Discrimination

  • May 02, 2025

    EEOC Turns To 6th Circ. After Staffing Co. Exits Bias Case

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a Tennessee federal court Friday it wants to get the Sixth Circuit's take on an order dismissing a staffing agency from a lawsuit claiming the company worked in tandem with a client to restrict the hiring of Black workers.

  • May 02, 2025

    Emory Fired Palestinian Prof Over Gaza Posts, Bias Suit Says

    Emory University folded to pressure from an advocacy group and illegally fired a medical school professor for criticizing on social media Israel's treatment of Palestinian people, the ousted educator alleged Friday in Georgia federal court.

  • May 02, 2025

    Ex-Aide Hits Morgan & Morgan With Disability, Age Bias Suit

    A former legal assistant for personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan PA has launched a disability and age discrimination suit against the personal injury firm in Florida state court alleging she received more work than younger employees and was told to work on the weekends without overtime pay.

  • May 02, 2025

    Salesforce Favored Indian Men For Promotions, Bias Suit Says

    A white former Salesforce director was forced to resign from the company because her boss refused to promote her, and instead handed out career advancements to Indian men who sometimes had less experience, she said in her suit filed in Colorado federal court.

  • May 02, 2025

    Ex-Litigator, Wilson Elser Plan To Drop Bias Suit

    An ex-Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP litigator who sued the firm for allegedly firing him over his disabilities appears to have settled with his former colleagues, with both parties telling a New York federal judge on Friday they plan to dismiss the case.

  • May 02, 2025

    Workers Say UMich Fired Them For Pro-Palestine Protests

    Former University of Michigan employees alleged in a new lawsuit that they were illegally fired and barred from seeking future work at the university because they participated in demonstrations to support the rights of Palestinians in the conflict in Gaza.

  • May 02, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Delta $12M Meal Breaks Deal Up For Approval

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for the potential preliminary approval of a $12 million deal to resolve a proposed wage and hour class action against Delta Air Lines Inc. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • May 01, 2025

    Judge Won't Ax Anti-DEI Injunction For Plaintiffs' Tweaks

    A Maryland federal judge Thursday declined to upend his preliminary injunction barring the Trump administration from implementing the bulk of the president's executive orders aiming to slash diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the public and private sectors.

  • May 01, 2025

    Planned Parenthood Slams HHS 'Attacks' On Teen Program

    Planned Parenthood on Thursday pressed a D.C. federal court to block the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' "attacks" on a long-running, successful public health initiative aimed at preventing teen pregnancy, claiming that HHS has implemented new, "deeply inconsistent" requirements threatening the program's funding.

  • May 01, 2025

    Troops Urge High Court To Keep Transgender Ban On Ice

    Several transgender service members and recruits told the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to reject the Trump administration's bid to lift a federal judge's order prohibiting implementation of the Pentagon's ban on transgender military service, claiming the policy is so deeply rooted in animosity that it won't survive judicial inspection.

  • May 01, 2025

    EEOC Blasts 'Intentional' Med Record Mishandling In ADA Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Thursday urged a Colorado federal court to sanction an appliance retailer that filed a former employee's unredacted medical records in a disability bias lawsuit, saying the employer meant to "harass and embarrass" the worker.

  • May 01, 2025

    3rd Circ. Backs Charter School In Black Worker's Bias Suit

    The Third Circuit upheld the dismissal of a Black cafeteria manager's suit claiming she was fired for complaining that her bosses at a charter school system mistreated her due to her race, ruling the suit falls flat because she was employed by an outside food service company.

  • May 01, 2025

    Nixed Order Stirs Confusion Amid Feds' Workforce Data Push

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's efforts to proceed with its annual workplace demographic data collection after President Donald Trump rescinded a key piece of legal authority has experts unsure if small federal contractors are still required to comply. 

  • May 01, 2025

    5th Circ. Says Ex-LSU Researcher Can't Reopen Bias Case

    The Fifth Circuit on Thursday upheld Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center's defeat of a lawsuit from a Black former program manager who claimed she was terminated because of her race, saying a trial court correctly concluded that her evidence fell short.

  • May 01, 2025

    Norfolk Southern's Promotion Process Is Biased, Workers Say

    Norfolk Southern Corp. has been sued in Georgia federal court by two longtime billing clerks who allege the company's promotion process is riddled with race and age bias and that its customer service division systematically pressures workers not to take medical leave.

  • May 01, 2025

    NC Chef Says Restaurant Canned Him For Being Trans

    The former executive sous chef at a resort restaurant in Flat Rock, North Carolina, claims in a lawsuit that he was terminated for having gender dysphoria and for requesting time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act to recover from gender reassignment surgery.

  • May 01, 2025

    5th Circ. Won't Revive Demoted Geologist's Age Bias Suit

    A geologist can't reopen his lawsuit alleging he was stripped of his supervisory duties and demoted by a Texas water management agency because he's in his 60s, the Fifth Circuit ruled, finding no issue with the trial court's rationale for tossing the case.

