Discrimination

  • May 30, 2025

    Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

    Saying that June's circuit court calendars include important arguments in all practice areas would be hyperbolic — but just slightly. That's because significant showdowns are imminent involving appellate procedure principles, "click-to-cancel" rules, government procurement protests, judiciary employment protections and litigation risk insurance — as well as President Donald Trump's felony convictions and extraordinary deportation measures.

  • May 30, 2025

    11th Circ. Revives Ex-Employment Agency Worker's Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit reopened a former employment agency worker's lawsuit claiming she was unlawfully fired based on rumors she was having an affair with an executive, ruling Friday that a lower court should've given her a chance to amend her case before tossing it for good.

  • May 30, 2025

    What To Know As Trump's Vision Changes EEOC Partnerships

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently said it will stop reimbursing state and local regulators for investigating claims of gender identity and disparate impact discrimination. Here's what experts say workers and employers should know about the EEOC's partnerships and the impact President Donald Trump's directives may have on them.

  • May 30, 2025

    8th Circ. Sends Fired Diabetic Worker's FMLA Claim To Trial

    The Eighth Circuit revived Friday an ex-manager's claim that a Hardee's franchisee interfered with her right to medical leave when she was fired for missing work following a diabetic episode, ruling a jury needs to consider whether the company knew she needed leave when she was sacked.

  • May 30, 2025

    Insurance Cos. Can't Force Arbitration Of Race, Sex Bias Suits

    American Income Life Insurance Co. and a brokerage firm can't make Black and female former employees arbitrate several lawsuits claiming they were forced to endure rampant harassment, a New Jersey state appeals court ruled Friday, saying the workers' arbitration agreement didn't properly explain what they were giving up.

  • May 30, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    A federal judge struck down a presidential executive order against the law firm WilmerHale in a forceful decision, the state of Missouri fought to keep its anti-DEI lawsuit against Starbucks alive and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management laid out a blueprint for steering the federal hiring system away from what it called bureaucratic "'equity' quotas." ​​​​​​​Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments over the past week.

  • May 30, 2025

    Ga. Panel Ends County Workers' Whistleblower Suit

    A Georgia appellate panel said that Fulton County should have been handed an early win in a whistleblower suit from two ex-employees who said they were canned for reporting corruption by an elected official, ruling the county was justified in firing them for their own financial indiscretions.

  • May 30, 2025

    6 Argument Sessions Bias Attorneys Should Watch In June

    The Eighth Circuit will hear from an ex-principal who said she was illegally pushed out after advocating for LGBTQ+ students and authorizing a Pride flag in an inclusivity display, while the Ninth Circuit will consider whether a religious employer can avoid having Washington state's anti-discrimination law enforced against it. Here, Law360 looks at six argument sessions discrimination attorneys should have on their radar.

  • May 30, 2025

    Atlanta Seeks Win In Ex-Building Officials' Age Bias Suit

    A former Atlanta building official has failed to show his age was the deciding factor in not being promoted to a chief inspector role, the city told a federal court, urging it to toss the man's discrimination lawsuit.

  • May 30, 2025

    Sikorsky Aircraft Workers Can't Back Bias Claims, Court Told

    Two Black ex-employees should lose their federal racial discrimination lawsuit against Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. because one was fired for stealing time, and the other has shown "no evidence of any adverse employment action," the company said in seeking summary judgment Thursday.

  • May 30, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: State Justices Weigh Good-Faith Wage Args

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for California Supreme Court oral arguments regarding what an employer must show for a good faith defense in a wage case. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in the Golden State.

  • May 30, 2025

    Jenner & Block Fights DOJ Motion Over Exec Order

    Jenner & Block LLP on Friday fought a bid from the U.S. Department of Justice to carve out part of a March executive order targeting the firm after the bulk of the order was tossed last week, in a dispute that could relate to future actions against the firm.

  • May 30, 2025

    Temple U., Cancer Center Can't Dodge Prof's Sex Bias Claims

    Temple University and its cancer research center can't shut down the bulk of a researcher's suit claiming her supervisor refused to support her after she complained about his unwanted advances, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, finding she plausibly alleged harassment interfered with her job.

  • May 30, 2025

    NY Forecast: Judge Weighs Jury Trial Demand In Layoffs Suit

    This week, a New York federal judge will hear arguments over whether a class of former workers at a Four Seasons hotel can withdraw their request for a jury trial in their suit claiming the hotel did not provide required notices before laying them off.

  • May 30, 2025

    Judge Balks At Trimming Ex-GC's Bias Suit Before Arbitration

    A New York federal judge rejected a recommendation to narrow and then send to arbitration a Black former general counsel's suit claiming she was fired from The Palm steakhouse chain out of race bias after her cancer diagnosis, saying the whole dispute needs to go to an arbitrator.

  • May 30, 2025

    Bass Pro Reels In Final Approval For $5M Tobacco Suit Deal

    A Missouri federal judge has granted final approval to a $4.95 million settlement in a lawsuit that accused Bass Pro Shops of failing to tell employees who used tobacco how they could avoid incurring an extra $2,000-per-year charge for health insurance.

