Discrimination

  • September 27, 2024

    NY Forecast: Judge Weighs $1.3M Settlement Final Approval

    This week, a New York federal judge will consider granting final approval to a $1.3 million class action settlement resolving claims that a fast food operator violated state and federal wage and hour laws by not paying workers overtime and deducting business costs from their wages.

  • September 27, 2024

    Louisiana Bakery, EEOC Ink Deal In Pregnancy Bias Suit

    A New Orleans bakery will pay $46,500 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it fired a pastry cook just days after she started because she experienced pregnancy complications, according to a Friday court filing.

  • September 27, 2024

    Safe Leave Laws Gain Momentum At State Level

    While a new bill in Congress that would provide paid leave for workers who've experienced domestic violence or sexual assault may be unlikely to pass this go-round, states and cities have already enacted paid safe leave policies that require employers' attention, experts said.

  • September 27, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: Logistics Co. Wage Deal Before Court

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for the potential initial sign-off on a $900,000 deal to end a proposed wage and hour class action against Allegiant Final Mile Inc. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • September 27, 2024

    Trans Worker Harassed Out Of Housekeeping Job, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a hotel franchisee in New York federal court, alleging it pushed out a transgender housekeeper after they complained that a manager repeatedly and intentionally misgendered them and referred to them as a "transformer."

  • September 27, 2024

    EEOC Says Staffing Co. Reneged On Settlement Payments

    A staffing firm based in Washington state violated a $276,000 agreement to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge alleging it barred employees from speaking Spanish, leaving nearly two-thirds of the sum unpaid, the agency told a federal court.

  • September 26, 2024

    Cognizant's Level Of Indian H-1B Workers 'Unusual,' Jury Told

    A Howard University professor testifying as an expert for a class of former Congizant Technologies employees alleging the company has a bias in favor of Indian workers told a California federal jury Thursday the fact that 99% of Cognizant's H-1B visa workers are from India is "unusual" and demonstrates a "cultural preference."

  • September 26, 2024

    Ex-LexShares CEO Says He Was Pushed Out For Being Black

    The former CEO of LexShares Inc. has lodged racial discrimination claims against the litigation finance firm and its top brass, claiming the company's board of directors discriminated against him and eventually forced him out because he was Black.

  • September 26, 2024

    Religious Nonprofit Can Keep Refugee Aid Contracts For Now

    Michigan will abandon its bid for early termination of contracts awarded to a Christian adoption and refugee agency while the organization's lawsuit, alleging the state forced it to hire non-Christians to qualify for contracts, plays out in federal court.

  • September 26, 2024

    EEOC Suits Show Risks Of Inflexible Work Restriction Policies

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently filed lawsuits accusing FedEx and a battery manufacturer of maintaining overly strict policies that require employees to be totally limitation-free to get work clearance, cases that experts say demonstrate the need for companies to be flexible when addressing workers with medical restrictions. Here, experts share three mistakes that can land employers in court. 

  • September 26, 2024

    Retaliation Forced Out Construction Forewoman, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a water infrastructure company in Tennessee federal court claiming it forced a forewoman to either take on a night shift or quit in retaliation for complaints that male colleagues called her misogynist slurs and ignored her instruction.

  • September 26, 2024

    Chicago Club Allowed Dancer Harassment, EEOC Alleges

    A Chicago strip club stood by as customers harassed and inappropriately touched female dancers while also limiting Black dancers' ability to perform, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged Thursday in a federal complaint.

  • September 26, 2024

    Ala. College Urges 11th Circ. To Grant Immunity In FMLA Suit

    The University of Alabama Board of Trustees urged the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to reverse a lower court order allowing a former research associate's Family and Medical Leave Act complaint to proceed, arguing that it's entitled to sovereign immunity under the military caregiver provision of the law.

  • September 26, 2024

    EEOC Says Builder Denied Short Commute To Diabetic Worker

    Homebuilding company D.R. Horton refused to let a sales associate transfer to a worksite closer to where she lived after her lengthy commute started to exacerbate her diabetic neuropathy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit in Maryland federal court.

  • September 26, 2024

    11th Circ. Signals Fired Coach's Claim Can't Ride On Her Team

    An 11th Circuit panel signaled Thursday that the disparate funding of men's and women's collegiate athletic programs was likely not enough to sustain a fired Georgia Tech basketball coach's Title VII claim of sex-based discrimination against the program.

  • September 26, 2024

    Automaker Accused Of Forcing Pregnant Worker To Take OT

    Off-road vehicle manufacturer Polaris forced a pregnant worker to resign when it wouldn't forgive her medical absences or excuse her from mandatory overtime, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in the latest suit of its wave of Pregnant Workers Fairness Act cases.

  • September 26, 2024

    Minn. YMCA Ignored Sexual Harassment, EEOC Says

    A YMCA in Minnesota looked the other way when a manager sexually harassed its workers — some of whom were teenagers — which forced one worker to quit, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged.

  • September 26, 2024

    Amazon Worker Gets Trial In Military Leave Suit

    A Washington federal judge ejected one worker from a suit accusing Amazon of demoting or firing workers who took time off for military service, but teed up for trial another worker's claim alleging he was removed from consideration for a promotion after he said he was going to be deployed.