  • May 01, 2025

    6th Circ. Hints Workers, Not Judges, Must Trigger EFAA Shield

    The Sixth Circuit appeared concerned Thursday by a trial court's decision to invoke the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault Act in a workplace dispute even though the employee failed to cite it, with the court's chief judge calling the move "astonishing."

  • May 01, 2025

    Texas Bar Settles EEOC Suit Over Pregnant Bartender's Firing

    An Austin, Texas, bar has agreed to pay a former bartender $42,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging she was fired after she became pregnant because her condition was "too much of a liability."

  • April 30, 2025

    Ex-Levi's Exec Testifies Pregnancy News Blocked Promotion

    A former Levi Strauss executive who claims she was skipped over for a senior marketing director role after announcing her pregnancy told a California federal jury on Wednesday that her boss said the position was given to a colleague because the other woman had more "capacity" to "take on more work."

  • April 30, 2025

    Full 6th Circ. Won't Weigh In On Stomach Bug Disability Case

    The full Sixth Circuit declined Wednesday to take up the case of a man who claimed he was fired for taking time off to recover from a stomach illness, leaving in place a ruling that the man's ailment was not a disability under federal law.

  • April 30, 2025

    Steakhouse Fired Ga. Worker For Reporting Bias, Suit Says

    The Brazilian steakhouse chain Fogo De Chão has been sued in Georgia federal court by a former employee who said she was fired after complaining about discrimination she and other Black workers experienced at the chain's Dunwoody, Georgia, location.

  • April 30, 2025

    Fired Whataburger Worker's Bias Case Sent To Arbitration

    A Georgia federal judge said Wednesday a Black and gay ex-Whataburger employee should have to arbitrate his claims that he endured racial and homophobic slurs on the job before being fired, saying he signed a valid agreement to handle employment-related disputes out of court.

  • April 30, 2025

    6th Circ. Skeptical Of Chili's 'Culture' Rationale For Firing

    The Sixth Circuit appeared inclined Wednesday to revive an age discrimination case by a former Chili's restaurant manager, indicating that the restaurant's definition of "culture" — the reason given for his firing — has been hard to pin down.

  • April 30, 2025

    Marine Reservist Says Retaliation Suit Should Go To Trial

    A U.S. Marine Corps reservist urged a Texas federal court to keep in play his lawsuit alleging a professional services company fired him after two months because he took time off to attend training, saying the firm's reasoning that he was let go for poor performance is bogus.

Expert Analysis

  • Cos. Should Focus On State AI Laws Despite New DOL Site

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    Because a new U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored website about the disability discrimination risks of AI hiring tools mostly echoes old guidance, employers should focus on complying with the state and local AI workplace laws springing up where Congress and federal regulators have yet to act, say attorneys at Littler.

  • How The Tide Of EEOC Litigation Rolled Back In FY 2024

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    An analysis of the location, timing and underlying claims asserted in U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-initiated cases during fiscal year 2024 shows that the commission saw a substantial decrease in litigation activity after a surge last year, but employers should not drop their guard, say Christopher DeGroff and Andrew Scroggins at Seyfarth.

  • The Key Changes In Revised FDIC Hiring Regulations

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    Attorneys at Ogletree break down the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rule, effective Oct. 1, that will ease restrictions on financial institutions hiring employees with criminal histories, amend the FDIC's treatment of minor offenses and clarify its stance on expunged or dismissed criminal records.

  • Employer Tips For PUMP Act Compliance As Law Turns 2

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    Enacted in December 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for employees to express breast milk, but some companies may still be struggling with how to comply, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Know About Ill. Employment Law Changes

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    Illinois employers should review their policies in light of a number of recent changes to state employment law, including amendments to the state’s Human Rights Act and modifications to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination

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    As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.

  • The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media

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    As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.

  • 7th Circ. Rulings Offer Employee Vaccine Exemption Guidance

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    Dawn Solowey and Samantha Brooks at Seyfarth explain how two recent Seventh Circuit rulings in Passarella v. Aspirus and Bube v. Aspirus could affect litigation involving employee vaccine exemptions, and discuss employer best practices for handling accommodation requests that include both religious and secular concerns.

  • Employers Should Not Neglect Paid Military Leave Compliance

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    An August decision from the Ninth Circuit and the settlement of a long-running class action, both examining paid leave requirements under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, are part of a nationwide trend that should prompt employers to review their military leave policies to avoid potential litigation and reputational damage, says Bradford Kelley at Littler.

  • Old Employment Law Principles Can Answer New AI Concerns

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    Despite growing legal and regulatory concerns about how artificial intelligence tools may affect employment decisions and worker rights, companies should take comfort in knowing that familiar principles of employment law and established compliance regimes can still largely address these new twists on old questions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws

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    With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.