Discrimination

  • July 30, 2025

    2nd Circ. Backs Atty Fee Award In Google Race Bias Case

    The Second Circuit refused to upend a $22,400 fee awarded to a law firm for prelitigation services it provided to a worker who accused Google of giving her poor performance reviews because she's Black, saying the worker hadn't shown the cost was unreasonable.

  • July 30, 2025

    Wisconsin YMCA, Ex-VP Agree To End Sex Bias Suit

    A former vice president of operations and a Wisconsin YMCA agreed to end a suit by the former employee accusing the company of firing her as she was trying to get pregnant, the parties told a federal court.

  • July 29, 2025

    Ex-LA Officer Can't Revive Suit Over COVID-19 Testing Costs

    A California appellate court Monday refused to revive a former Los Angeles police officer's suit claiming that he was denied due process when he was fired after refusing to comply with the city's COVID-19 policies, finding that the officer wasn't fired until after he made his case to the city.

  • July 29, 2025

    10th Circ. Backs Lab In Christian Worker Group's Bias Case

    The Tenth Circuit refused on Tuesday to reopen a Christian employee resource group's lawsuit alleging a Department of Energy lab operator unlawfully withdrew its support from the group because it required leaders to affirm certain beliefs, finding no issue with a trial court's toss of the case.

  • July 29, 2025

    Axos Wants Justices To Undo Auditor's $1.5M Retaliation Win

    BofI Federal Bank, now operating as Axos Bank, has taken its dispute with a former auditor to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to vacate a Ninth Circuit decision upholding a $1.5 million jury verdict in favor of the auditor, who claimed he was fired for whistleblowing.

  • July 29, 2025

    Detroit Casino Can't Beat Denied Vaccine Exemption Suit

    A dozen former supervisors at a Detroit casino can proceed to trial on claims that their employer refused to accommodate their religiously motivated requests to skip the COVID-19 vaccine, a Michigan federal judge has ruled.

  • July 29, 2025

    Travelers Gets Trim Of Ex-Worker's Tobacco Health Fee Suit

    A Minnesota federal judge pared down claims Tuesday from a former Travelers worker's suit alleging the insurance and financial services company unlawfully imposed a surcharge on the health plans of employees who disclosed they were tobacco users and thereby violated nondiscrimination provisions in federal benefits law.

  • July 29, 2025

    UMich Escapes Black Law Prof's Bias Suit At 6th Circ.

    The Sixth Circuit refused Tuesday to revive a Black law professor's lawsuit claiming the University of Michigan disciplined her out of bias and retaliation because she took medical leave, finding she failed to cast doubt on the university's belief that she'd abandoned her classes.

  • July 29, 2025

    EEOC Retreat On Trans Bias Enforcement Illegal, Suit Says

    A Maryland-based LGBTQ+ advocacy organization alleged in a lawsuit Tuesday that recent steps taken by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to walk back enforcement of protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination violate federal civil rights law and the U.S. Constitution.

  • July 29, 2025

    EEOC's Design Implies Job Security, Fired Commish Says

    Former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels urged a D.C. federal court not to toss her lawsuit challenging her January removal, arguing the agency's design shows Congress didn't intend to give the president unrestricted power to remove commissioners he disagreed with.

  • July 29, 2025

    7th Circ. Backs Ex-CTA Worker's Sanction Over Deleted Chats

    The Seventh Circuit has affirmed a lower court's dismissal of a former Chicago Transit Authority employee's retaliation lawsuit as a sanction for spoiling evidence, saying his explanation about how electronic phone messages were deleted changed over time and concluding that he wasn't entitled to an evidentiary hearing or jury review.

  • July 29, 2025

    NYC Teacher's Breastfeeding Bias Suit Tossed

    A federal judge tossed a teacher's sex bias suit claiming the New York City Education Department failed to provide a space to pump breast milk on the job, ruling her case fell flat because she was never punished for pumping at work.

  • July 29, 2025

    Attys Blast 'Chilling Message' Of Judge Shopping Sanctions

    Three attorneys sanctioned for judge shopping while challenging an Alabama statute that criminalizes gender-affirming care have asked the Eleventh Circuit to clear their names, castigating the process that led to their censure as "so extraordinary as to approach unprecedented."

  • July 29, 2025

    Rising Star: Cohen Milstein's Harini Srinivasan

    Harini Srinivasan of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC secured a $45 million settlement on behalf of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers who claimed pregnancy discrimination and also challenged AT&T's attendance point system, earning her a spot among the employment law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 29, 2025

    11th Circ. Revives Furniture Consultant's ADA Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit ruled Tuesday that a former furniture design consultant could have returned to work after a brief medical leave to handle his anxiety, sending his Americans with Disabilities Act suit back to a Florida district court that had ruled in favor of his employer.

  • July 28, 2025

    Ex-Munchkin GC Sues Over 'War On Families' At Baby Co.

