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Discrimination

  • May 15, 2025

    SEC Cuts $512K Deal To End Atty's Racial Bias Suit

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has agreed to pay $512,500 to end a former commission lawyer's discrimination claims alleging she was denied a promotion due to her race and age, according to court documents filed in Pennsylvania federal court on Thursday.

  • May 15, 2025

    3 Things To Know As Minneapolis Overhauls Its Anti-Bias Law

    Minneapolis lawmakers recently approved a sweeping revamp of the city's civil rights statute, bolstering safeguards for workers with criminal histories, prohibiting discrimination based on body size and making a slew of other revisions that expand legal pathways for workers to challenge bias. Here are three things employers and workers should know before those changes kick in this summer.

  • May 15, 2025

    4th Circ. Says DEA Worker's Own Behavior Dooms Bias Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Thursday backed the dismissal of a white Drug Enforcement Administration supervisor's suit claiming that her Black bosses discriminated and retaliated against her for complaining that they showed favoritism toward Black workers, saying her own poor leadership was to blame for her reassignment and suspension.

  • May 15, 2025

    Colo. Chief Sacked Firefighters Behind Union Drive, Suit Says

    Two former captains and a statewide union sued a Southwest Colorado fire district and its chief Thursday for allegedly stopping a union campaign in its tracks by retaliating against organizers, claiming the chief fired the captains after they organized a vote showing nearly three-quarters of workers backed unionization.

  • May 15, 2025

    7th Circ. Doubts Officers' Vaccine Reporting Exemption Claim

    A Seventh Circuit panel seemed skeptical Thursday that a group of COVID-19 vaccine-exempt police officers in Chicago should be allowed to pursue religious discrimination claims targeting the suspensions and other adverse actions they faced for not reporting their vaccination status in the city's data portal. 

  • May 15, 2025

    Wells Fargo Opposes Atty Fee Bid After $22M ADA Verdict

    Wells Fargo said it is "vigorously" contesting an attorney's request for at least $1.4 million in fees after winning a $22.1 million verdict in an Americans with Disabilities Act case against the bank, telling the court the request to double the lodestar amount is unsupported.

  • May 15, 2025

    Colorado Hog Farm Inks Deal In EEOC Sex Harassment Suit

    A Colorado hog farm has agreed to pay $330,000 to close a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it failed to take action when female workers complained that male managers propositioned them for sex and walked in on them changing.

  • May 15, 2025

    Plaintiff's 'Total Victory' Forces End To Southwest Bias Suit

    A Texas federal judge intends to issue a final judgment in a nonprofit's suit challenging an award program for Hispanic employees of Southwest Airlines Co., saying the "obstinate plaintiff" has already achieved total victory in the suit.

  • May 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Questions University's Limits On Professor's Speech

    Two Ninth Circuit judges cast doubt on the University of Washington's defense in a First Amendment lawsuit on Thursday, questioning why the college would remove a professor's parody of a Native American land acknowledgment from his class syllabus while permitting him to broadcast the same opinions elsewhere in the academic setting.

  • May 15, 2025

    Full 9th Circ. Affirms BNSF Railway's Win In Retaliation Suit

    The full Ninth Circuit upheld a win for BNSF Railway on Thursday in a now-deceased conductor's lawsuit alleging he was fired in retaliation for testing train cars' brakes, finding the railroad had met the high bar required for lawful firing under whistleblower protection law. 

  • May 15, 2025

    High Court's Muldrow Ruling Gets Cop's Bias Suit Revived

    The Third Circuit reopened a former Philadelphia police officer's lawsuit claiming he was unlawfully transferred to a less prestigious division because he was in his 60s, saying the case needed another look based on the U.S. Supreme Court's clarification of the standard for workplace discrimination claims.

  • May 15, 2025

    Ala. Jury Awards Industrial Worker $640K In Race Bias Case

    An Alabama federal jury has awarded $640,000 in damages to a millwright who said he was called a racist slur, demoted and then fired within months of being hired by an industrial services company.

