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

    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

    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

    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.

  • May 28, 2025

    4 Tips For Employers As NJ's Pay Range Requirements Kick In

    A New Jersey law requiring employers to include a pay range in both internal and external job postings goes into effect June 1, and businesses in the state should be sure they have their ducks in a row. Here, management-side lawyers offer four tips to help employers prepare.

  • May 28, 2025

    EEOC Settles Suit Claiming Worker Lost Job Over Egg Allergy

    A pediatric healthcare system has agreed to pay a job applicant $50,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit filed in Georgia federal court, claiming it yanked a job offer over her egg allergy that prevented her from receiving a mandatory flu vaccine.

  • May 28, 2025

    Ex-Worker Claims NJ Law Firm Fired Her Over Maternity Leave

    A former human resources manager at a New Jersey employment law firm alleged she was fired in retaliation for taking maternity leave less than one month before she was to return to work and due to receive a bonus payment.

Expert Analysis

  • Collective Cert. In Age Bias Suit Shows AI Hiring Tool Scrutiny

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    Following a California federal court's ruling in Mobley v. Workday, which appears to be the first in the country to preliminarily certify a collective action based on alleged age discrimination from artificial intelligence tools used for hiring, employers should move quickly to audit these technologies, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • Age Bias Suit Against Aircraft Co. Offers Lessons For Layoffs

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    In Raymond v. Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, an aircraft maker's former employees recently dismissed their remaining claims after the Tenth Circuit rejected their nearly decade-old collective action alleging age discrimination stemming from a 2013 reduction in force, reminding employers about the importance of carefully planning and documenting mass layoffs, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • EEOC Suits Show Cos. Shouldn't Ax Anti-Harassment Efforts

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    Companies shouldn't be so quick to eliminate anti-harassment programs in response to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's guidance cautioning against unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion programs, as recent enforcement actions demonstrate that the agency still plans to hold employers accountable for addressing sexual harassment, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • Disparate Impact Theory Lives On Despite Trump Order

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    Although President Donald Trump's recent executive order directed federal agencies to stop pursuing disparate impact claims, employers may still be targeted by private litigants' claims and should therefore stay alert to the risk that their practices may produce a disparate impact on members of a protected group, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Relying On FLSA Regs Amid Repeals

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    Because handbook policies often rely on federal regulations, President Donald Trump's recent actions directing agency heads to repeal "facially unlawful regulations" may leave employers wondering what may change, but they should be mindful that even a repealed regulation may have accurately stated the law, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill

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    New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.

  • The IRS Shouldn't Go To War Over Harvard's Tax Exemption

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    If the Internal Revenue Service revokes Harvard's tax-exempt status for violating established public policy — a position unsupported by currently available information — the precedent set by surviving the inevitable court challenge could undercut the autonomy and distinctiveness of the charitable sector, says Johnny Rex Buckles at Houston Law Center.

  • Trump's 1st 100 Days Show That Employers Must Stay Nimble

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    Despite the aggressive pace of the Trump administration, employers must stay abreast of developments, including changes in equal employment opportunity law, while balancing state law considerations where employment regulations are at odds with the evolving federal laws, says Susan Sholinsky at Epstein Becker.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Classification Lessons From 'Love Is Blind'

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    The National Labor Relations Board's recent complaint alleging that cast members of the Netflix reality series "Love Is Blind" were misclassified as nonemployee participants and deprived of protections under the National Labor Relations Act offers insight for employers about how to structure independent contractor relationships, say Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter at Troutman Pepper.

  • Employer Tips For Navigating Cultural Flashpoints Litigation

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    A New York federal court's recent refusal to fully dismiss claims that Cooper Union failed to address antisemitism underscores why employment litigation that involves polarizing political, social or cultural divides requires distinct defense strategies to minimize risk of an adverse outcome and of negative impacts on the employer's reputation, say attorneys at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • How To Address FCA Risk After 4th Circ. Ruling On DEI Orders

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    Following the Fourth Circuit's ruling in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Trump, which freed the administration to enforce executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, government contractors should take stock of potentially unlawful DEI programs, given their heightened risk under the False Claims Act, say attorneys at Sidley.

  • Tracking FTC Labor Task Force's Focus On Worker Protection

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently directed its bureaus to form a joint labor task force, shifting the agency's focus toward protecting consumers in their role as workers, but case selection and resource allocation will ultimately reveal how significant labor markets will be in the FTC's agenda, say attorneys at Venable.

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling May Aid Consistent Interpretation Of ADA

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    In Tudor v. Whitehall Central School District, the Second Circuit joined the majority of circuits by holding that an employee's ability to perform their job without an accommodation does not disqualify them from receiving one, marking a notable step toward uniform application of the Americans with Disabilities Act nationwide, says Michelle Grant at Wilson Elser.