Discrimination

  • June 10, 2024

    EEOC Settles 2 Suits Over Late Demographic Data Reports

    A Georgia chicken processor and a New Jersey food distributor are the latest businesses to settle suits with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after it targeted 15 companies for failing to submit mandatory workforce demographic reports to the government, according to Monday court filings.

  • June 10, 2024

    Treasury Dept. Beats IRS Agent's Religious Bias Suit

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury defeated an Internal Revenue Service agent's suit claiming he was disciplined for a three-day celebration of Easter mandated by his Christian faith, with a Florida federal judge finding the reprimand was based on performance rather than religion.

  • June 07, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Revives LA Schools Vaccine Policy Row

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday reversed a California federal court's dismissal of a proposed class action challenging a recently rescinded Los Angeles Unified School District policy requiring employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine to keep their jobs, ruling that the district still has the potential to reinstate it.

  • June 07, 2024

    Hospital Dodges Hostile-Workplace Claim In Race Bias Suit

    A federal court trimmed a state-level claim of hostile work environment and two allegations of racial bias from a Black former emergency room doctor at a hospital outside Philadelphia, but said there were enough questions of fact for other parts of her case to move ahead.

  • June 07, 2024

    11th Circ. Passes On Atlanta Court Officer's Bias Battle

    The Eleventh Circuit won't revive a discrimination suit filed by a former security officer in Atlanta's federal courthouse who says he faced homophobic harassment and was assaulted by another officer while on the job, a three-judge panel said Thursday.

  • June 07, 2024

    EEOC Settles 2 More Suits Over Tardy Demographic Data

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday it had resolved lawsuits accusing a New Jersey janitorial company and a Wisconsin logistics company of neglecting to report demographic information about their employees for several years.

  • June 07, 2024

    Thomson Reuters Fired Worker For Anti-BLM Posts, Suit Says

    A former Thomson Reuters data scientist says he was fired after complaining about an allegedly racially hostile work environment toward white people, including the removal of his posts criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement from a company message board.

  • June 07, 2024

    John Deere Pays $1.1M To End DOL Hiring Bias Probe

    John Deere has agreed to pay $1.1 million to the U.S. Department of Labor to shutter an investigation alleging the agricultural manufacturing company declined to employ nearly 300 Black and Hispanic workers through systemic hiring discrimination, the agency announced.

  • June 07, 2024

    Southwest Attys Get Pause On 'Punitive' Religious Training

    In finding Friday that an order for several in-house Southwest Airlines attorneys to undergo "religious liberty training" should be permanently placed on hold while an appeal of a flight attendant's Title VII trial win is pending, the Fifth Circuit said the district court had likely exceeded "the scope of the court's civil-contempt authority."

  • June 07, 2024

    Ex-OFCCP Boss Says Politics Obscures Consensus On DEI

    K&L Gates partner and former Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs director Craig Leen told Law360 in an exclusive interview that conservatives and liberals actually hold similar views on workplace diversity, equity and inclusion that are getting lost in a fog of politics.

  • June 07, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Motorcycle Salesman's Race Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit backed a Georgia motorcycle dealership's defeat of a former employee's suit alleging he was fired because he's Black, finding Friday he failed to connect a white supervisor's alleged racial animus with the Black dealership owner's decision to let him go.

  • June 07, 2024

    Cozen Adds Eckert Seamans Employment Pro In Boston

    Cozen O'Connor brought on a veteran employment lawyer from Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC in Boston, who comes with experience working in the public sector that he said allows him to help companies navigate any type of employment suit that comes their way. 

  • June 07, 2024

    Workforce Co. Inks $125K Deal In EEOC Pregnancy Bias Suit

    A workforce development company will pay $125,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it fired an employee for taking time off to treat medical conditions that arose during her high-risk pregnancy, according to a New Mexico federal court filing.

  • June 07, 2024

    9th Circ. Says University Can Sue Over Wash. AG Hiring Probe

    A Ninth Circuit panel breathed new life Friday into a private Christian university's lawsuit accusing Washington state's attorney general of improperly investigating its anti-LGBTQ+ hiring practices, finding the possibility of potential future enforcement gives the school standing to sue.

  • June 07, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: $3.6M Freight Co. Wage Deal Up For Approval

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for the potential initial sign-off on a more than $3.6 million deal to resolve a proposed wage and hour class action against freight carrier Oak Harbor Freight Lines Inc. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • June 06, 2024

    Ex-Telemundo Worker Urges Panel To Revive Harassment Suit

    A former Telemundo advertising executive urged an Eleventh Circuit panel Thursday to reverse a lower court's ruling to dismiss her sexual harassment lawsuit against the company, saying she sufficiently alleged a hostile work environment after reporting sexual harassment by her supervisors.

  • June 06, 2024

    PNC Settles Former Worker's Race Bias Suit

    PNC National Bank has reached an agreement to end a former employee's racial discrimination suit in a federal court in Pittsburgh, the parties said Wednesday.

  • June 06, 2024

    Pharmacy Pushed Its Own Services On Workers, EEOC Says

    A pharmacy recruited workers who have hemophilia or family members with the condition and pressured them to let the company take over their prescriptions and switch to medications that would benefit the pharmacy financially, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a lawsuit filed in Colorado federal court.

  • June 06, 2024

    3 Things To Know As Grant Program For Black Women Halts

    The Eleventh Circuit this week blocked a venture capital fund's grant program for Black women entrepreneurs, a ruling that experts say will only embolden opponents of workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, and should serve as the latest warning to employers to fine-tune their inclusion initiatives. Here, Law360 looks at three observations discrimination lawyers had after Monday's ruling.  

