Discrimination

  • July 29, 2026

    Digital Textbook Co. Resolves EEOC Disability Bias Probe

    A North Carolina-based education software provider will pay $150,000 to end an investigation by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission into a worker's claim that she was fired because she requested medical leave, the agency said Wednesday.

  • July 28, 2026

    Baldoni's Studio Owes NYT $170K For Failed Defamation Suit

    "It Ends With Us" director and star Justin Baldoni's production company must pay The New York Times more than $170,000 after it defeated the studio's defamation claims, a New York state judge has ruled, saying the newspaper is entitled to recoup its legal fees.

  • July 28, 2026

    Ortho Practice Owes More Damages After Sex Bias Verdict

    A Pennsylvania-based orthopedic practice and a group of five female employees who accused the healthcare provider and its related entities of sex discrimination came to an agreement Tuesday on how much back and front pay should be awarded to the plaintiffs months after a federal jury awarded them $4.35 million.

  • July 28, 2026

    Union Pacific Won't Hire Drivers Using Opioid Meds, Suit Says

    Union Pacific Railroad Co. refuses to hire train drivers who take certain medications for opioid use disorder without evaluating their cases individually, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to a proposed class action filed in Wisconsin federal court.

  • July 28, 2026

    7th Circ. Shuts Down Trans Cop's Bias Suit

    The Seventh Circuit declined Tuesday to reinstate a transgender police officer's bias suit claiming she was outed by her colleagues, ruling her allegations lack teeth given that leadership only disclosed her gender identity when discussing ways to accommodate and protect her on the job.

  • July 28, 2026

    Miss. Blues Club Settles EEOC Sex Harassment Suit

    A Mississippi blues club will pay $35,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it fired an assistant manager after she complained that a co-owner made sexual comments and groped her, the parties told a federal court.

  • July 28, 2026

    Delta, EEOC Seek Approval For Pregnancy Bias Suit Deal

    Delta Air Lines Inc. will pay nearly $17,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it unlawfully revoked a job offer from a worker who was prevented from completing a physical screening because she was pregnant, according to a filing in New York federal court.

  • July 28, 2026

    1st Circ. Skeptical That JPMorgan AI Tool Broke Mass. Law

    A First Circuit panel appeared doubtful Tuesday that an artificial intelligence-powered applicant screening tool used by JPMorgan Chase & Co. constituted the kind of lie detector test that Massachusetts law bars employers from using in interviews. 

  • July 28, 2026

    8th Circ. Backs Quartz Co. In FMLA Firing Suit

    The Eighth Circuit affirmed a quartz-surface manufacturer's win in a former process engineering technician's suit alleging he was unlawfully fired while on medical leave, finding Tuesday the employer eliminated his position because production was slowing and he had less seniority.

  • July 28, 2026

    EEOC Illegally Froze Fed Workers' Class Cases, Suit Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has unlawfully directed administrative judges to halt pending class action complaints filed by federal employees, the American Federation of Government Employees claimed in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in D.C. federal court.

  • July 28, 2026

    Med Center To Pay $200K To End EEOC Disability Bias Probe

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that a California medical center has agreed to pay $200,000 to wrap up an investigation into a nurse's claim that it violated disability bias law by firing her instead of letting her transfer to another role.

  • July 28, 2026

    EEOC Wins Bid To Wrest DEI Info From Northwestern Mutual

    Northwestern Mutual must give the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission information about its diversity, equity and inclusion policies and workplace trainings after a Wisconsin federal judge backed an agency subpoena stemming from a white ex-employee's bias allegations.

  • July 27, 2026

    Former JPMorgan Banker Levels Race Bias, Harassment Suit

    A former JPMorgan Chase employee filed a race discrimination and sexual harassment suit against the investment bank in Manhattan federal court Monday, on the heels of dropping a similar state court complaint that triggered an ongoing defamation case from his former boss. 

  • July 27, 2026

    Hyundai Unit Beats Disability Bias Suit Over Cannabis Use

    A Hyundai subsidiary defeated a former temporary employee's lawsuit alleging she was denied a permanent position because she used medical marijuana to manage her PTSD, with a Connecticut federal judge finding she hadn't shown she was disabled under federal law.

  • July 27, 2026

    Religious Health Workers Ask Justices To Revisit Vax Battle

    A group of religious healthcare workers told the U.S. Supreme Court that recent circuit court rulings in vaccination-related cases have heightened the need for the justices to review their legal battle over a pandemic-era New York state inoculation policy.

  • July 27, 2026

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Cop's Sex Harassment Lawsuit

    The Eleventh Circuit declined to revive a former detention deputy's sexual harassment and malicious prosecution lawsuit against two officers with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, affirming a Florida district court's decision to free the sheriff and a sergeant from the suit.

  • July 27, 2026

    Consultant Says Fla. Co., Owner Stole Her Training Model

    A linguist claimed in a Florida federal court that the owner of a job consulting business breached their collaboration agreement and stole a training model she developed, alleging she wasn't given equity in the company as promised and that her copyrighted intellectual property was published in a book without her authorization.

  • July 27, 2026

    EEOC Drops Appeal Of Staffing Co.'s Escape From Bias Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has pulled its Sixth Circuit appeal of a lower court's order allowing a staffing agency to exit a race discrimination suit claiming it and a packaging company unlawfully turned away Black applicants.

