Discrimination

  • June 26, 2024

    Grocer, EEOC End Suit Over Snubbed Rastafarian Applicant

    A grocery chain has agreed to pay a job hopeful $40,000 to close a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging the company discriminated against his Spiritualist Rastafarian beliefs when it declined to hire him because he refused to cut his dreadlocks.

  • June 26, 2024

    Feds' 5th Circ. Win On Preventive Care May Imperil ACA

    The Fifth Circuit's decision to knock out a national injunction against preventive services coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act left healthcare advocates breathing a sigh of relief, but attorneys say even more of those requirements may be on the chopping block.

  • June 26, 2024

    AT&T Strikes Deal To Exit Former Exec's Age Bias Suit

    AT&T reached a deal Wednesday to resolve a former assistant vice president's suit alleging he was fired because he's a 58-year-old white man, a filing in Georgia federal court said.

  • June 25, 2024

    Judge Says ADA Protects Gender Dysphoria In Trans Bias Suit

    A federal judge said two Arizona lawmakers can't toss a suit aiming to block a state law banning transgender girls from participating in girls' school sports, ruling gender dysphoria is protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act to keep their disability bias claims in play.

  • June 25, 2024

    6th Circ. Won't Bless More Relief For Fired FCA Worker

    A former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles employee who scored a $148,000 arbitration award on claims that he was wrongly fired for taking approved time off can't get more damages or reinstatement to the exact position he once held, the Sixth Circuit ruled.

  • June 25, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-County Worker's Race Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit backed a Nevada county's defeat of a Black former juvenile probation officer's lawsuit claiming he was fired because he'd previously filed a discrimination suit against the county, saying Tuesday rumors and a supervisor's rude attitude weren't enough to sustain his bias allegations.

  • June 25, 2024

    EEOC Backs Fired Worker's Pregnancy Bias Suit At 4th Circ.

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Fourth Circuit to reinstate a hospital worker's suit claiming she was fired for requesting a reprieve from 12-hour workdays to manage her high-risk pregnancy, arguing the lower court used incorrect legal standards to toss her case.

  • June 25, 2024

    Attys Looking To States For Movement On AI Bias

    With an upcoming presidential election casting a long shadow over Capitol Hill, discrimination lawyers following the regulation of artificial intelligence in the workplace should keep a close eye on the states in the second half of 2024. Here are three things management-side lawyers say they'll be monitoring.

  • June 25, 2024

    United Strikes Deal To Exit Bias Suit Over Mask Policy

    United Airlines told a California federal court it reached a deal with a baggage handler to end his lawsuit after the Ninth Circuit determined a jury should hear his claims that the company unlawfully refused to let him wear a face shield in lieu of a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • June 25, 2024

    CEO Claims She Was Pushed Out, Told To Focus On Family

    The former chief executive officer of a petroleum distributor said in a complaint filed Monday that she was forced out of her position and replaced by a man after her mother, the board chair, told her to focus on spending time with her family.

  • June 25, 2024

    Pipefitters Union Wants Out Of Black Worker's Race Bias Suit

    A pipefitters union local asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss a member's $10 million racial bias lawsuit, saying the worker's employer, not the union, bears responsibility for any racism he experienced on the job.

  • June 25, 2024

    NJ Says Union Skipped Over Black Workers For Job Referrals

    An ironworkers union passed over workers for job assignments solely because they were Black and looked the other way when workers complained they were subjected to racist, sexist and homophobic harassment, the state of New Jersey told a state court.

  • June 25, 2024

    Co. Denies Deaf Worker's Interpreter Requests, EEOC Says

    Security company GardaWorld refused to provide a deaf employee with a sign language interpreter after it took over a Florida bank location despite the worker's multiple requests, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court.

  • June 25, 2024

    Wynn Casino Can't Undo Rehiring Of Worker Fired For Slur

    Wynn Resort's Encore Boston Harbor Casino has lost its effort to overturn an arbitrator's decision to reinstate and issue back pay to a call center reservation worker it fired for allegedly calling a Black colleague a racial slur.

  • June 25, 2024

    Ex-DuPont Workers' Age Bias Suit Cleared For Trial

    A Louisiana federal judge refused to grant a win to DuPont in two former employees' suit alleging they were fired because they were in their 40s and 50s, saying a jury should determine whether age bias or safety violations caused their terminations.

  • June 24, 2024

    Robust Pay Equity Clauses Grab Spotlight In $15M Snap Deal

    A $15 million settlement that Snapchat parent Snap Inc. struck with California's civil rights watchdog to resolve sex bias allegations includes cutting-edge provisions that could foreshadow future trends in pay equity laws, experts said.

  • June 24, 2024

    Split 4th Circ. Panel Reopens DEA Applicant's Retaliation Suit

    The Fourth Circuit reinstated a lawsuit Monday accusing the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of pulling a job offer after it learned the applicant had participated in a sexual harassment suit against the FBI, saying a trial court held the would-be special agent to too high of a standard.

  • June 24, 2024

    Radio Host Says Politics Behind 'All Lives Matter' Tweet Firing

    A former radio announcer for the Sacramento Kings is forging ahead with his wrongful termination suit in California federal court, emphasizing that broadcaster Bonneville International Corp.'s decision to fire him after he tweeted "All Lives Matter" following the 2020 murder of George Floyd was politically motivated.

  • June 24, 2024

    Health Co. Narrows Doctor's Reneged Benefits Suit

    An Arizona federal judge trimmed a doctor's suit claiming her healthcare system employer refused to let her use her benefits to take time off to undergo cancer treatments, but kept alive claims that the company violated state and federal law by misleading her about paid leave.

