Discrimination
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February 19, 2025
Deal Staves Off 3rd Circ. Arguments In Gay Worker's Bias Suit
An assisted living business and an ex-worker resolved her suit claiming her supervisor stopped assigning her shifts after learning she is gay, days before the Third Circuit was set to hear arguments over whether a law barring mandatory arbitration of sex harassment claims covered her case.
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February 19, 2025
Judge Calls Trump's Trans Treatment 'Total Discrimination'
The D.C. federal judge who on Tuesday called President Donald Trump's executive order purporting to ban transgender people from serving in the military "unadulterated animus" pressed government attorneys once again Wednesday, asking how they could view the administration's numerous actions against trans people as "anything other than total discrimination."
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February 19, 2025
Feds Urge Justices To Undo 5th Circ. Preventive Care Ruling
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other federal agencies urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a Fifth Circuit decision that members of a task force setting preventive services coverage requirements under the Affordable Care Act were unconstitutionally appointed, arguing the HHS secretary retained sufficient oversight.
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February 19, 2025
Chicago's Art Institute School Hit With Age Bias Claims
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is facing age bias claims from its former chief engineer, who says in a federal suit that the school illegally gave his job to a younger colleague and switched its property manager while he was on leave.
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February 19, 2025
Tax Tech Worker Says He Was Fired For Lawsuit Presentation
A tax compliance software company wrongfully fired an employee after he gave a presentation to his co-workers about a gender discrimination lawsuit that had been brought against video game publisher Activision Blizzard, violating his federal and state constitutional rights, according to litigation removed to Connecticut federal court.
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February 19, 2025
Law Curbing Arbitration Can't Keep Pumping Bias Suit Alive
A Florida federal judge said a former server must arbitrate her suit alleging a restaurant failed to provide her a secure place to pump breast milk when she returned from maternity leave, ruling a law that bars the arbitration of sex harassment claims doesn't cover her claims.
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February 19, 2025
McCarter & English Says 'Offensive' Post Backs Atty's Firing
McCarter & English LLP has moved to dismiss a fired ex-associate's suit alleging discrimination based on his status as a veteran, telling a New Jersey state court that it had the right to terminate the at-will attorney for an allegedly offensive LinkedIn post.
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February 19, 2025
Jay-Z's Roc Nation Aims To Exit Buzbee Conspiracy Suits
Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter's company Roc Nation has asked a Texas federal court to let it escape two lawsuits against it and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP alleging that they recruited former clients to bring malpractice claims against the Buzbee Law Firm in retaliation for accusing the rap star of rape.
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February 19, 2025
Ex-Defender Again Tries To Revive Sex Bias Suit At 4th Circ.
A former assistant public defender in North Carolina is urging the Fourth Circuit to reverse a bench ruling that dashed her long-running bias suit against the federal judiciary, saying the indifference she allegedly endured after she reported being sexually harassed proves her case.
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February 19, 2025
DOL Nom Seeks Distance From PRO Act Support At Hearing
President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. Department of Labor secretary said during a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday that although she previously backed pro-organizing legislation as a member of the U.S. House, she is "no longer" a lawmaker and would follow Trump's agenda.
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February 19, 2025
Resort To Pay $1.4M To End EEOC National Origin Bias Suit
A resort in Guam will pay $1.4 million to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it gave Japanese workers better pay and working conditions than their non-Japanese peers, according to a court filing Wednesday.
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February 19, 2025
Mintz Lands Kasowitz Employment Litigation Head In NY
The longtime chair of Kasowitz Benson & Torres LLP's employment litigation group said Wednesday that he had left that firm to take on the same role at Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo PC in New York.
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February 19, 2025
Md. Plant Nursery Settles EEOC Pregnancy Bias Suit
A Maryland plant nursery agreed to pay $40,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit accusing it of refusing to bring a laborer back after she took time off to deal with a pregnancy, according to court documents.
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February 18, 2025
Trump Exec Order Expands Control Over Independent Agencies
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to limit the autonomy of independent agencies such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Communications Commission by requiring them to submit draft regulations for presidential review.
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February 18, 2025
Wells Fargo Fights Class Cert. Bid In 'Sham' Hiring Case
Wells Fargo & Co. is seeking to avoid class claims in a lawsuit accusing it of deceiving investors about its hiring practices, arguing that suing shareholders have not shown how a downturn in the bank's stock price was caused by the supposedly "sham" job interviews rather than a challenging interest rate environment.
