Discrimination

  • June 11, 2025

    8th Circ. Weighs Protections For Principal's LGTBQ+ Support

    The Eighth Circuit closely scrutinized a former public school principal's free speech case over her advocacy for LGBTQ+ students Wednesday, with the judges hunting for the line at which her campaign may have crossed into protected activity.

  • June 11, 2025

    Siemens Unit Settles Calif. Watchdog's Racial Slur Probe

    California's civil rights enforcement agency said Wednesday that a railway technology company had settled an investigation into a worker's claims that he was wrongly suspended and escorted off the job after complaining about co-workers using racial slurs.

  • June 11, 2025

    Oklahoma Pot Agency Wants Claims Tossed In Retaliation Suit

    The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority is urging a federal court to throw out Title VII and Age Discrimination in Employment Act claims in a suit by a former contract monitor who alleges she was fired for whistleblowing.

  • June 11, 2025

    DOL, EEOC Noms To Go Before Senate Panel

    President Donald Trump's nominees for key roles in the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will stand before a Senate committee next week, the panel said Wednesday.

  • June 11, 2025

    Disney's Hiring Is Biased Toward Immigrants, Calif. Court Told

    The Walt Disney Co. illegally fired a human resources specialist because she raised concerns about what she saw as the company's practices of primarily hiring immigrant workers while disproportionately firing African American employees, she told a California state court.

  • June 11, 2025

    Weinstein Convicted Of 1 Charge In Mixed, Partial Verdict

    A Manhattan state court jury on Wednesday convicted movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting a production assistant, acquitted him of assaulting a former model and indicated it had so far failed to reach a verdict on a charge alleging he raped an actress.

  • June 10, 2025

    Tech Recruiter Settles DOJ Claims It Favored Visa Workers

    A San Francisco Bay Area-based technology recruiting company agreed Tuesday to pay civil penalties and change its recruiting practices to resolve allegations it illegally preferred H-1B visa holders over U.S. workers, marking the government's renewed push under the Trump administration to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act against companies favoring foreign workers.

  • June 10, 2025

    Ga. Schools Must Face Ex-Principal's Suit Over BLM Support

    A federal judge won't let a Georgia school district out of claims that it forced out a Black former principal over his vocal support for the Black Lives Matter movement, ruling that like the school board's individual members and ex-superintendent before it, the district failed to raise its defenses when it had the opportunity to do so.

  • June 10, 2025

    Atty Accuses City Of 'Game-y' Tactics In Race Bias Settlement

    A North Carolina employment attorney accused the city of Charlotte in federal court Tuesday of being "game-y" by trying to change a Black fire chief's racial bias settlement after both sides agreed to certain terms, saying she wouldn't make him sign something that didn't reflect those promises.

  • June 10, 2025

    Worker's Suit Over Weed Firing Gets Thrown Out

    A construction worker can't sue his employer for wrongful termination on claims that his supervisor wrongly accused him of smoking marijuana while on the job, a Virginia federal judge has ruled, saying state law allows companies to fire workers even on untrue allegations of drug use.

  • June 10, 2025

    Pa. University Seeks Toss Of Sergeant's Retaliation Claims

    The University of Scranton wants a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss retaliation and disability bias allegations from a police sergeant who alleged he was fired because he had cancer, telling the district court that the worker hadn't put up enough facts to support some of his claims.

  • June 10, 2025

    Black Honda Worker's Promotion Bias Suit Shipped To Ala.

    Honda's manufacturing arm can send to Alabama a proposed class action alleging its opaque promotional practices unlawfully prevent Black workers from moving up, an Ohio federal judge ruled, saying the worker leading the suit likely would have stayed in the South had he received positions he sought.

  • June 10, 2025

    Brokerage Firm Fired CFO For Starting Family, She Tells Court

    A cloud-based real estate brokerage firm's former chief financial officer was unfairly accused of racking up $17,000 in personal expenses on a company card to justify her termination after her maternity leave ended, she told a New York federal court Tuesday.

  • June 10, 2025

    Feds Say NH Trans Sports Ban Suit Lacks Real Injury

    The U.S. government hopes to escape a New Hampshire lawsuit challenging both state and federal policies prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in women's sports, saying the complaint shows only "speculative future injury."

  • June 10, 2025

    Ala. Mayor Defeats Former Police Chief's Race Bias Suit

    The mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, escaped a lawsuit claiming he harassed a police chief and forced him to resign because he refused to give preferential treatment to Black employees, as a federal judge said there was no evidence of a campaign to oust the law enforcement official.

  • June 10, 2025

    Union, Philharmonic Fight Suits From Suspended Musicians

    A musicians union has asked a New York federal judge to toss two suspended New York Philharmonic players' allegations that the union illegally dropped its fight for their reinstatement, saying it had good reason to abandon the mission after the full extent of their alleged sexual violence was revealed.

  • June 10, 2025

    GOP Lawmakers Launch Probe Into Harvard's Hiring Practices

    A group of House Republicans announced Tuesday that they are opening an investigation into Harvard University's hiring policies to probe whether the institution is shirking Title VII by giving preferences to marginalized applicants when recruiting for open roles.

  • June 10, 2025

    3 Lessons From 3rd Circ. Reviving Fire Dept. Beard Battle

    A recent Third Circuit decision in favor of a Christian fire department worker who wanted to grow facial hair despite the department's no-beard policy holds lessons for employers about handling religious accommodation requests. Here, Law360 looks at three of those lessons.

  • June 10, 2025

    Longtime Reed Smith Employment Pro Joins Fisher Phillips

    An attorney who has focused his career on advising clients on employment and labor matters recently moved his practice to Fisher Phillips' Pittsburgh office after 13 years with Reed Smith LLP.

  • June 10, 2025

    Nev. Pension Plan Urges 9th Circ. To Ax DOJ Military Bias Suit

    Pension credits bought by military service members aren't an accrued benefit under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, Nevada's public employee retirement system argued, urging the Ninth Circuit not to revive the U.S. Department of Justice's suit alleging the state and system overcharged employees for the credits.

  • June 10, 2025

    Amazon Worker Says Military Class Ruling Needs Reopening

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh in on a case that would have had an impact on a former Amazon employee's request for class status in her military leave suit, the worker told a New York federal court, saying it should reopen her suit and approve class treatment.

  • June 10, 2025

    NY Homeland Unit Resolves Ex-Employee's Harassment Suit

    New York state and its homeland security agency struck a $250,000 deal to end a Hispanic former employee's suit alleging that her boss subjected her to humiliating comments because of her race, gender and sexual orientation until she felt compelled to quit, according to federal court filings.

  • June 10, 2025

    8th Circ. Mulls If Supervisor's Family Remark Signals Sex Bias

    The Eighth Circuit wondered Tuesday whether a Walmart supervisor's supposed rationale for promoting a male employee to a managerial role — that he had a "family to support" — lends credence to a female former employee's sex discrimination claim over the advancement decision.

  • June 10, 2025

    7th Circ. Won't Revive United Workers' Vax Mandate Suit

    A Seventh Circuit panel on Monday affirmed a district court's decision to throw out a lawsuit from former employees challenging United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccination mandate, agreeing that the workers' claims are "either improperly preserved or inadequately pled."

  • June 10, 2025

    Blue States Back Harvard In $2.2B Funding Freeze Fight

    A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief supporting Harvard University's bid for a pretrial win in its challenge to the Trump administration's move to freeze $2.2 billion in funds, telling a Massachusetts federal judge that the president's attacks on universities are "an attack on the states themselves."

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.