Discrimination

  • August 21, 2024

    Jewish MIT Students, Union End Bias And Unfair Labor Cases

    Jewish graduate students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said Wednesday they will be able to cut ties with their union, ending religious discrimination charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board.

  • August 21, 2024

    Ex-College Dean Scores $3.9M Jury Verdict In Retaliation Suit

    A Pennsylvania university, the system that oversees it and two university administrators must pay over $3.9 million to a former business school dean who claimed he was fired for helping an administrative assistant report sexual harassment, after a federal judge accepted a jury's award Wednesday.

  • August 21, 2024

    Judge Bars DOD Policy Blocking HIV-Positive Enlistees

    A Virginia federal judge has struck down a U.S. Department of Defense policy barring HIV-positive people from joining the military, saying the DOD had failed to take current scientific evidence on HIV treatment and transmission into account.

  • August 21, 2024

    9th Circ. Doubts Idaho Trans Health Ban Doesn't Discriminate

    The Ninth Circuit appeared reluctant Wednesday to give the state of Idaho a green light for a prohibition on gender dysphoria treatment for minors, with judges vocally skeptical of the state's argument that the policy didn't discriminate based on sex.

  • August 21, 2024

    Wells Fargo Hires Jones Day After $22M ADA Trial Loss In NC

    Wells Fargo has beefed up its legal representation with a powerhouse appellate litigator and an employer-side labor lawyer, both from Jones Day, following a jury's decision last month to enter more than $22 million in damages against it in a former director's disability discrimination case in North Carolina federal court.

  • August 21, 2024

    Gannett Escapes White Workers' Suit Over Diversity Policy

    Gannett dodged a proposed class action alleging its diversity policies favored minority employees and job applicants over white journalists, with a Virginia federal judge ruling the workers leading the suit failed to show the newspaper publisher took action against them because of their race.

  • August 21, 2024

    City Health Administrator Says Firing Flouted Constitution

    A former city of Bridgeport healthcare administrator says she learned via a one-page, hand-delivered letter at the close of business on April 1 that she was immediately losing her job, a move she says violated the 14th Amendment because she received neither a warning nor an opportunity for a hearing.

  • August 21, 2024

    X Corp. Shuts Down Disability Bias Suit Over Musk Takeover

    A California federal judge scrapped a proposed class action Wednesday alleging Twitter targeted employees with disabilities for termination following Elon Musk's takeover of the business, but left the door open for the former worker behind the suit to revise his claims.

  • August 20, 2024

    Calif. Teamsters Ex-Official Can Pursue Retaliation Claims

    A California federal judge said she can't oversee claims that Teamsters Local 150's process for nominating and electing officials is "rigged to crush dissent," but she can oversee a former official's claim that he was excluded from a slate of candidates as retaliation for critiquing a colleague, the judge ruled Tuesday.

  • August 20, 2024

    5th Circ. Won't Revive Union Pacific Electrician's ADA Suit

    The Fifth Circuit backed the dismissal of a railway electrician's disability bias suit claiming Union Pacific Railroad Co. unreasonably pushed him out of a job after he likely experienced an off-duty seizure, ruling the business properly considered that a second, on-the-job seizure could be imminent.

  • August 20, 2024

    Muldrow Takes Center Stage At 9th Circ. Bias Arguments

    A Ninth Circuit panel overseeing an Asian American worker's push to revive her bias lawsuit agreed Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court's April decision in Muldrow v. St. Louis puts her claims under a new lens, but wrestled with who should determine the case's outcome.

  • August 20, 2024

    Kansas Resolves Fired Trans Highway Worker's Bias Suit

    Kansas lawmakers approved a $50,000 settlement ending a former highway patrol worker's lawsuit alleging he was fired because he's transgender amid an investigation into whether he'd harassed a female colleague.