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February 18, 2025
Judge Says 'Animus' Could Doom Trump Transgender Order
A D.C. federal judge Tuesday hammered government attorneys defending President Donald Trump's executive order ostensibly banning transgender people from serving in the U.S. military, challenging their claims that the order has yet to drive any practical changes when the Defense Department has already "paused" ascensions for trans recruits.
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February 18, 2025
Contradictions Abound As The EEOC Changes Course
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent abandonment of several lawsuits alleging mistreatment of transgender and nonbinary workers is an unprecedented step that cuts against agency guidance, its strategy and Supreme Court precedent, former EEOC officials said.
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February 18, 2025
CIA Officer Firings Under DEI Ban Halted As Judge Mulls TRO
A Virginia federal judge blocked the CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday from officially firing intelligence officers who have challenged President Donald Trump's executive order directing federal agencies to terminate diversity, equity and inclusion officers.
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February 18, 2025
White House Says City Can't Show Harm From Anti-DEI Orders
The Trump administration urged a Maryland federal court Tuesday not to block its executive orders curtailing diversity, equity and inclusion programs, saying the city of Baltimore and other challengers hadn't shown any of their funding has been affected by the orders.
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February 18, 2025
White Verizon Worker Says Race Bias Got Him Fired
A former Verizon employee urged a New York federal court to grant him a win in his lawsuit against his former employer and the Communications Workers of America, saying he was only fired for using the N-word because he's white and the union wished to avoid negative publicity.
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February 18, 2025
Fired White Sox Trainer's Discrimination Suit Gets New Life
An Illinois state appeals court has revived a discrimination lawsuit from the former head trainer for the Chicago White Sox alleging the team fired him due to his sexual orientation, finding that the club may have tried to avoid litigation through deceptive means.
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February 18, 2025
NY High Court Upholds Ethics Commission In Cuomo Case
New York's highest court on Tuesday affirmed the constitutionality of the state's recently revamped ethics commission in an order reversing a lower court ruling that sided with embattled former Gov. Andrew Cuomo amid an investigation related to his use of government employees to help him publish and promote a book.
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February 18, 2025
EEOC Backs Off Trans Bias Suits, Citing Trump Order
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is walking away from seven lawsuits accusing businesses of discriminating against transgender or nonbinary employees, telling courts the suits conflict with President Donald Trump's executive order stating the government only recognizes two genders.
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February 17, 2025
Labor Groups Denied Block On DOGE's Agency Access
A Washington, D.C. federal judge again declined to block Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing three federal agencies' data, saying worker and consumer advocates haven't shown that the department's agents don't belong.
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February 14, 2025
9th Circ. Told DOL Can't Shield Contractor Demographic Data
The Center for Investigative Reporting told the Ninth Circuit on Friday that federal contractors' workforce demographic reports were not protected by a commercial data exemption to the Freedom of Information Act, as there was no "intimate information" in those reports.
Expert Analysis
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Employer Best Practices For Pay Transparency Compliance
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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.
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Congress Must Level The Employer Arbitration Playing Field
Federal courts have largely eviscerated state bans on arbitration of employment claims through Federal Arbitration Act preemption holdings, and they are also limiting the impact of the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, so Congress needs to step in and amend both laws, says Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.
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What 11th Circ. Revival Of Deaf Employee's Bias Suit Portends
The Eleventh Circuit's recent Beasley v. O'Reilly Auto Parts decision, which created a circuit split involving the issue of linking accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act to essential job functions, is a curiosity about the court's analysis at least and a potential game changer for employer duties at most, says John Doran at Sherman & Howard.
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What To Watch As Justices Take Up Title VII Job Transfer Case
With its recent decision to hear Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether an involuntary job transfer can count as employment discrimination under Title VII — an eventual ruling that has potential to reshape workplace bias claims nationwide, says Adam Grogan at Bell Law Group.
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Parsing EEOC Guidance On Accommodating Low Vision
Employers need to examine recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance on provisions for employees who are blind or partially sighted, particularly on the consequences of terminating an employee with blindness or low vision without meeting obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, says Amy Epstein Gluck at FisherBroyles.
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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.