ÃÛÌÒÊÓÆµ

Discrimination

  • August 29, 2025

    GardaWorld Can't Avoid Tobacco, Vaccine Health Fee Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge trimmed — but refused to toss — a proposed class action challenging a security company's health plan surcharges to employees who refused COVID-19 vaccinations and who use tobacco, opening discovery on claims that the fees violated nondiscrimination provisions in federal benefits law.

  • August 29, 2025

    5th Circ. Upholds Dallas Win In Pay, Race Bias Case

    A former management assistant for the city of Dallas failed to demonstrate that she was paid less than a colleague because of her race and her retaliation and discrimination claims also could not stand, the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday.

  • August 29, 2025

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears Northwell COVID Vaccine Suit

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider whether to revive a suit brought by former healthcare workers who claimed they were discriminated against on the basis of their religion when they were fired for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

  • August 29, 2025

    UPenn Prof Suspended For Racist Remarks Loses Bias Claim

    University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax lost her federal discrimination claims against the school for suspending her over disparaging comments she made about minorities, with a judge finding that she was disciplined for racist speech, not because of her own race.

  • August 29, 2025

    Ill. Jury Sides With Ex-CTA Worker In Vax Bias Lawsuit

    An Illinois federal jury on Friday awarded a former Chicago Transit Authority employee $425,000 in damages, finding the transit agency liable on his religious discrimination claim after he was terminated following his refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine and denied an exemption to the agency's vaccine requirement.

  • August 29, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: NLRB Fights Co. With Union-Busting Claims

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for arguments in a National Labor Relations Board case against an environmental and engineering consultant. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • August 29, 2025

    Single Slur Not Enough For Retaliation Suit, Judge Says

    A Michigan federal judge stood by her dismissal of an Arab American worker's suit claiming a car dealership fired him for protesting a supervisor's racist language while following up on her original ruling to say that opposition to the single use of a slur isn't enough to establish a retaliation case.

  • August 29, 2025

    Wage And Hour Laws To Look Out For This Fall

    Workers in Maine will get extra wages if their employer cancels or cuts back their shift last minute, and employers in Cleveland will have to abide by new salary history and pay transparency requirements. Here, Law360 looks at these and other wage and hour and equal pay laws coming in the fall.

  • August 28, 2025

    10th Circ. Told Okla. 'Race Theory' Law Must Go

    The Tenth Circuit is being told it must ensure academic freedom for the students of Oklahoma, whose constitutional rights and "the very nature of the classroom as a place that nurtures inquiry and discussion" are being undermined by a state law restricting what they can be taught.

  • August 28, 2025

    Ex-Katten Partner's $67M Age Bias Suit Stayed For Arbitration

    A Manhattan federal judge stayed a $67 million discrimination lawsuit brought by a former Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP partner alleging the firm pushed him out of the aircraft-finance practice group, pressured him to resign and then fired him because of his age, saying there is an arbitration agreement at play.

  • August 28, 2025

    Car Dealership Settles EEOC Hiring Bias Suit For $275K

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Thursday that it struck a $275,000 deal with a Missouri car dealership to end a gender bias suit claiming the business only hired women for office jobs and men for sales jobs.

  • August 28, 2025

    Religion Didn't Drive Ex-CTA Worker's Vax Refusal, Jury Hears

    A former Chicago Transit Authority electrician hasn't met his burden of proving religious discrimination was behind his termination when he refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and his refusal was based on personal preference and health and safety concerns about the jab, an Illinois federal jury heard Thursday.

  • August 28, 2025

    White Workers Say Shell Reorganization Was Discriminatory

    Shell was hit with a federal lawsuit this week accusing it of implementing a "pretextual departmental reorganization" that discriminated against several white employees.

  • August 28, 2025

    Ex-State Farm VP Sues Activists Over Secretly Recording Date

    A former State Farm executive has sued political activist James O'Keefe and a woman who lied about her intentions to date him, claiming they violated Illinois' eavesdropping statute by secretly recording his comments about State Farm's diversity efforts and rate hikes and later posting misleading videos of him, costing him his job.

  • August 28, 2025

    8th Circ. Brings Back EEOC Harassment Suit Against BNSF

    The Eighth Circuit on Thursday revived a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit accusing BNSF Railway Co. of failing to adequately safeguard women at a Nebraska rail yard from rampant harassment, saying the legal standard applied by a trial court was too rigid.

  • August 28, 2025

    School Union Inks $110K Deal To End EEOC Race Bias Suit

    A school district labor union has agreed to pay $110,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it discriminated against a Black custodian by challenging his promotion, according to a filing Thursday in Illinois federal court.

  • August 28, 2025

    Ex-Law Firm Worker Gets More Time To Give Info In Bias Suit

    A New Jersey state judge gave the attorney for a woman suing a Garden State law firm in a workplace discrimination case additional time to respond to overdue discovery requests after he failed to reply for more than seven months.

  • August 28, 2025

    EEOC Yanks Guide On Workforce Demographic Data

    A recently published U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission fact sheet reminding federal employers to adhere to longstanding employee demographic reporting requirements was taken down after an agency source said it was released prematurely while still in draft form.

  • August 28, 2025

    4th Circ. Says Jury Should Hear Ex-Professor's Sex Bias Suit

    The Fourth Circuit revived an ex-Morgan State University professor's suit claiming she was denied multiple promotions and paid less than her male colleagues, finding the lower court overlooked key evidence that warrants a trial, such as claims that a department chair called her a "reject lesbian."

  • August 27, 2025

    Seattle Asks Court To Bar Feds From Yanking Grants Over DEI

    The city of Seattle has urged a federal court to block the Trump administration from enforcing two executive orders that condition federal grants on recipients abandoning the promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion or "gender ideology," saying the conditions are unconstitutional and jeopardize several of the city's critical public services.

  • August 27, 2025

    DOD Education Unit Accused Of Bias By Assistant Principal

    A Black, longtime employee of the Department of Defense Education Activity has sued the agency and its leaders in North Carolina federal court, alleging a lower school principal harassed her, that she was denied promotions based on her race and sex and is being unfairly terminated.

  • August 27, 2025

    6th Circ. Says Hospital Waived Arbitration In Pronoun Dispute

    The Sixth Circuit reversed an order Wednesday allowing a University of Michigan hospital to arbitrate an ex-worker's suit claiming she was fired out of religious bias for refusing to use preferred pronouns for certain LGBTQ patients, ruling the institution waited too long to invoke an arbitration pact.

  • August 27, 2025

    Ex-Drexel Medical Professor Fights Gender Bias Trial Loss

    A former Drexel University medical professor who lost her gender bias lawsuit alleging the university treated male faculty better than women has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge for a redo, claiming the jury's verdict in favor of the school was against the weight of the evidence.

  • August 27, 2025

    X Settles Disability Bias Suit Over Musk's Twitter Takeover

    X Corp. has agreed to settle a proposed class action alleging the company purposefully created severe working conditions during Elon Musk's 2022 takeover of Twitter to drive out workers with disabilities, according to a California federal court filing.

  • August 27, 2025

    More Courts Taking Broad View Of EEOC Investigative Power

    The Second Circuit's ruling this week that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can continue investigating a worker's charge even if the employee files their own lawsuit reflects a growing consensus among federal appeals courts on the breadth of the agency's powers.

Expert Analysis

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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.