  • July 27, 2026

    11th Circ. Nixes Disinfectant-Spraying Worker's ADA Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit refused Monday to reopen a now-deceased Georgia county employee's lawsuit alleging she was fired for taking precautions to protect herself during the COVID-19 pandemic due to her health problems, concluding she was let go for spraying co-workers with disinfectant rather than her disabilities.

  • July 27, 2026

    Seafood Wholesaler To Pay $265K In EEOC Sex Bias Suit

    A Georgia federal judge on Monday signed off on a $265,000 deal reached between a seafood wholesaler and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to end the agency's sex bias suit claiming the business refused to hire women for warehouse positions.

  • July 27, 2026

    Wells Fargo Finance Manager Drops Bias Suit Ahead Of Trial

    A finance manager for Wells Fargo has ended her disability bias suit accusing the bank of discriminating against her after she sought to continue working from home to deal with health issues, cutting short the case ahead of a tentative September trial date.

  • July 27, 2026

    NLRB Judge Says Worker Unlawfully Fired Over Anti-DEI Post

    A financial technology company violated federal labor law by firing a data engineer and suing him for defamation after he complained publicly about company diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, a National Labor Relations Board judge has ruled, saying the company should be ordered to rehire the worker.

  • July 27, 2026

    FedEx Will Pay $900K To End Military Leave Bias Fight

    FedEx agreed to pay $900,000 to close a suit claiming the company didn't compensate its service member employees who took short-term military leave but provided pay for other short-term leave such as jury duty and bereavement time, according to a Georgia federal court filing.

  • July 27, 2026

    Jury Says Hospital Owes $105K In EEOC Sex Bias Suit

    An Arkansas hospital should pay $105,000, a federal jury ruled, after finding in favor of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the agency's suit claiming a male medical assistant was unlawfully barred from assisting with childbirth.

  • July 24, 2026

    2nd Circ. Partly Revives NYC Employee's Disability Case

    The Second Circuit Friday vacated a lower court's dismissal of a New York City employee's suit claiming the city failed to accommodate his disability, although it said the trial court was correct in tossing the employee's discrimination and retaliation claims.

Expert Analysis

  • 9 Considerations For Orgs Using AI Meeting Assistants

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    When deciding to use artificial intelligence meeting assistants, organizations must create and implement a written corporate policy that establishes the do's and don'ts for these assistants, taking into account individualized business operations, industry standards and legal and regulatory requirements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Determining What 'I Don't Feel Safe' Means In The Workplace

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    When an employee tells an employer "I don't feel safe," the phrase can have different meanings, so employment lawyers must adequately investigate to identify which meaning applies — and a cursory review and dismissal of the situation may not be a sufficient defense in case of future legal proceedings, says Karen Elliott at FordHarrison.

  • How EEOC Enforcement Priorities May Change Under Trump

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already been rocked by the Trump administration's dramatic changes in personnel and policy, which calls into question how the agency may shift its direction from the priorities set forth in its five-year strategic enforcement plan in 2023, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Back To Basics After Admin Change

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    Having an up-to-date employee handbook is more critical now than ever, given the recent change in administration, and employers should understand their benefits and risks, including how they can limit employers’ liability and help retain employers’ rights, say Kasey Cappellano and Meaghan Gandy at Kutak Rock.

  • What Axed Title IX Gender Identity Rule Means For Higher Ed

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    Following a Kentucky federal court's recent decision in State of Tennessee v. Cardona to strike down a Biden-era rule that expanded the definition of Title IX to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity, institutions of higher education should prepare to reimplement policies that comply with the reinstated 2020 rule, say attorneys at Venable.

  • A Path Forward For Cos. Amid Trump's Anti-DEIA Efforts

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    Given the Trump administration’s recent efforts targeting corporate diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs — including threatening possible criminal prosecution — companies should carefully tailor their DEIA initiatives to comply with both the letter and the spirit of antidiscrimination law, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Workforce Data Collection Considerations After DEI Order

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    Following President Donald Trump's executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, employers should balance the benefits of collecting demographic data with the risk of violating the order’s prohibition on "illegal DEI," say Lynn Clements at Berkshire Associates, David Cohen at DCI Consulting and Victoria Lipnic at Resolution Economics.

  • How DOGE's Severance Plan May Affect Federal Employees

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    President Donald Trump's administration, working through the Department of Government Efficiency, recently offered a severance package to nearly all of the roughly 2 million federal employees, but unanswered questions about the offer, coupled with several added protections for government workers, led to fewer accepted offers than expected, says Aaron Peskin at Kang Haggerty.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • 10 Issues To Watch In Aerospace And Defense Contracting

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    This year, in addition to evergreen developments driven by national security priorities, disruptive new technologies and competition with rival powers, federal contractors will see significant disruptions driven by the new administration’s efforts to reduce government spending, regulation and the size of the federal workforce, say attorneys at Thompson Hine.

  • Undoing An American Ideal Of Fairness

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    President Donald Trump’s orders attacking birthright citizenship, civil rights education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs threaten hard-won constitutional civil rights protections and decades of efforts to undo bias in the law — undermining what Chief Justice Earl Warren called "our American ideal of fairness," says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Employer Tips For Wise Use Of Workers' Biometrics And Tech

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    Employers that collect employee biometric data and operate bring-your-own-device policies, which respectively offer better corporate security and more flexibility for workers, should prioritize certain best practices to protect the privacy and rights of employees and safeguard sensitive internal information, says Douglas Yang at Sheppard Mullin.