  • May 29, 2025

    Stellantis, UAW Accused Of Sex Discrimination In $1M Suit

    A Michigan woman is seeking at least $1 million in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Michigan federal court against the U.S. subsidiary of Dutch automaker Stellantis and the United Auto Workers on allegations she was replaced as a team leader by less experienced male colleagues and that the union would not represent her — both due to her gender.

  • May 29, 2025

    OPM Memos Push Changes In Federal Hiring Based on 'Merit'

    The Office of Personnel Management on Thursday issued two memos outlining plans for hiring federal workers based on merit, following President Donald Trump's executive orders declaring that the federal hiring system focuses too much on anti-discrimination and not enough on employees willing to serve the executive branch.

  • May 29, 2025

    4 Tips For Employers To Support Doctors' Mental Health

    Studies show that many U.S. physicians are burned out and depressed but avoid asking for help for fear their high-stakes careers might be affected.

  • May 29, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs Ambulance Co. In Ex-Worker's FMLA Suit

    The Second Circuit refused Thursday to revive a former paramedic's lawsuit claiming an ambulance operator unlawfully refused to return him to a supervisory job after he returned from medical leave, saying he wasn't able to work until three months after his federally protected leave expired.

  • May 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Restarts DMV Worker's Promotion Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit breathed new life into a Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles employee's lawsuit claiming he was passed over for promotion because he was a Black man in his 50s, saying a lower court misinterpreted the worker's allegations when it tossed the case.

  • May 29, 2025

    9th Circ. Wants Damages Tweaked In Staffing Co. FMLA Suit

    A former employee can't seek front pay or be reinstated to her role at a healthcare staffing firm after a federal jury found she was fired for exercising her rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act, but certain damages the jury awarded her should be given another look, the Ninth Circuit ruled.

  • May 29, 2025

    Car Dealership Settles Bias Case On Heels Of Recusal Bid

    A Philadelphia auto dealership has resolved a former manager's suit in Pennsylvania federal court claiming her boss made inappropriate sexual remarks and propositioned her nearly every day, days after the company said a magistrate judge was inappropriately pushing it to settle.

  • May 29, 2025

    3 Takeaways From The Judgments On Trump's Law Firm EOs

    Three federal judges have now weighed in on President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting law firms, with each ruling in favor of the firms and deeming the orders unconstitutional. Here are three takeaways from the combined 227 pages of those judges’ conclusions.

  • May 28, 2025

    Flamin' Hot Cheetos Defamation Suit Snuffed Out, For Now

    A California federal judge Wednesday granted Frito-Lay Inc.'s motion to strike a former employee's discrimination and defamation suit claiming he invented Flamin' Hot Cheetos and had his livelihood destroyed when the company disavowed his story, finding he's unlikely to win his claims, but giving him another shot at amendment.

Expert Analysis

  • Cos. Should Focus On State AI Laws Despite New DOL Site

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    Because a new U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored website about the disability discrimination risks of AI hiring tools mostly echoes old guidance, employers should focus on complying with the state and local AI workplace laws springing up where Congress and federal regulators have yet to act, say attorneys at Littler.

  • How The Tide Of EEOC Litigation Rolled Back In FY 2024

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    An analysis of the location, timing and underlying claims asserted in U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-initiated cases during fiscal year 2024 shows that the commission saw a substantial decrease in litigation activity after a surge last year, but employers should not drop their guard, say Christopher DeGroff and Andrew Scroggins at Seyfarth.

  • The Key Changes In Revised FDIC Hiring Regulations

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    Attorneys at Ogletree break down the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rule, effective Oct. 1, that will ease restrictions on financial institutions hiring employees with criminal histories, amend the FDIC's treatment of minor offenses and clarify its stance on expunged or dismissed criminal records.

  • Employer Tips For PUMP Act Compliance As Law Turns 2

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    Enacted in December 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for employees to express breast milk, but some companies may still be struggling with how to comply, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Know About Ill. Employment Law Changes

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    Illinois employers should review their policies in light of a number of recent changes to state employment law, including amendments to the state’s Human Rights Act and modifications to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination

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    As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.

  • The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media

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    As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.

  • 7th Circ. Rulings Offer Employee Vaccine Exemption Guidance

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    Dawn Solowey and Samantha Brooks at Seyfarth explain how two recent Seventh Circuit rulings in Passarella v. Aspirus and Bube v. Aspirus could affect litigation involving employee vaccine exemptions, and discuss employer best practices for handling accommodation requests that include both religious and secular concerns.

  • Employers Should Not Neglect Paid Military Leave Compliance

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    An August decision from the Ninth Circuit and the settlement of a long-running class action, both examining paid leave requirements under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, are part of a nationwide trend that should prompt employers to review their military leave policies to avoid potential litigation and reputational damage, says Bradford Kelley at Littler.

  • Old Employment Law Principles Can Answer New AI Concerns

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    Despite growing legal and regulatory concerns about how artificial intelligence tools may affect employment decisions and worker rights, companies should take comfort in knowing that familiar principles of employment law and established compliance regimes can still largely address these new twists on old questions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws

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    With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.