Discrimination
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March 10, 2025
Recycling Firm, Executive Must Face Sex, Pay Bias Suit
A Chicago-area recycling company can't dodge a former acting executive's claims that she was fired after repeatedly complaining that she wasn't being properly compensated and enduring consistent sexual harassment, with a Michigan federal judge ruling Monday her lawsuit was detailed enough to proceed to discovery.
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March 10, 2025
Michigan Told To Take A Stance On Clinic's Gender Policies
A federal judge said Monday that Michigan can't stay mum on whether a religious medical clinic's pronoun, gender transition and faith-based hiring policies violate state law, as the clinic sues to block the law's enforcement.
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March 10, 2025
Ex-Package Co. Worker Wants 6th Circ. Redo In ADA Suit
A former mill utility worker is urging the Sixth Circuit to rehear his suit claiming a packaging manufacturer wouldn't let him return to work because he asked for a medical accommodation, arguing an appellate panel's ruling ignored key evidence at trial, including that he could have worked in a lighter-duty role.
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March 10, 2025
Ga. Health System Says 'Vague,' 'Disorganized' Bias Suit Fails
A Georgia urologists' practice group on Monday hit back at a civil rights lawsuit from three doctors who said they were the victims of anti-Indian discrimination, arguing that their "shoot first and aim later" complaint fails to tie the company at all to their allegations.
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March 10, 2025
Senate Confirms Trump's Labor Secretary Pick
The U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's nominee for labor secretary Monday evening, with support from more than a dozen Democrats and opposition from some members of the nominee's own party.
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March 10, 2025
Troops Renew Bid To Block Trans Military Ban Post Guidance
Transgender service members filed a renewed bid to halt President Donald Trump's executive order barring those with gender dysphoria from serving in the military, after the U.S. Department of Defense issued new guidance the troops say effectively ends the ability for transgender people to serve.
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March 10, 2025
EEOC Strikes $26K Deal In Gender Pay Gap Case
A healthcare provider will shell out $26,000 in a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit accusing it of wage discrimination, after a Pennsylvania federal judge signed off on the deal Monday.
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March 10, 2025
Amazon Worker Can't Seal Military Leave Settlement
A worker who settled his suit accusing Amazon of not promoting him because of his military service can't file the deal under seal, according to a Washington federal judge's Monday ruling — which also said the agreement doesn't need to hit the docket.
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March 10, 2025
Car Parts Co., Ex-Worker Settle Tobacco Surcharge Suit
An Illinois-based car parts manufacturer will pay $299,000 to resolve claims that it unlawfully required tobacco users in its health plan to pay a $100 monthly fee without making clear they could avoid the charge by enrolling in a cessation program, according to federal court filings.
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March 10, 2025
Nonbinary Ex-Workers Ask To Intervene In Dropped EEOC Suit
Two nonbinary former Lush Cosmetics workers asked a California judge to let them intervene in a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming the business let a manager sexually harass them, after the agency dropped the case following an executive order from President Donald Trump.
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March 10, 2025
High Court Turns Down Firefighter's Religious Bias Case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a religious discrimination case from a Christian fire chief who said he was fired for his beliefs, leaving in place a Ninth Circuit decision that sided with the city that employed him as well as a long-standing legal framework that the justices had been asked to reconsider.
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March 07, 2025
4 Takeaways From EEOC's 2024 Charge Filing Data
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently unveiled its annual breakdown of discrimination charges filed by aggrieved workers, including a record number of disability bias allegations, alongside what experts call a "surprising" drop in retaliation charges. Here, Law360 looks at four takeaways from the latest tranche of commission data.
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March 07, 2025
Ex-Kirkland IP Atty Can't Fire Her Bias Suit Atty 'For Cause'
A former Kirkland & Ellis LLP intellectual property associate suing the firm over bias claims cannot fire her counsel at Filippatos PLLC over professional misconduct allegations, a California federal judge ruled Thursday while allowing Filippatos to withdraw as her counsel.
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March 07, 2025
Contractor Can't Bury Medical Marijuana Discrimination Suit
A Pennsylvania federal judge on Friday denied a Cleveland construction company's bid to escape a prospective employee's suit alleging that the company violated Pennsylvania's medical cannabis law when it rescinded his job offer, saying there are questions of fact about whether he would have been able to do the job.
