Discrimination

  • May 09, 2025

    Wells Fargo Execs Sued In Del. Over 'Sham' Diversity Efforts

    A Wells Fargo stockholder launched a derivative suit on Friday in Delaware's Court of Chancery seeking damages from 17 of the banking giant's directors and officers for potentially billions in costs tied to alleged "sham" diversity-focused recruitment and hiring initiatives.

  • May 09, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    A D.C. federal judge appeared skeptical of the Trump administration’s claim that Susman Godfrey LLP violated anti-discrimination law, a Massachusetts federal judge ordered the government to define what it means by “diversity, equity and inclusion” and a new member was nominated to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments over the past week.

  • May 09, 2025

    4th Circ. Won't Loosen Charge Requirement In Race Bias Case

    The Fourth Circuit backed Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. on Friday in a Black billing contractor's lawsuit claiming he was fired for complaining he was let go for complaining about race bias, saying he hadn't properly named the utility company in his pre-suit discrimination charge.

  • May 09, 2025

    NY Forecast: X Arbitration Fees Dispute At 2nd Circ.

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider social media platform X's attempt to reverse a lower court order requiring it to pay fees for arbitration proceedings with employees who claim they were not paid the full amount of severance they were owed. Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • May 09, 2025

    Disney Nears Prelim Approval On $43M Gender Pay Bias Deal

    A California judge said Friday he intends to grant preliminary approval of a $43.25 million class action settlement in a suit alleging Disney paid thousands of women in middle management less than their male colleagues.

  • May 09, 2025

    8th Circ. Won't Reopen IRS Employee's Promotion Bias Suit

    The Eighth Circuit refused Friday to revive an IRS special agent's lawsuit claiming she was denied a promotion because she's a Black woman in her 50s, saying she hadn't demonstrated the agency's decision not to move her up in its ranks was tainted by bias.

  • May 09, 2025

    NY Lawmakers Seek To Close Salary History Loophole

    A New York proposal to bar employers from asking job candidates about their salary expectations shows how states must keep refining and innovating pay disclosure laws as they learn lessons from real-world compliance.

  • May 09, 2025

    Souter's Clerks Remember Him As Humble, Kind And Caring

    Former clerks of retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David H. Souter are heartbroken over the death of a man many of them remember more for his conscientiousness, humility, kindness and disdain for the spotlight than for his undeniable brilliance as a jurist.

  • May 09, 2025

    AG Fights Ex-Immigration Judge's Disability Bias Claim In Fla.

    U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi pushed back Friday on a former immigration judge's bid for a disability discrimination ruling in her favor, telling a Florida federal court that her requested transfer wasn't approved since there were no vacancies in her desired Orlando court during her tenure.

  • May 09, 2025

    Hiker And 'Raconteur': Atty Recalls 50-Year Bond With Souter

    Behind a towering legal legacy was a man who loved to hike mountains, could recall details of things he read decades ago and was always there for those he cared about, a New Hampshire attorney said as he reflected on a lifelong friendship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter.

  • May 09, 2025

    EEOC Can Seek OK Of Deal That Judge Threatened To Scuttle

    A Florida federal judge walked back a threat Friday to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission race harassment suit after taking issue with its bid to approve a $1.4 million settlement in the case, following warnings from the agency that it would be "severely prejudiced" by dismissal.

  • May 09, 2025

    Fisher Phillips Opens Tokyo Office Amid Regulatory Shifts

    Employer-side labor law firm Fisher Phillips has launched a Tokyo office in response to increasing client demand from American and multinational companies doing business in Japan and from Japanese companies doing business in the Americas.

  • May 09, 2025

    A Look At David Souter's Most Significant Opinions

    The retired Justice David Souter defied simple definition, viewed as a staunch conservative until he co-wrote an opinion upholding abortion rights in 1992. He did not hew to partisan lines, but reshaped the civil litigation landscape and took an unexpected stand in an extraordinarily close presidential election.

  • May 09, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Petroleum Cos. $7M Wage Deal Before Court

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for the potential initial approval of a $7.2 million deal in a proposed wage and hour class action against Marathon Refining Logistics Services and related companies. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • May 09, 2025

    Justice Souter Was An Unexpected Force Of Moderation

    Justice David Souter, who saw the high court as a moderating force apart from the messiness of politics, subverted the expectations of liberals and conservatives alike during his 19 years on the bench.

  • May 09, 2025

    Google Strikes $50M Deal To End Black Workers' Bias Suit

    Google has agreed to pay $50 million to resolve a proposed class action claiming the technology giant paid thousands of Black workers less than their white colleagues and provided them scant opportunities for advancement, according to a filing in California federal court.

  • May 09, 2025

    Retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter Dies At 85

    Retired Justice David H. Souter, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1990 to 2009, has died at 85, the court announced Friday. 

  • May 08, 2025

    5th Circ. Wipes Out Southwest Attys' Religious Training Order

    The Fifth Circuit on Thursday held that a lower court overstepped by ordering several in-house Southwest Airlines attorneys to undergo "religious liberty training" following a flight attendant's win in a wrongful termination suit, finding that the training wouldn't benefit the flight attendant or persuade Southwest to comply with an earlier order.

  • May 08, 2025

    Judge Seems To Favor Susman Godfrey In Trump Challenge

    A D.C. federal judge appeared poised Thursday to allow Susman Godfrey LLP's challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm to proceed or to grant the firm a summary judgment win altogether, after she pressed a government attorney on the president's basis for alleging discrimination at the firm.

  • May 08, 2025

    Panel Says Colo. Hospitals Need Notice Of Retaliation Claims

    A Colorado appeals court on Thursday sided with a Denver health system in a precedential ruling, finding healthcare workers who sue public hospitals under a state anti-retaliation statute must warn hospitals about their claims.

  • May 08, 2025

    Judge Allows WWE Accuser To Add SEC Settlement To Suit

    A former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. staffer, who has accused ex-CEO Vince McMahon of assault and sex trafficking in Connecticut federal court, was allowed to include in an amended complaint the settlement McMahon reached with the federal government regarding payments he made to her and another woman over alleged misconduct.

  • May 08, 2025

    6th Circ. Seems Open To Reviving Ex-Ford Worker's Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit appeared skeptical Thursday of Ford Motor Co.'s arguments that a fired Muslim and Middle Eastern employee had not laid out sufficient facts to keep his bias and retaliation lawsuit alive, indicating plaintiffs needn't meet a high bar in the early stages of a case.

  • May 08, 2025

    Ex-Tesla Worker Can't Upend Arbitrator's Race Bias Decision

    A former Tesla assistant store manager can't upend an arbitration award in favor of the company on claims that he was harassed and passed over for promotion because he's Black, a California federal judge ruled, saying the arbitrator didn't abuse her powers by limiting the number of depositions.

  • May 08, 2025

    Wayfair Beats Software Engineer's Age Bias Suit

    A Massachusetts state jury has cleared Wayfair in a discrimination case brought by a 53-year-old software engineer who was terminated in the early months of the pandemic after he requested flexibility to care for his school-age children.

  • May 08, 2025

    Fogo De Chao Hit With Wage, Age Bias Suit In NY

    Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo de Chao failed to properly pay servers and forced them to share tips with owners and managers while also discriminating against a former employee for his age, according to a proposed class and collective action filed Thursday in New York federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • EEOC Wearable Tech Guidance Highlights Monitoring Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent fact sheet on wearable technologies cautions against potential issues with federal anti-discrimination laws and demonstrates growing concern from regulators and legislators about intrusive technologies in the workplace, say attorneys at Littler.

  • 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.