Discrimination

  • August 06, 2025

    Amazon IT Unit Accused Of Ousting 'Old, White, Bald Guys'

    A 61-year-old Massachusetts man who worked in information technology sales for Amazon Web Services says he was wrongfully terminated last year as part of an alleged companywide campaign to push out older workers.

  • August 06, 2025

    LA Seeks To Nix Attys In Ex-Cop's Military Leave Bias Suit

    Attorneys for a former Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant improperly obtained and tried to use a privileged email between a city attorney and a current LAPD lieutenant in a military bias suit, the city said, urging a California federal court to disqualify them from the case.

  • August 05, 2025

    5th Circ. Wipes Out Honeywell Win In Worker's Vaccine Fight

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday resurrected a former Honeywell employee's suit claiming he was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine after his request for a religious exemption was denied, ruling that a jury could indeed determine that the worker faced religious discrimination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Grocery Chain Ralphs Wins $7M Employment Bias Trial

    A California jury cleared Kroger-owned Ralphs Grocery Co. of liability in a Muslim worker's $7 million bias suit after hearing that the worker simply refused to use the scheduling software to keep his Saturdays free for religious activities and that he had been suspended multiple times for insubordination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Biz Prof's Pay Based On Experience, Not Bias, 6th Circ. Told

    Michigan Technological University told the Sixth Circuit on Monday that a former accounting professor was paid less than her husband because he had more teaching experience and better evaluations, urging the court to reject her appeal challenging the dismissal of pay disparity claims and racial or gender discrimination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Teamsters Win Toss Of Member's Tom Hanks Film Hiring Row

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday threw out age bias and retaliation claims from a longtime Teamsters member who alleged his union and two production companies conspired not to hire him for a Tom Hanks film, finding the worker failed to show he experienced an adverse employment action.

  • August 05, 2025

    Harassment Case Immunity Ruling Too Abrupt, 10th Circ. Says

    The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday largely upheld a trial court's refusal to toss a Salt Lake City firefighter's lawsuit claiming she was subjected to undue scrutiny because she's a woman, but said the lower court was too quick to say her colleagues' conduct was clearly unconstitutional.

  • August 05, 2025

    Calif. Cafe Chain Settles EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit

    A cafe chain told a California federal judge Tuesday that it has agreed to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming a manager created a sexually hostile work environment by inappropriately touching and commenting on young workers' bodies.

  • August 05, 2025

    Reporter Drops Suit Over CBS Station's Gaza Coverage

    A Palestinian Arab-American television journalist has ended his lawsuit claiming a CBS News Detroit station fired him because of his complaints that the station favored Israeli perspectives in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

  • August 05, 2025

    Ex-Patent Examiner Fights USPTO Exclusion At High Court

    A former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review his exclusion from practicing before the agency, saying the justices should look at issues relating to a suspension he received and also federal civil rights protections.

  • August 05, 2025

    Blake Lively Wants Baldoni's Atty Sanctioned For Comments

    Actress Blake Lively has asked a Manhattan federal judge to sanction the attorney representing "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni in her ongoing defamation case, alleging the lawyer repeatedly defied a February court order blocking extrajudicial statements likely to prejudice the case.

  • August 05, 2025

    5th Circ. Backs Logistics Co.'s Defeat Of Pregnancy Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit upheld a logistics company's win in a former operations manager's lawsuit claiming she was fired months before her scheduled maternity leave, ruling she couldn't overcome her ex-employer's argument that safety lapses had cost her the job.

  • August 05, 2025

    Law Profs Urge 11th Circ. To Toss Judge-Shopping Sanctions

    A group of seven law school professors is urging the Eleventh Circuit to toss a sanctions ruling against three attorneys for judge shopping, arguing that federal law does not forbid the practice and citing the "potentially chilling effect the order will have on counsel, especially those involved in pro bono representation."

  • August 05, 2025

    Ex-Officer Says LAPD Withheld Info In Military Leave Bias Suit

    A former Los Angeles Police Department officer claiming he was passed over for a promotion because of his military status said he has not received the records he requested containing information about similarly situated employees. 

  • August 05, 2025

    5th Circ. Judge Seems Reluctant To Restore $70M Bias Verdict

    A Fifth Circuit judge said Tuesday that he had a "hard time" understanding how the evidence in a group of former telecommunications employees' race discrimination case warranted a $70 million jury award, a result a trial court threw out last year.

  • August 05, 2025

    9th Circ. Says Christian Group Shielded From Gay Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit rolled back a win Tuesday for a gay applicant who claimed a Christian humanitarian organization rescinded a job offer after learning she was married to a woman, ruling a carveout to discrimination law for religious employers doomed her claims.

  • August 05, 2025

    NC Dentist Strikes Deal To End EEOC Religious Bias Probe

    A Fayetteville, North Carolina, dental practice will pay $61,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation into allegations that it fired an employee who said she needed to wear a skirt instead of pants because of her religious beliefs.

  • August 04, 2025

    ABA Eyes Reducing Board Size, Trimming Diversity Seats

    The American Bar Association proposed reducing the size of its board of governors and proportionally cutting the number of seats reserved for women, people of color and other underrepresented groups, as the organization's president Monday reiterated a commitment to "rule of law, due process, access to justice, fairness and diversity."

  • August 04, 2025

    Celebrity Cruises Settles Ex-Employee's Sexual Assault Case

    A former Celebrity Cruises employee said Monday that she and the company have reached a settlement in her sexual assault lawsuit following a Florida federal judge's decision last month that barred it from arbitrating the case in Malta.

