Discrimination

  • August 08, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Amazon-NLRB Fight Heads To 9th Circ.

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for Ninth Circuit oral arguments in Amazon's challenge to the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board's structure. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • August 08, 2025

    Tesla Ousted HR Workers Who Flagged Race Bias, Suit Says

    Five former human resources workers and one former security employee at Tesla's beleaguered Fremont, California, facility said in a new lawsuit that higher-ups systemically punished employees who pushed back against racist and other discriminatory behavior at the plant.

  • August 08, 2025

    NY Judge Declines Monetary Sanctions Over Fake AI Citations

    A New York magistrate judge has declined to impose monetary sanctions on attorneys for submitting a brief containing fake citations generated by artificial intelligence in a school employment dispute, finding that the mistake was unintentional and caused by an attorney grieving the recent death of her husband.

  • August 08, 2025

    Jackson Lewis Hires DOJ Employment Litigator In DC

    A 15-year veteran of the U.S. Department of Justice who most recently was in the U.S. attorney's office in D.C. helping defend the government from employment and other civil claims has joined Jackson Lewis PC as of counsel.

  • August 08, 2025

    Judge Rebuts 'Intemperate' Language In 'It Ends With Us' Row

    A New York federal judge on Friday warned all litigants in actress Blake Lively's defamation case against her "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni not to use "intemperate" language and personal attacks in court filings.

  • August 08, 2025

    7th Circ. Ruling Shows Courts' Struggle To Apply Groff

    A split Seventh Circuit opinion over whether a public school was legally obligated to carve out a religious exemption to an LGBTQ+ inclusivity policy highlights a broader judicial struggle to put relatively new U.S. Supreme Court rules for faith-based workplace accommodations into practice, experts said.

  • August 08, 2025

    NY Firm Falcon Rappaport Adds Employment Partner

    New York business law firm Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP has hired an attorney from Tannenbaum Helpern Syracuse & Hirschtritt LLP as a partner in its labor and employment practice group, the firm announced.

  • August 08, 2025

    Black Officer's Lower Pay Ruled Not Based On Discrimination

    The pay disparity between a Black female corrections lieutenant and two white male lieutenants was rooted in civil service pay rules and job differences, not gender and race-based discrimination, an Alabama federal judge ruled.

  • August 08, 2025

    Convenience Store Strikes Deal In EEOC Disability Bias Suit

    An Alabama convenience store operator will pay $40,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it fired a disabled cashier after co-workers mocked him and retaliated against him for complaining, according to a consent decree filed Thursday.

  • August 07, 2025

    'Star Wars' Actor, Disney Agree To End Political Bias Suit

    A former "Star Wars" actor has agreed to drop her suit claiming that The Walt Disney Co. and Lucasfilm fired her for sharing her political views on social media, according to a joint stipulation of dismissal filed Thursday in California federal court.

  • August 07, 2025

    7th Circ. Affirms ExxonMobil's Win In Ex-Worker's Bias Suit

    The Seventh Circuit has upheld summary judgment for ExxonMobil in a discrimination and retaliation suit brought by a former employee, saying that, while it was clear she worked in a "toxic" workplace, her allegations weren't supported by the evidence in the record.

  • August 07, 2025

    'Breakdown In Civility' Gets Boies Schiller Sanctioned

    A California federal judge slapped Boies Schiller Flexner LLP with a $15,000 sanction Thursday in a former worker's suit claiming Levi Strauss & Co. declined to promote her out of sex bias, faulting the firm for a "uniquely eye-opening breakdown in civility and professionalism."

  • August 07, 2025

    Housing Authority Can't Slip Ex-Worker's Retaliation Lawsuit

    A North Carolina federal judge has refused to end a discrimination suit against Charlotte's public housing authority Inlivian, finding that several material disputes remain about whether an ex-worker faced retaliation after whistleblowing.

  • August 07, 2025

    EEOC, Auto Dealer Close Book On Harassment Suit

    A classic car dealership and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have ended a lawsuit claiming a company executive made inappropriate sexual comments and pressured an office manager to send him nude photos, according to an order in Illinois federal court Thursday.

