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Discrimination

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government over why the U.S. Department of Agriculture's climate-focused grants for farmers and food nonprofits were rescinded en masse when they seemingly aligned with the program, but also told recipients that she won't be "rearranging" the agency's priorities.

  • August 06, 2025

    Detroit Tigers Settle Ex-Vice President's Age, Race Bias Suit

    The Detroit Tigers settled an age and race bias lawsuit brought by one of its former vice presidents in Michigan federal court Wednesday, closing the door on more than two years of pointed litigation.

  • August 06, 2025

    Waste Co. Can't Knock Out EEOC Hiring Bias Suit

    A Missouri federal judge declined to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming a waste management company refused to hire a woman for a driver position out of gender bias, ruling a jury needs to decide whether a manager's discouraging comments amounted to prejudice.

  • August 06, 2025

    EEOC, Chevy Dealer Ink Deal In ADA Suit Over Service Dog

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has brokered a $30,000 settlement with a Maryland Chevrolet dealership that the agency accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying a Navy veteran's request to bring his service dog to work, forcing him to leave his job.

  • August 06, 2025

    7th Circ. Adopts Flexible Standard For Collective Actions

    The Seventh Circuit in a discrimination case against Eli Lilly & Co. laid out a new standard for certifying collective actions, joining the Fifth and Sixth circuits in departing from a two-step analysis courts had used for decades but taking a more middle-of-the-road approach.

  • August 06, 2025

    6th Circ. Won't Restore Auto Worker's $2.3M Age Bias Win

    The Sixth Circuit refused to reinstate a $2.3 million jury award in favor of a former manufacturing employee who claimed he was let go because he was in his 60s, agreeing with a lower court that evidence presented at trial didn't support his age bias claims.

  • August 06, 2025

    Animal Hospital To Pay $20K To End EEOC Retaliation Probe

    A California animal hospital will pay $20,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation into allegations that it illegally fired a worker because he asked to be exempted from a mandatory training seminar that cut against his religious beliefs.

  • August 06, 2025

    7th Circ. Revives Ex-Teacher's Suit Over Trans Student Names

    A split Seventh Circuit panel reinstated a religious bias suit from a Christian teacher who alleged that a school district unlawfully required him to refer to transgender students by their preferred names, with a dissent warning that the ruling created a "perilous precedent" for employers.

  • August 06, 2025

    Flint Will Pay $225K To End Ex-Fire Chief's Firing Suit

    The city of Flint has reached a $225,000 settlement with a former fire chief who has alleged he was fired for refusing to claw back his public recommendation to terminate firefighters for their alleged racist misconduct at a house fire, and the city council is poised to review the agreement at its August meeting.

  • 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."

Expert Analysis

  • Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights

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    While a New Jersey state appeals court has twice determined that an employee's termination by a private employer for social media posts is not prohibited, New York has yet to take a stand on the issue — so employers' decisions on such matters still need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, say Julie Levinson Werner and Jessica Kriegsfeld at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Eye On Compliance: Employee Social Media Privacy In NY

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    A New York law that recently took effect restricts employers' ability to access the personal social media accounts of employees and job applicants, signifying an increasing awareness of the need to balance employers' interests with worker privacy and free speech rights, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at Wilson Elser.

  • Draft Pay Equity Rule May Pose Contractor Compliance Snags

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recently proposed rule that would prohibit government contractors from requesting certain job applicants' salary history seems simple on the surface, but achieving compliance will be a nuanced affair for many contractors who must also adhere to state and local pay transparency laws, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • What Texas Employers Should Know After PWFA Ruling

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    After a Texas federal judge recently enjoined federal agencies from enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act against the state of Texas, all employers must still remain sensitive to local, state and federal protections for pregnant workers, and proactive in their approach to pregnancy-related accommodations, says Maritza Sanchez at Phelps Dunbar.

  • AI In Performance Management: Mitigating Employer Risk

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    Companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools in performance management, exposing organizations to significant risks, which they can manage through employee training, bias assessments, and comprehensive policies and procedures related to the new technology, say Gregory Brown and Cindy Huang at Jackson Lewis.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

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    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • EEOC Case Reminds That Men Can Also Claim Pay Bias

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    The Maryland State Highway Administration recently settled U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims that a male employee was paid less than his female colleagues, highlighting why employers should not focus on a particular protected class when it comes to assessing pay bias risk, say Barbara Grandjean and Audrey Merkel at Husch Blackwell.

  • Shaping Speech Policies After NLRB's BLM Protest Ruling

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    After the National Labor Relations Board decided last month that a Home Depot employee was protected by federal labor law when they wore a Black Lives Matter slogan on their apron, employers should consider four questions in order to mitigate legal risks associated with workplace political speech policies, say Louis Cannon and Cassandra Horton at Baker Donelson.

  • Avoiding Jurisdictional Risks From Execs' Remote Work

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    Following a California federal court's recent decision in Evans v. Cardlytics — where the case was remanded to state court because the company’s executives worked remotely in California — there are several steps employers can take to ensure they will not be exposed to unfavored jurisdictions, says Eric Fox at Quarles & Brady.

  • 11th Circ. FMLA Ruling Deepens Divide Over Causation

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent ruling in Lapham v. Walgreen distinguishes the circuit as the loudest advocate for the but-for causation standard for assessing Family and Medical Leave Act retaliation claims, though employers in other jurisdictions may encounter less favorable standards and the U.S. Supreme Court will likely have to address the circuit split eventually, say attorneys at Benesch.

  • Handling Neurodivergence As The Basis Of Disability Claims

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    Three recent discrimination claims in Rhode Island and New Jersey show how allegations of adverse treatment of neurodivergent individuals will continue to be tested in court, so employers should create an environment that welcomes the disclosure of such conditions, says Ting Cheung at Sanford Heisler.

  • Employers Should Take Surgeon's Sex Bias Suit As A Warning

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    A Philadelphia federal jury's recent verdict in a sex bias suit over Thomas Jefferson University's inaction on a male plaintiff's sexual harassment complaint is a reminder to employers of all stripes about the importance of consistently applied protocols for handling complaints, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.