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March 07, 2025
Ex-Novo Nordisk Worker Can't Reopen Harassment Suit
A former employee of Novo Nordisk can't revive her lawsuit claiming she was let go because she is a Jewish woman and had a back and hip injury, a California state appeals court ruled, finding no issue with a trial court tossing the case after she failed to oppose the move.
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March 07, 2025
Morgan Lewis Scoops Up Reed Smith Employment Atty
Morgan Lewis & Bockius has added a seasoned employment law attorney from Reed Smith to its Chicago office, bringing on a lawyer with more than two decades of experience litigating disputes ranging from benefits law to whistleblower complaints.
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March 07, 2025
Calif. School District Settles EEOC Age Bias Probe
A school district in California will pay $17,000 after a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation found it fired a 65-year-old math teacher due to the worker's age, the agency announced Friday.
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March 07, 2025
Sephora Must Face Retaliation Claims Over Hiring Practices
Sephora can't escape a Latina former store manager's claims that she was fired for refusing to prioritize white job applicants, with a Georgia federal judge ruling Friday it would be premature to trim her lawsuit ahead of discovery.
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March 07, 2025
Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet
President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to vet large law firms' diversity initiatives for compliance with Title VII, while a federal judge in Maryland refused to pause an injunction that stymied key parts of anti-DEI executive orders. Here, Law360 recaps DEI-related developments from the past week that employment lawyers should have on their radar.
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March 07, 2025
WWE Can't Take 'Red Pencil' To Assault Suit, Ex-Staffer Says
A former staffer accusing World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and two of its former executives, including former CEO Vince McMahon, of assault and sex trafficking defended her bid to add more detail to her complaint, arguing Friday that her ex-employers seek to "take a red pencil" to unflattering truths.
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March 07, 2025
Housekeeping Co. Inks $400K Deal In EEOC Harassment Suit
A healthcare housekeeping provider has agreed to pay $400,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it failed to act when a housekeeper repeatedly complained that a male co-worker sexually harassed and assaulted her.
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March 07, 2025
Fired MGM Worker Seeks Atty Fees After COVID Vax Trial Win
A former MGM Grand Detroit casino worker who was fired for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination has asked a judge to award attorney fees and pre- and post-judgment interest on top of a Detroit jury's $133,000 verdict in his favor.
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March 07, 2025
Calif. Forecast: SF Transit Agency Seeks Vax Judgment Stay
In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for the potential stay of a judgment pending an appeal in a vaccine mandate case against San Francisco's rapid transit agency. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.
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March 07, 2025
NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears Girl Scouts Whistleblower Suit
This week, the Second Circuit will consider whether to revive a lawsuit from former officers for a New York Girl Scouts chapter who claim they were retaliated and discriminated against after they complained that the group misused pandemic government loans. Here, Law360 looks at this and another notable case on the docket in New York courts.
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March 07, 2025
Workday Decries 'Staggeringly Broad' Age Bias Collective Bid
A lawsuit accusing Workday of using automated hiring tools to unlawfully screen out applicants over 40 should not be given collective action status, the human resources platform told a California federal court, arguing the group would contain millions of dissimilar workers and innumerable employers.
Expert Analysis
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5 Tips For Employers Handling Generative AI Privacy Risks
Employers should carefully consider the privacy implications of using generative artificial intelligence tools, and employ steps to mitigate the risks, such as de-identifying data, providing notice and identifying data flows, say Zoe Argento and Amy Kabaria at Littler.
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Water Cooler Talk: 'The Bear' Serves Up Advice For Managers
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.
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Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid
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.
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Mass. Age Bias Ruling Holds Employer Liability Lessons
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.
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Regulating AI: Litigation Questions And State Efforts To Watch
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.
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Regulating AI: An Overview Of Federal Efforts
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.
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Justices' Job Transfer Review Should Hold To Title VII Text
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.
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Employer Tips For Fighting Back Against Explosive Verdicts
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.
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Handbook Hot Topics: Changing Status Quo In A Union Shop
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.
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What EEOC's 2023 Stats Mean For Future Enforcement
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.
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Eye On Compliance: A Shift In Religious Accommodation Law
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.
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Tick Tock: When Punctuality Raises Employee ADA Questions
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.
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Tips For Making And Maintaining Employee Resource Groups
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.