    Munchkin Inc.'s former general counsel says he was fired for trying to sound the alarm about the baby products brand's "war on families" and culture of discrimination against working mothers and families, in a $10 million suit filed in California state court on Friday.

  • July 28, 2025

    1st Circ. Backs US Navy In Male Ex-Worker's Sex Bias Suit

    The First Circuit upheld the dismissal of a male U.S. Navy worker's sex bias suit claiming he was fired for allegations of misconduct that his female colleague would not have faced, ruling the bedrock of his complaint was based on conclusory hypothetical scenarios of discrimination.

  • July 28, 2025

    Drexel U Gender Bias Potentially Cost Doctor $6M, Jury Told

    A former Drexel University medical college professor and emergency doctor told a Pennsylvania federal jury Monday that she was fired for complaining about gender discrimination in the workplace, saying among other things she was denied a promotion that would have brought her potentially $6 million.

  • July 28, 2025

    EEOC Says Plastics Co. Ignored Sex Harassment Complaints

    A Michigan plastics company that makes plant and garden products failed to take action to address pervasive sexual harassment against a female worker, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a new lawsuit filed Monday.

  • July 28, 2025

    Rising Star: Shegerian & Associates' John David

    John David of Shegerian & Associates helped a former bank branch manager secure a $14 million jury verdict in her sex discrimination lawsuit and led a consultant to victory in his disability bias case, earning him a spot among the employment law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.

  • July 28, 2025

    Security Co., EEOC End Sex Bias Suit Over Job Denial

    A Houston-based hospital security contractor has agreed to pay $35,000 and implement anti-discrimination training to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit accusing the company of turning away a woman seeking a job because of her sex.

  • July 28, 2025

    6th Circ. Revives Fired State Farm Worker's Retaliation Suit

    The Sixth Circuit reinstated a former State Farm worker's retaliation suit claiming she was fired for helping a co-worker pursue a disability bias complaint, ruling that she showed she may have been targeted for timekeeping violations out of revenge for her advocacy.

  • July 28, 2025

    Biotech GC Says She Was Ousted Amid 'Systemic' Bias

    A former general counsel at Massachusetts life sciences firm Repligen has filed a lawsuit in state court claiming that a pervasive culture of gender bias led to her and other women being treated differently and paid less.

  • July 25, 2025

    4th Circ. Revives Kraft Heinz Suit Over Safety Complaints

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday overturned a win for Kraft Heinz Inc. in a suit by a former worker at a meatpacking plant who alleged that he'd been fired for reporting safety issues, saying the district court wrongly concluded that a separate disciplinary investigation was the sole reason he was terminated.

  • July 25, 2025

    EEOC Says $21M Columbia Bias Deal Holds 'Historic' Value

    Columbia University's agreement to pay $21 million to quell allegations that Jewish employees endured harassment marks the biggest settlement the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has ever reached stemming from alleged antisemitism, the EEOC said Friday.

Expert Analysis

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • How To Comply With Chicago's New Paid Leave Ordinance

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    Chicago's new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance went into effect earlier this month, so employers subject to the new rules should update leave policies, train supervisors and deliver notice as they seek compliance, say Alison Crane and Sarah Gasperini at Jackson Lewis.

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

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    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • A Timeline Of Antisemitism Legislation And What It Means

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    What began as hearings in the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce has expanded to a House-wide effort to combat antisemitism and related issues, with wide-ranging implications for education, finance and nonprofit entities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Colo. Ruling Adopts 'Actual Discharge' Test For The First Time

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    After a Colorado court’s recent decision in Potts v. Gaia Children, adopting for the first time a test for evaluating an actual discharge claim, employers must diligently document the circumstances surrounding termination of employment, and exercise particular caution when texting employees, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.

  • It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

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    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • FIFA Maternity Policy Shows Need For Federal Paid Leave

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    While FIFA and other employers taking steps to provide paid parental leave should be applauded, the U.S. deserves a red card for being the only rich nation in the world that offers no such leave, says Dacey Romberg at Sanford Heisler.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Brief History Of Joint Employer Rules

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    It's important to examine the journey of the joint employer rule, because if the National Labor Relations Board's Fifth Circuit appeal is successful and the 2023 version is made law, virtually every employer who contracts for labor likely could be deemed a joint employer, say Bruno Katz and Robert Curtis at Wilson Elser.

  • Top 5 Issues For Employers To Audit Midyear

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    Six months into 2024, developments from federal courts and regulatory agencies should prompt employers to reflect on their progress regarding artificial intelligence, noncompetes, diversity initiatives, religious accommodation and more, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • Tailoring Compliance Before AI Walks The Runway

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    Fashion industry players that adopt artificial intelligence to propel their businesses forward should consider ways to minimize its perceived downsides, including potential job displacements and algorithmic biases that may harm diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, say Jeffrey Greene and Ivory Djahouri at Foley & Lardner.