  • August 04, 2025

    CIA Officers Press 4th Circ. To Uphold Bar On DEIA Firings

    A group of intelligence officers urged the Fourth Circuit on Friday to affirm a federal judge's order blocking the Trump administration from terminating them for their involvement with diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility-related assignments in the CIA and Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

  • August 04, 2025

    UT Austin Denies Threatening Prof Who Criticized Leaders

    The University of Texas at Austin denied threatening a professor who publicly criticized its leadership, telling the Fifth Circuit that its employee has remained on staff three years after his speech was allegedly chilled and "refuses to take 'yes' for an answer."

  • August 04, 2025

    Sinclair Strikes $100,000 Deal To Resolve EEOC Pay Bias Case

    Sinclair Broadcast Group agreed to pay $100,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit claiming the company paid a Black employee less than white colleagues and denied her a promotion, according to an announcement Monday from the federal bias watchdog.

  • August 04, 2025

    Jury Finds For Drexel In Professor's Gender Bias Suit

    A federal jury has sided with Drexel University in a gender discrimination case by one of its former doctors, finding the school is not liable for her claims of retaliation over reporting instances of discrimination against female doctors in the medical college, according to a verdict docketed Monday.

  • August 04, 2025

    10th Circ. Ends Age Bias Suit After High Court Remand

    The Tenth Circuit refused to let an ex-Halliburton employee continue fighting an age discrimination case that led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that voluntarily dismissed suits can be reopened, ruling he hadn't shown there were extraordinary circumstances that warranted pulling his claims from arbitration.

  • August 04, 2025

    NYU Must Pay Fired Doc $4M In Disability Bias Suit, Jury Says

    An ex-New York University doctor nabbed a $4 million trial win in his disability bias case claiming he was fired after his employer denied his request to work from home so he could recover from a COVID-19 infection that left him in a coma for nearly two months.

Expert Analysis

  • 7 Ways To Prepare For An I-9 Audit Or Immigration Raid

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    Because immigration enforcement is likely to surge under the upcoming Trump administration, employers should take steps to ensure their staff is trained in employment eligibility verification requirements and what to do in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement I-9 audit or workplace raid, say attorneys at Littler.

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • Disentangling Various Forms Of Workplace Discrimination

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    Pay inequity can be missed where it exists and misidentified due to incorrect statistics, leaving individuals to face multiple facets of discrimination connected by a common root cause, meaning correct identification and measurement is crucial, says Daniel Levy at Advanced Analytical.

  • Key Requirements In New Maryland Pay Transparency Laws

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    Although several jurisdictions now require pay transparency in job advertisements, Maryland's new law is among the broadest in the country, both in terms of what is required and the scope of its applicability, says Sarah Belger at Quarles & Brady.

  • Lessons From EEOC Case Of Fla. Worker Fired After Stillbirth

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    A recent federal court settlement between a Florida resort and a fired line cook shows that the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission sees stillbirth as protected under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, also providing four other important lessons, says Gordon Berger at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Advising Employers As AI Meets DEI And Discrimination

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    Though companies can use artificial intelligence tools to develop more diverse and inclusive workforces, counsel should also prepare employers for how AI can stymie these efforts, provoke discrimination claims and complicate resulting litigation, says Emily Schifter at Troutman Pepper.

  • A Look At The Hefty Demands In Calif. Employer AI Draft Regs

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    California's draft regulations on artificial intelligence use in employment decisions show that the California Privacy Protection Agency is positioning itself as a de facto AI regulator for the state, which isn't waiting around for federal legislation, says Lily Li at Metaverse Law.

  • Federal Salary History Ban's Reach Is Limited

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    Though a newly effective Office of Personnel Management rule takes important steps by banning federal employers from considering job applicants' nonfederal salary histories, the rule's narrow applicability and overconfidence in the existing system's fairness will likely not end persistent pay inequities, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • 2nd Circ. Hostile Workplace Ruling Widens Arbitration Pitfalls

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision, affirming the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act applies to a worker whose workplace hostility claims arose before the law’s 2022 enactment, widens the scope of the law — and the risks of unenforceable arbitration agreements for employers, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • Title VII Compliance Lessons From Raytheon Age Bias Suit

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    A Texas federal court’s recent refusal to dismiss age discrimination claims from a former Raytheon employee, terminated after he admitted to acts that Raytheon says violated its harassment policy, nonetheless illustrates strategies employers can use to protect themselves when facing competing Title VII workplace obligations, say attorneys at Segal McCambridge.

  • How The Presidential Election Will Affect Workplace AI Regs

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    The U.S. has so far adopted a light-handed approach to regulating artificial intelligence in the labor and employment area, but the presidential election is unlikely to have as dramatic of an effect on AI regulations as it may on other labor and employment matters, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Eye On Compliance: ADA Accommodations For Obesity

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    As the classification of "obesity" as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act continues to evolve, employers should note federal district and state court deviations from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines, which have deemed obesity to be a qualifying impairment, no matter the cause, says Lauren Stadler at Wilson Elser.

  • 3rd. Circ. Ruling Shows Employers Where To Put ADA Focus

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    A recent Third Circuit decision in Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging, confirming that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects some temporarily impaired employees, reminds employers to pursue compliance through uniform policies that head off discriminatory decisions, not after-the-fact debates over an individual's disability status, says Joseph McGuire at Freeman Mathis.