  • August 20, 2024

    Some Wis. State Bar Officers Let Out Of Diversity Bias Suit

    A Wisconsin federal judge has removed three of the seven individual defendants named in a suit brought by an attorney challenging the Wisconsin Bar's diversity clerkship program after they argued they were not personally responsible for actions alleged in the suit, with the judge also cutting a claim for money damages.

  • August 20, 2024

    Law Professor Seeks To Keep Alive Bias Suit Against FAMU

    A Florida A&M University College of Law professor asked a federal court to maintain her discrimination suit because "context matters" in the case, and it shouldn't be decided on summary judgment, as the school suggested.

  • August 20, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives CBP Officer's Facebook Harassment Suit

    The Ninth Circuit revived a suit Tuesday from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who alleged his colleagues mocked his sexuality in a private Facebook group, saying the case needs another look following a recent ruling that off-duty social media posts can create a hostile work environment.

  • August 20, 2024

    A Deep Dive Into Law360 Pulse's 2024 Women In Law Report

    The legal industry continues to see incremental gains for female lawyers in private practice in the U.S., according to a Law360 Pulse analysis, with women now representing 40.6% of all attorneys and 51% of all associates.

  • August 20, 2024

    These Firms Have The Most Women In Equity Partnerships

    The legal industry still has a long way to go before it can achieve gender parity at its upper levels. But these law firms are performing better than others in breaking the proverbial glass ceiling that prevents women from attaining leadership roles.

  • August 20, 2024

    BNSF Urges 5th Circ. To Nix Colorblind Conductor's ADA Suit

    BNSF Railway Co. urged the Fifth Circuit to reject a colorblind conductor's bid to revive his disability bias suit claiming he was illegally fired for failing a vision test, arguing that the former employee's impairment disqualified him for the job.

  • August 20, 2024

    EEOC Calls Off Staff Furlough Proposed For Late August

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission won't go through with a one-day furlough of agency staff that it had been considering due to budget constraints, with EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows saying Tuesday that the measure is no longer necessary.

  • August 20, 2024

    Philadelphia, Insurer Settle Trans Firefighter's Surgery Suit

    The city of Philadelphia, Independence Blue Cross and a firefighters union agreed to settle a transgender firefighter's suit claiming she was unlawfully denied coverage for facial feminization surgery, just weeks after a Pennsylvania federal judge refused to let the insurer out of the case.

  • August 20, 2024

    Luxury Gym, Owner Must Face Trainer's Sex Harassment Suit

    A New York federal judge refused to throw out a trainer's lawsuit alleging that a luxury gym failed to properly pay her and that its owner sexually harassed her, saying her entire case falls under an amendment to the Federal Arbitration Act mandating that sexual harassment claims remain in court.

  • August 19, 2024

    DOJ Says No Arthrex Problem In SpaceX Hiring Bias Probe

    The U.S. Department of Justice is urging a Texas federal judge to side with the administrative law judge overseeing the immigration bias investigation against SpaceX, saying the company is using its constitutional attack against the framework of the proceeding as a distraction.

  • August 19, 2024

    Seattle Says White Worker Can't Show Diversity Training Harm

    The city of Seattle has argued that a white ex-employee can't prevail in his discrimination claims over its workplace diversity programming, telling a Washington federal judge the worker was never disciplined or demoted despite his "increasingly aggressive and inappropriate attacks on coworkers" who supported the racial justice initiative.

  • August 19, 2024

    Disney, Miramax Can't Escape NY Weinstein Sex Assault Suit

    A New York state judge on Monday declined to dismiss an actress's claims against The Walt Disney Co., its subsidiary Miramax Film NY LLC and Creative Artists Agency LLC over an alleged sexual assault by disgraced film executive Harvey Weinstein.

  • August 19, 2024

    USAF, Airmen Debate Mootness Of Vax Mandate Challenge

    In a pair of dueling briefs, both the U.S. Air Force and a cadre of its airmen are sparring over whether the military's revocation of its COVID-19 vaccine mandate for service members spells the end for the airmen's suit challenging the mandate on religious freedom grounds.

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.