Discrimination

  • June 06, 2025

    Pa. Pot Shop Can't Dodge Ex-Worker's Disability Bias Suit

    A Pennsylvania dispensary must face a former supervisor's lawsuit alleging he was disciplined for complaining that a colleague called him a "cripple" because of a disability affecting his arms, with a federal judge ruling Friday he'd provided enough evidence to send his case to trial.

  • June 06, 2025

    Equal Pay Atty Says Balance Key To Transparency Reform

    Pay transparency laws are making an impact on pay disparities but policymakers should be careful to not make compliance too burdensome, says employment attorney Kelly Cardin. Here, Law360 speaks with Cardin about how pay transparency will continue to evolve.

  • June 06, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Boost Interest Rate For Worker's FMLA Win

    The Ninth Circuit declined to upend an order applying the federal rate instead of a higher Washington state rate when calculating prejudgment interest that a federal jury awarded to a worker in his lawsuit accusing a manufacturer of firing him for taking leave, saying his federal claim guided his litigation strategy.

  • June 06, 2025

    Teachers Want $218K In Costs After Pay Bias Trial Win

    Counsel representing two female teachers should receive nearly $218,000 in costs following a jury trial in which the workers were awarded $165,000 over claims that a Pennsylvania school district paid them less than men, the teachers told a federal court.

  • June 06, 2025

    Civil Rights Groups Demand Senate Scrutinize EEOC Nominees

    Nearly 50 civil and workers' groups are urging the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to hold confirmation hearings for Andrea Lucas and Brittany Panuccio, acting chair and commissioner nominee, respectively, for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to further scrutinize their records.

  • June 06, 2025

    Ex-CEO Nets Deal With PE Firm To End Dispute Over Firing

    The former CEO of a defense industry supplier has settled his lawsuit alleging he was duped into taking the job by a North Carolina private equity firm and then fired for refusing to go along with fibs about its financial future to a major client, according to a notice filed Friday.

  • June 06, 2025

    What To Expect As 8th Circ. Hears 'BLM' Firing Appeal

    An Eighth Circuit panel will mull how federal labor law applies to workers' support for social causes Wednesday as it hears Home Depot's challenge to the National Labor Relations Board's ruling that it illegally forced out a worker who wrote "BLM" on their apron. Here, Law360 breaks down what to expect from the case.

  • June 06, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: 9th Circ. To Hear Labor Preemption Arguments

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for oral arguments at the Ninth Circuit regarding the extent to which federal labor law preempts employment law claims, in a case involving UPS. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • June 06, 2025

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears SUNY Dean's Retaliation Suit

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider an attempt from a former dean at the State University of New York Upstate Medical University to revive his suit claiming he was demoted in retaliation for advocating against widespread discrimination against students and faculty. Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • June 06, 2025

    Sheetz Applicant Seeks Helm In EEOC Criminal History Suit

    A Black job applicant wants to take over a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commissionsuit accusing convenience store chain Sheetz of using a biased policy to screen out workers with criminal histories, as the EEOC seeks to exit the case because of a presidential order disavowing the disparate impact theory.

  • June 05, 2025

    Playboy Fired Exec For Raising Harassment Issues, Suit Says

    Playboy's ousted chief creative officer filed a retaliation suit against the company in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday alleging he was illegally terminated after speaking up about sexual harassment, financial improprieties and a minor uploading explicit images of herself to a public company website.

  • June 05, 2025

    USDA Sued Over Ending 600 Grants Via Flawed Form Letters

    A group of environmental and food sustainability nonprofits hit the U.S. Department of Agriculture with a lawsuit in D.C. federal court Thursday, accusing the Trump administration of unconstitutionally exceeding its authority by abruptly rescinding nearly 600 grants via "minimally edited form letters" that had errors and lacked detailed explanations.

  • June 05, 2025

    Red States Double Down On Bid To Stymie Trans Health Rule

    More than a dozen Republican attorneys general challenging a Biden-era rule that protected gender-affirming care under the Affordable Care Act said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services can't keep the rule on the books just because the new administration is unlikely to enforce it.