  • June 24, 2024

    6th Circ. Backs University's Win In ADA Bias, Retaliation Suit

    The Sixth Circuit refused Monday to revive a former Western Michigan University employee's lawsuit claiming he was fired for requesting accommodations for his attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ruling Congress didn't have the power to eliminate states' immunity from retaliation claims under federal disability law.

  • June 24, 2024

    8th Circ. Sides With Minn. DOT In Injured Worker's ADA Suit

    The Eighth Circuit on Monday backed the Minnesota Department of Transportation in a suit by a former mechanic who alleged the agency discriminated against him after an on-the-job injury, finding MNDOT reasonably showed that he could not do the work of his prior position.

  • June 24, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Uber Driver's Bias Suit

    An Asian man who previously drove for Uber didn't provide enough information in his proposed class action to support his claim that the ride-hailing platform's use of customer ratings when making decisions to drop drivers had a "significant disparate impact" on non-white drivers, the Ninth Circuit said Monday.

  • June 24, 2024

    Ex-EEOC Top Cop Backs Vax Religious Bias Suit At 4th Circ.

    A former general counsel of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Fourth Circuit to revive a nurse's suit claiming she was fired from a Virginia health system for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine due to her Christian beliefs, arguing a lower court misinterpreted federal civil rights law.

  • June 24, 2024

    EEOC Approves US Marshals' $15M Deal In Race Bias Case

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission gave final approval to a $15 million settlement resolving claims that the U.S. Marshals Service systematically discriminated against hundreds of Black employees who sought promotions or special assignments, class representatives said Monday, ending the decades-old race bias case.

  • June 24, 2024

    Ex-NJ Corrections Official Can't Revive Demotion Bias Suit

    A New Jersey state appellate court on Monday refused to reinstate a lawsuit against the state's Department of Corrections alleging it demoted a former deputy commissioner because she was in her 60s and underwent a hip replacement, saying the agency's commissioner was free to make personnel decisions.

Expert Analysis

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'The Bear' Serves Up Advice For Managers

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Ernst & Young’s Laura Yehuda about Hulu's "The Bear" and the best practices managers can glean from the show's portrayal of workplace challenges, including those faced by young, female managers.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Mass. Age Bias Ruling Holds Employer Liability Lessons

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    The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling in Adams v. Schneider Electric — upholding a laid-off employee’s age discrimination claim — is an important reminder that employers may face liability even if a decision maker unknowingly applies a discriminatory corporate strategy, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Regulating AI: Litigation Questions And State Efforts To Watch

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    In view of the developing legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence systems in the U.S., including state legislation and early federal litigation, there are practical takeaways as we look toward the future, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Regulating AI: An Overview Of Federal Efforts

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    The U.S. has been carefully managing a national policy and regulatory ecosystem toward artificial intelligence, but as AI technology continues to expand into our everyday lives, so too has its risks and the need for regulation, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Justices' Job Transfer Review Should Hold To Title VII Text

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis should hold that a job transfer can be an adverse employment action, and the analysis should be based on the straightforward language of Title VII rather than judicial activism, say Lynne Bernabei and Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.

  • Employer Tips For Fighting Back Against Explosive Verdicts

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    Massive jury verdicts are a product of our time, driven in part by reptile tactics, but employers can build a strategic defense to mitigate the risk of a runaway jury, and develop tools to seek judicial relief in the event of an adverse outcome, say Dawn Solowey and Lynn Kappelman at Seyfarth.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Changing Status Quo In A Union Shop

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    A recent administrative law decision concerning a dispute between Fortune Media and the NewsGuild of New York is an important reminder to employers with unionized workforces to refrain from making unilateral updates to employee handbooks that will change the terms and conditions of employment, says Jennifer Hataway at Butler Snow.

  • What EEOC's 2023 Stats Mean For Future Enforcement

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    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s unusual burst of spring lawsuits and its new Democratic majority should cue employers and HR personnel to expect EEOC enforcement activity to ramp up to pre-pandemic rates, especially in regions where filings are on the rise and in those areas the agency appears to be targeting, such as workplace discrimination, say Andrew Scroggins and James Nasiri at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Shift In Religious Accommodation Law

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    The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Groff v. DeJoy is making it more difficult for employers to deny religious accommodations, and there are three takeaways employers should keep in mind, say William Cook and Matthew High at Wilson Elser.

  • Tick Tock: When Punctuality Raises Employee ADA Questions

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    A recent viral TikTok video — where a user claims they were disrespected by a potential employer when inquiring about accommodations for difficulty with being on time — shows that even in the most seemingly questionable situations, there may be legitimate issues that require Americans with Disabilities Act considerations, says Daniel Pasternak at Squire Patton.

  • Tips For Making And Maintaining Employee Resource Groups

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    Employers should consider creating employee resource groups to create a workplace that can flourish in the new remote work reality, and keep in mind three best practices to avoid potential legal pitfalls and challenges that come with them, say Tyler Paetkau and Catarina Colón at Husch Blackwell.

  • Employer Pointers From Tiger Woods' Legal Dispute With Ex

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    Ex-girlfriend Erica Herman's sexual harassment suit against Tiger Woods, which was recently sent to arbitration, highlights the need for employers to understand their rights and responsibilities around workplace relationships, nondisclosure agreements and arbitration provisions, say Stephanie Reynolds and Sean McKaveney at Fisher Phillips.