  • May 15, 2025

    Judicial Aide's NY Sex Abuse Suit May Survive, Panel Hints

    A New York state appellate panel has voiced doubts that a former judicial secretary's sex abuse lawsuit should have been dismissed, challenging the state court system's arguments that it didn't employ her and thus can't be held liable for any harms she suffered.

  • May 15, 2025

    EEOC Says Maui Hotel Owner's Sex Harassment 'Rampant'

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission slapped a Hawaii hotel with a lawsuit Thursday accusing its owner of widespread, long-running sexual harassment that allegedly included sexual advances, inappropriate touching and demands for massages while he was naked.  

  • May 15, 2025

    5th Circ. Affirms Nix Of BNSF Ex-Conductor's Vision Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit upheld BNSF Railway Co.'s defeat of a former conductor's suit claiming he was fired because of his color vision deficiency, saying his inability to obtain certification under railroad safety laws made him unqualified for the job.

  • May 15, 2025

    House Bill Aims To Nix FMLA Leave Cap For Married Couples

    A bipartisan group of U.S. House members floated a bill that aims to strike a provision from the Family and Medical Leave Act that limits leave for married couples who work for the same employer.

  • May 14, 2025

    7th Circ. Partially Revives Pregnancy Bias Suit Against Ill. DHS

    A Seventh Circuit panel on Wednesday partially reversed an Illinois federal court's decision giving the Illinois Department of Human Services a win on two former workers' claims of illegal pregnancy-related firings, saying that there are still open factual questions as to one worker.

  • May 14, 2025

    Risks Abound For Higher Ed As Top Court Ruling Turns 2

    Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in higher education admissions, schools around the country have been looking for innovative ways to achieve diversity on campus amid constant threats of additional litigation that could make them the next high-profile high court case.

  • May 14, 2025

    11th Circ. Won't Reopen White DOD Worker's Race Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit refused to revive a commissary worker's lawsuit claiming the U.S. Department of Defense threatened to suspend her over a Black colleague's false accusations that she'd used a racial slur, ruling Wednesday that she failed to show the agency proposed the discipline because she's white.

  • May 14, 2025

    8th Circ. Raises Safety Questions In Deaf Driver's EEOC Case

    An Eighth Circuit panel fired off questions to a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawyer Wednesday about the agency's trial win on behalf of a deaf truck driver applicant, homing in on the trucking company's contention that safety concerns were behind its decision not to hire him. 

  • May 14, 2025

    7th Circ. Judge Skeptical Of Bias In Exxon Worker's Firing

    A Seventh Circuit judge on Wednesday questioned what evidence a former employee asking the court to revive her discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against ExxonMobil had to refute the company's assertion that it fired her after she behaved unprofessionally and stormed out of a negative performance review.

  • May 14, 2025

    Black Worker Says GM, UAW Failed To Stop Harassment

    General Motors and United Auto Workers failed to step in after a Black employee complained that a white colleague began stalking her after she started dating her ex-boyfriend and instead forced the Black worker to move departments, a lawsuit filed in New York federal court said.

  • May 14, 2025

    USPS Must Cough Up Discipline Data, NLRB Judge Says

    The U.S. Postal Service violated federal labor law by withholding disciplinary records that a union needed to resolve a grievance at a facility in Benton Harbor, Michigan, a National Labor Relations Board judge has ruled, ordering the Postal Service to hand over the records within two weeks.

  • May 14, 2025

    6th Circ. Backs Children's Hospital In Suit Over COVID Testing

    The Sixth Circuit declined Wednesday to reinstate a pharmacist's suit claiming she was illegally fired for refusing to undergo COVID-19 testing on religious grounds, stating she would have put immunocompromised children at risk if her pediatric hospital let her dodge testing.

  • May 14, 2025

    Ex-Paralegal's Bias Claims Still Thin, Pennsylvania Firm Says

    A former Zator Law LLC's paralegal's amended complaint claiming that the firm fired her on the basis of her panic disorder condition lacks specific details about her disability that would support her discrimination and retaliation claims, according to a motion to dismiss recently filed by Zator Law.