  • June 05, 2025

    Religious Network Owner Must Face Pastor's Race Bias Suit

    A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday said a religious television network and its owner must face a lawsuit alleging they interfered with a Black pastor's on-air and earning opportunities, saying the pastor shared enough evidence to support his claim that he was discriminated against because of his race.

  • June 05, 2025

    Justices' Revival Of Straight Bias Case May Trigger New Suits

    The U.S. Supreme Court's decision Thursday reviving a straight woman's workplace discrimination suit doesn't mark a huge precedent shift, but along with other recent changes in the employment law arena, it may help set the stage for a surge in bias cases from so-called majority groups, experts say.

  • June 05, 2025

    Wash. County Ex-Diversity Manager Lodges Retaliation Suit

    A former equity, inclusion and belonging manager for Washington state's King County, home to Seattle, has launched a lawsuit contending she was blocked from addressing employee concerns about bias in the workplace, mistreated by white male colleagues, and ultimately pushed out amid a "challenging culture of silence and inaction."

  • June 05, 2025

    Trans Worker Takes Over Harassment Suit After EEOC's Exit

    An Illinois federal judge on Thursday allowed a transgender former hog-farm worker to carry on a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming she was sexually harassed on the job, after the agency dropped the case because it conflicted with a presidential executive order.

  • June 05, 2025

    Attorney's FMLA Suit Against Va. City Headed To Trial

    A former Virginia city assistant attorney's Family and Medical Leave Act suit against the chief city prosecutor will head to trial, a federal judge said Thursday, ruling that there is an open question over whether firing the attorney was a pretext to not grant a leave request.

  • June 05, 2025

    Bar Owners Agree To Resolve EEOC Sex Harassment Suit

    The owners of a defunct Colorado bar will pay $100,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging one of them made inappropriate sexual comments to employees, groped women and disciplined those who complained, according to a filing in federal court.

  • June 05, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Fire Captain's Free Speech Suit

    The Fourth Circuit refused to reopen a former Lynchburg, Virginia, fire captain's suit alleging he was unconstitutionally fired for social media posts that citizens called transphobic and racist, ruling Thursday that he failed to show why the city should be held liable.

  • June 05, 2025

    Actors Ask 9th Circ. To Revive SAG Vax Mandate Fight

    SAG-AFTRA members urged the Ninth Circuit on Thursday to revive their claims that the union betrayed them by allowing studios to impose COVID-19 vaccine mandates against members with medical and religious objections, arguing that the state claims aren't preempted and "not everything that involves these guilds is a federal matter."

  • June 05, 2025

    No Injunction Or Remand In Marine's Vape Discharge Dispute

    A Court of Federal Claims judge denied a former U.S. Marine Corps air traffic control officer's bid for an injunction as he challenges his discharge for allegedly using a prohibited vape, saying the court lacks the power to prevent the government from releasing "disparaging" information.

  • June 05, 2025

    Carmaker Fired Worker For Taking Passover Off, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accused car manufacturing giant FCA US of refusing to let a Jewish employee take holy days off and then eventually firing him after he didn't show up to work on Passover, according to a suit filed Thursday in Michigan federal court.

  • June 05, 2025

    Walgreens Says No Standing In Suit Over Tobacco Surcharge

    Walgreens is urging an Illinois federal court to throw out a suit from an employee alleging it illegally imposes a tobacco surcharge on employees in its healthcare program, saying the program complies with federal regulations, and the employee has no standing because she declined to participate in the program.

  • June 05, 2025

    Judge Rejects DC Bid To Toss Black Atty's Bias Suit

    A D.C. federal judge allowed a city attorney's discrimination and retaliation lawsuit to proceed to discovery Thursday, rejecting the D.C. government's motion to toss the claims that a city administrative law judge discriminated against Black women and paid the plaintiff attorney less than her male peers.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Lessons Learned From 2024's Top ADA Decisions

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    Last year's major litigation related to the Americans with Disabilities Act highlights that when dealing with accommodation requests, employers must communicate clearly, appreciate context and remain flexible in addressing needs, say attorneys at Dechert.