  • August 07, 2025

    Worker Says Property Firm Fired Her Over Medical Diagnosis

    A property management firm has been sued in Georgia federal court by a former employee who alleged she was discriminated against and eventually fired after being diagnosed with ovarian fibroids requiring a hysterectomy and hernia repair.

  • August 07, 2025

    10th Circ. Upholds Okla. Law Banning Trans Care For Minors

    The Tenth Circuit declined to block an Oklahoma law banning gender-affirming care for transgender minors, ruling that a recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion backing a similar law from Tennessee undermines state residents' claims that the statute is discriminatory.

  • August 07, 2025

    Ex-Worker Sues Firm For Bias After Work On CDC Contract

    A former employee sued a management consulting and professional services firm in Georgia federal court Wednesday, alleging he was discriminated against and ultimately fired because of his Islamic faith and PTSD while working on a three-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention contract.

  • August 07, 2025

    Depo Row Yields Cross Sanctions Bids In Ala. Civil Rights Suit

    Paper goods company Kimberly-Clark and a former employee are pointing fingers at each other in Mobile, Alabama, federal court over a reportedly failed deposition amid the ex-employee's discrimination suit, with each side requesting discovery sanctions over the other's "bad faith" behavior.

  • August 07, 2025

    Ikea Settles Suits Claiming It Favored Young Workers

    Ikea has resolved several suits accusing the retailer of unlawfully favoring young workers for jobs and promotions while discouraging older employees from applying, according to filings in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • August 06, 2025

    City Leaders' Words Get Fired Cop's Age Bias Suit Revived

    The Eleventh Circuit revived age bias claims Wednesday from an ex-cop who said a Florida city demoted her and gave her assistant chief of police role to a younger worker, finding city leaders' public push for younger employees cast doubt on the reasons for her demotion and firing.

  • August 06, 2025

    Ex-WBZ Anchor Files $4M Race Suit Against CBS, Paramount

    Paramount, CBS and its Boston affiliate station WBZ-TV face a $4 million lawsuit in Massachusetts federal court from a former WBZ morning anchor who alleges the defendants discriminated against her as a white woman and demoted her following an inadequate investigation into complaints by colleagues who accused her of racism. 

  • August 06, 2025

    WilmerHale Beats Fired Associate's Racial Bias Claims

    A Manhattan judge Wednesday threw out a former WilmerHale senior associate's lawsuit alleging he was unfairly evaluated and eventually fired because he is Black, finding that the complaint doesn't plausibly allege discriminatory comments were made about his race or that employees of other races were treated better.

  • August 06, 2025

    UC Policy Found Discriminatory Based On Immigration Status

    A California state appeals court has ruled that the University of California's employment policy against hiring unauthorized immigrant students who lack federal work permits is "facially discriminatory," and that the university system couldn't lean on a risk of federal enforcement for justification.

  • August 06, 2025

    Accounting Firm Must Face Ex-Credit Union CEO's Firing Suit

    The largest accounting firm in Connecticut, Whittlesey PC, must face the former CEO of Sound Federal Credit Union's claim that he was fired for following the firm's advice on when to calendar gains from a $1.2 million property sale, a Connecticut trial court judge has ruled.

  • August 06, 2025

    Judge Questions USDA's Climate Grant Cuts

    A D.C. federal judge grilled an attorney for the federal government over why the U.S. Department of Agriculture's climate-focused grants for farmers and food nonprofits were rescinded en masse when they seemingly aligned with the program, but also told recipients that she won't be "rearranging" the agency's priorities.

Expert Analysis

  • Justices Mull Sex-Based Classification In Trans Law Case

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. v. Skrmetti this week, it appears that the fate of the Tennessee law at the center of the case — a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents — will hinge on whether the majority read the statute as imposing a sex-based classification, says Alexandra Crandall at Dickinson Wright.

  • Pa. Ruling Highlights Challenges Of Employer Arb. Appeals

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    A Pennsylvania federal court's recent ruling in Welch Foods v. General Teamsters Local Union No. 397 demonstrates the inherent difficulties employers face when seeking relief from labor arbitration decisions through appeals in court — and underscores how employers are faced with often conflicting legal priorities, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 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

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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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.