Expert Analysis

  • Undoing An American Ideal Of Fairness

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    President Donald Trump’s orders attacking birthright citizenship, civil rights education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs threaten hard-won constitutional civil rights protections and decades of efforts to undo bias in the law — undermining what Chief Justice Earl Warren called "our American ideal of fairness," says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Employer Tips For Wise Use Of Workers' Biometrics And Tech

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    Employers that collect employee biometric data and operate bring-your-own-device policies, which respectively offer better corporate security and more flexibility for workers, should prioritize certain best practices to protect the privacy and rights of employees and safeguard sensitive internal information, says Douglas Yang at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Unprecedented Firings And The EEOC's Shifting Agenda

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    While President Donald Trump's unprecedented firing of Democratic Equal Employment Opportunity Commission members put an end to the party's voting majority, the move raises legal issues, as well as considerations related to the EEOC's lack of a quorum and shifting regulatory priorities, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • What Trump Admin's Anti-DEI Push Means For FCA Claims

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    President Donald Trump's recent rescission of a 60-year-old executive order imposing nondiscrimination requirements on certain federal contractors has far-reaching implications, including potential False Claims Act liability for contractors and grant recipients who fail to comply, though it may be a challenge for the government to successfully establish liability, say attorneys at Bass Berry.

  • It Starts With Training: Anti-Harassment After 'It Ends With Us'

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    Actress Blake Lively's recent sexual harassment and retaliation allegations against her "It Ends With Us" co-star, director and producer, Justin Baldoni, should remind employers of their legal obligations to implement trainings, policies and other measures to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, say attorneys at Morrison Cohen.

  • What Day 1 Bondi Memos Mean For Corporate Compliance

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    After Attorney General Pam Bondi’s flurry of memos last week declaring new enforcement priorities on issues ranging from foreign bribery to diversity initiatives, companies must base their compliance programs on an understanding of their own core values and principles, says Hui Chen at CDE Advisors.

  • 5 Things For Private Employers To Do After Trump's DEI Order

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    Following President Donald Trump's recent executive order pushing the private sector to narrow, and even end, diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, employers should ensure DEI efforts align with their organization's mission and goals, are legally compliant, and are effectively communicated to stakeholders, say attorneys at Mintz.

  • Zuckerberg's Remarks Pose Legal Risk For Meta Amid Layoffs

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    Within days of announcing that Meta Platforms will cut 5% of its lowest-performing employees, Mark Zuckerberg remarked that corporations are becoming "culturally neutered" and need to bring back "masculine energy," exposing the company to potential claims under California employment law, says Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law Center.

  • Preparing For A Possible End To The Subminimum Wage

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    The U.S. Department of Labor's proposed rule to end the subminimum wage for employees with disabilities may significantly affect the community-based rehabilitation and training programs that employ these workers, so certified programs should be especially vigilant about compliance during this period of evaluation and scrutiny, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'Harry Potter' Reveals Magic Of Feedback

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    Troutman Pepper's Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter chat with Wicker Park Group partner Tara Weintritt about various feedback methods used by "Harry Potter" characters — from Snape's sharp and cutting remarks to Dumbledore's lack of specificity and Hermione's poor delivery — and explore how clear, consistent and actionable feedback can transform workplaces.

  • What To Expect From Trump's Deputy Labor Secretary Pick

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    President Donald Trump's nominee for deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, Keith Sonderling, has a track record of prioritizing clear guidance on both traditional and cutting-edge issues, which can provide insight into what employers can expect from his leadership, say attorneys at Littler.

  • A Look At Order Ending Federal Contractor Affirmative Action

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    To comply with President Donald Trump's executive order revoking affirmative action requirements in the next 90 days, federal contractors should focus on identification of protected groups, responsibilities of "diversity officer" positions and annual compliance reviews, says Jeremy Burkhart at Holland & Knight.

  • Parsing 3rd Circ. Ruling On Cannabis, Employee Private Suits

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    The Third Circuit recently upheld a decision that individuals don't have a private right of action for alleged violations of New Jersey's Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance and Marketplace Modernization Act, but employers should stay informed as the court encouraged the state Legislature to amend the law, say attorneys at Mandelbaum Barrett.