  • September 26, 2024

    Pizza Co. Unlawfully Fired Trans Worker, EEOC Says

    A Chicago pizza chain fired a Black transgender employee in violation of federal law after she complained that her co-workers and a customer had harassed her about her gender identity, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told an Illinois federal court

  • September 25, 2024

    Ex-Cognizant Worker Says Co. 'Mandate' Was To Hire Indians

    A former employee at Cognizant Technology testified Wednesday as a witness for a class of former employees alleging the company discriminates against non-Indian workers, and said he believes the company did not just have a preference for hiring workers from India through the H-1B visa program, but that it was "a mandate."

  • September 25, 2024

    4th Circ. Says Firefighter's Race Bias Deal Is Pension Eligible

    The Fourth Circuit on Wednesday found the city of Charlotte in North Carolina should have deducted retirement funds from a former Black firefighter's race bias settlement, but said the same could not be true for another firefighter who never finalized a deal with the city.

  • September 25, 2024

    Lookback Window Claims Cut From Disney Sex Abuse Suit

    A California state court on Wednesday trimmed down a Walt Disney Co. employee's sexual assault lawsuit against the entertainment giant and one of its former longtime executives, holding that the case was filed after the state's one-year lookback window for sex abuse claims had expired.

  • September 25, 2024

    DOL Subminimum Wage Program Should Go, Experts Say

    The federal program allowing employers to pay subminimum wages to workers with disabilities needs to be eliminated in a way that respects these workers' rights and avoids turmoil for them, experts say, one year after the U.S. Department of Labor began reexamining the program.

  • September 25, 2024

    Ascension Must Face Additional Suit Over Vaccine Mandate

    Ascension Health Alliance must face another proposed class action challenging its 2021 COVID-19 vaccination policy, an Indiana federal judge ruled Wednesday, holding that a group of workers who were suspended or fired after refusing the vaccine on religious grounds have a case against the Catholic healthcare system.

  • September 25, 2024

    Ex-IATSE Officer Fights Discipline After Raising Porn Issue

    A former officer for an International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees local in New Mexico accused the union of wrongly disciplining him after he spoke up with concerns about the name of another officer appearing on porn websites through an online search.

Expert Analysis

  • After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • FIFA Maternity Policy Shows Need For Federal Paid Leave

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    While FIFA and other employers taking steps to provide paid parental leave should be applauded, the U.S. deserves a red card for being the only rich nation in the world that offers no such leave, says Dacey Romberg at Sanford Heisler.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Brief History Of Joint Employer Rules

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    It's important to examine the journey of the joint employer rule, because if the National Labor Relations Board's Fifth Circuit appeal is successful and the 2023 version is made law, virtually every employer who contracts for labor likely could be deemed a joint employer, say Bruno Katz and Robert Curtis at Wilson Elser.

  • Top 5 Issues For Employers To Audit Midyear

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    Six months into 2024, developments from federal courts and regulatory agencies should prompt employers to reflect on their progress regarding artificial intelligence, noncompetes, diversity initiatives, religious accommodation and more, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • Tailoring Compliance Before AI Walks The Runway

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    Fashion industry players that adopt artificial intelligence to propel their businesses forward should consider ways to minimize its perceived downsides, including potential job displacements and algorithmic biases that may harm diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, say Jeffrey Greene and Ivory Djahouri at Foley & Lardner.

  • Where Anti-Discrimination Law Stands 4 Years After Bostock

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    On the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Bostock ruling, Evan Parness and Abby Rickeman at Covington take stock of how the decision, which held that Title VII protects employees from discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, has affected anti-discrimination law at the state and federal levels.

  • Politics In The Workplace: What Employers Need To Know

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    As the 2024 election approaches and protests continue across the country, employers should be aware of employees' rights — and limits on those rights — related to political speech and activities in the workplace, and be prepared to act proactively to prevent issues before they arise, say attorneys at Littler.

  • What High Court Ruling Means For Sexual Harassment Claims

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    In its recent Smith v. Spizzirri decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court compelling a case to arbitration is obligated to stay the case rather than dismissing it, but this requirement may result in sexual harassment cases not being heard by appellate courts, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.

  • 5 Steps For Gov't Contractor Affirmative Action Verification

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    As the federal contractor affirmative action program certification deadline approaches, government contractors and subcontractors should take steps to determine their program obligations, and ensure any required plans are properly implemented and timely registered, say Christopher Wilkinson at Perkins Coie and Joanna Colosimo at DCI Consulting.

  • New OSHA Memo Helps Clarify Recordkeeping Compliance

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    Based on recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidance on whether musculoskeletal disorders are recordable injuries under the agency's recordkeeping regulation, it appears that OSHA may target active release techniques and stretching programs during its inspections, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Cos. Must Stay On Alert With Joint Employer Rule In Flux

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    While employers may breathe a sigh of relief at recent events blocking the National Labor Relations Board's proposed rule that would make it easier for two entities to be deemed joint employers, the rule is not yet dead, say attorneys at ​​​​​​​Day Pitney.