  • June 06, 2024

    Jury Says Black Tech Worker Owed $535K In Retaliation Suit

    A Georgia federal jury awarded a Black tech company worker $535,000 in damages after finding he was fired in retaliation for complaining that his supervisor discriminated against him and that he was denied a raise because of his race.

  • June 06, 2024

    Navy Denied IT Worker Promotions For Race, 11th Circ. Told

    A Florida-based Navy information technology worker urged the Eleventh Circuit in a hearing Thursday to reverse a lower court's decision to toss his discrimination lawsuit, saying he was passed over for promotion because he was Hispanic and older than other candidates despite being the best qualified.

  • June 06, 2024

    Catholic Bishops' PWFA Suit Too Hypothetical, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged a Louisiana federal court to reject Catholic institutions' attempt to block recently finalized Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations, arguing the religious organizations' concerns about abortion accommodations rely on a series of speculative uncertainties.

  • June 06, 2024

    Workers Ask NLRB To Reverse Whole Foods BLM Case Ruling

    Wearing Black Lives Matter apparel at Whole Foods is protected under federal labor law, a group of workers argued to the National Labor Relations Board, saying employees wore BLM masks and attire on the job to push the company to confront racial bias in the workplace.

  • June 06, 2024

    Ex-Globetrotters Player Says GM Sexually Harassed Her

    The general manager of the Harlem Globetrotters declined to renew a female player's contract after she rejected his romantic advances, and covered up the scheme by blaming the nonrenewal on her inability to learn a basketball maneuver, according to a Georgia federal court suit.

  • June 06, 2024

    Troutman Pepper Partner Pulled Into Ex-Associate's Bias Suit

    A Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP partner has been added as a defendant in a racial discrimination lawsuit a former Black associate filed, who now claims the partner, a formerly supportive mentor, made the decision to fire her after she complained about an email the associate described as racist.

Expert Analysis

  • Anticipating The Impact Of 2 Impending New Title IX Rules

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    Two major amendments to Title IX — which the U.S. Department of Education is expected to finalize next month — would substantially alter the process schools must use for sexual discrimination complaints and limiting student participation in athletics based on gender identity, says Rebecca Sha at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Despite Regulation Lag, AI Whistleblowers Have Protections

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    Potential whistleblowers at companies failing to comply with the voluntary artificial intelligence commitments must look to a patchwork of state and federal laws for protection and incentives, but deserve comprehensive regulation in this field, say Alexis Ronickher and Matthew LaGarde at Katz Banks.

  • FCRA Legislation To Watch For The Remainder Of 2023

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    If enacted, pending federal and state legislation may result in significant changes for the Fair Credit Reporting Act landscape and thus require regulated entities and practitioners to pivot their compliance strategies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • A Closer Look At Another HBCU Race Bias Suit Against NCAA

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    The National Collegiate Athletic Association's Academic Performance Program has become a lightning rod for scrutiny, as seen in the recently filed class action McKinney v. NCAA — where statistics in the complaint raise questions about the program's potential discriminatory impact on student-athletes at historically Black colleges and universities, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Employer Defenses After High Court Religious Bias Decision

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Groff v. DeJoy — which raised the bar for proving that a worker’s religious accommodation presents an undue hardship — employers can enlist other defense strategies, including grounds that an employee's belief is nonsectarian, say Kevin Jackson and Jack FitzGerald at Foley & Lardner.

  • Where Employers Stand After 5th Circ. Overturns Title VII Test

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    The substantial impact of the recent holding in Hamilton v. Dallas County means employers in the Fifth Circuit can now be liable under Title VII for a whole range of conduct not previously covered — but the court did set limits, and employers can take tangible steps to help protect themselves, say Holly Williamson and Steven DiBeneditto at Hunton.

  • Gauging The Scope Of NYC's New AI Employment Law

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    Although employers have received some guidance on the requirements of New York City's new restriction on the use of automated employment decision tools, there are many open questions to grapple with as Local Law 144 attempts to regulate new and evolving technology, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Eye On Compliance: Women's Soccer Puts Equal Pay In Focus

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    As the U.S. Women's National Team returns from World Cup, employers can honor the fighting spirit of the athletes — which won them a historic gender pay equality settlement in 2022 — by reviewing federal equal pay compliance requirements and committing to a level playing field for all genders, says Christina Heischmidt at Wilson Elser.

  • Inflexible Remote Work Policies Can Put Employers In A Bind

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    As made clear in the recent decision by a Pennsylvania federal court in Oross v. Kutztown University, employers need to engage in individualized assessments of all requests for exemptions or accommodations to return-to-work policies to avoid potentially violating the Americans with Disabilities Act or Rehabilitation Act, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper. 

  • Congress Should Ban Employee Body Size Discrimination

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    New York City's recent enactment of a law that bans employers from discriminating against applicants and employees because of their height or weight should signal to Congress that now is the time to establish federal legislation that would prohibit such harmful practices, says Joseph Jeziorkowski at Valiant Law.

  • Why Employers Should Heed High Court Web Designer Ruling

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    While not an employment law ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in the First Amendment case 303 Creative v. Elenis raises serious questions for employers that constitute public accommodations and have related anti-discrimination policies, says Tanner Camp at Foley & Lardner.

  • What To Expect From The EEOC's Proposed Pregnancy Law

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    U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act require accommodations for many conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, and while the final rule won't be published until the public comment period expires in October, employers should act promptly, says Amy Gluck at FisherBroyles.

  • Employer Best Practices For Pay Transparency Compliance

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    With conflicting pay transparency and disclosure laws appearing across the country, employers must carefully develop different strategies for discussing compensation with employees, applicants, and off-site workers, disclosing salaries in job ads, and staying abreast of new state and local compliance requirements, says Joy Rosenquist at Littler Mendelson.