she was fired after speaking up about sexual harassment and racial bias by two senior executives, and that she was passed over for job opportunities in favor of white colleagues. 

  • July 22, 2025

    Charter Says Worker's OT Suit Lacks Details

    A worker's proposed collective action accusing Charter Communications of not paying employees for all their hours doesn't have "a scintilla" of evidence that the cable giant had a companywide policy of cheating employees out of pay, Charter told a New York federal court.

  • July 22, 2025

    Ex-Boeing Atty's 'Toxic Leadership Style' Sinks Race Bias Suit

    A Washington federal judge tossed a lawsuit from a former Boeing in-house attorney who said the company fired her because she is Asian and spoke up about compliance concerns, ruling she couldn't overcome testimony from colleagues who said she was "volatile" and had a "toxic leadership style."

  • July 22, 2025

    Ex-J&J Atty Slams Bid To Dismiss Her Bias, Retaliation Suit

    A former Johnson & Johnson data privacy lawyer is urging a New Jersey federal court to keep alive her racial bias suit, arguing the pharmaceutical giant's dismissal bid is based on flawed legal arguments.

  • July 22, 2025

    GOP Bill Would Shield Workers Who Recognize Only 2 Sexes

    Republicans in the House have floated legislation that would amend federal civil rights law to prohibit discrimination in the workplace against people who express the view that there are only two sexes, creating a legal safeguard for those who refuse to use transgender and nonbinary workers' pronouns.

  • July 22, 2025

    'Family To Support' Remark Can't Save Walmart Sex Bias Suit

    The Eighth Circuit backed the dismissal of a former Walmart worker's suit alleging that sex bias cost her a promotion, ruling that a boss's comment that the winning male candidate "had a family to support" did not show that gender discrimination influenced the decision.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 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.