Discrimination

  • November 19, 2024

    Ex-Fed Staffer Says Vax Bias, DEI Initiatives Got Him Sacked

    A former employee of the Federal Reserve Board sued the central bank's leadership alleging he faced discrimination as a straight, white man and "utter disdain" from his managers, and that he was ultimately fired days before his planned retirement after refusing coronavirus vaccination on religious grounds.

  • November 19, 2024

    EEOC Says SkyWest Left Harassment Questions 'Unasked'

    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told jurors Tuesday to "look at the questions" SkyWest Airlines didn't ask when an employee told the company she was experiencing persistent sexual harassment and that the company should've responded sooner.

  • November 19, 2024

    CSX Can't Escape FMLA Suit Over Attendance Policies

    CSX Transportation can't beat a proposed class action alleging certain attendance and pay policies unlawfully penalize engineers, conductors and switchmen who take medical leave, an Ohio federal judge ruled, saying a jury should sort out how comparable other types of absences are.

  • November 19, 2024

    Mercedes-Benz Escapes Muslim Ex-Worker's Prayer Bias Suit

    An Alabama federal judge tossed a Muslim worker's suit claiming Mercedes-Benz blocked him from praying outside his scheduled break times and thus prompted him to resign, finding Tuesday his case fell flat because he never faced any negative consequences after asking for a religious accommodation.

  • November 19, 2024

    Black Ex-VP Says UPS Gave Her Job To Less-Qualified Worker

    United Parcel Service had a Black vice president show a less-qualified white co-worker the ropes, then handed the vice president role to the white worker and told the more seasoned employee she was no longer needed, according to a new lawsuit filed in Georgia federal court.

  • November 19, 2024

    10th Circ. Says 'Troubling' Incidents Not Enough In Bias Case

    The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a Nigerian pharmacist's suit claiming she was harassed and fired from a Kansas state hospital over her race and national origin, ruling Tuesday that the unpleasant workplace interactions she cited, though "troubling," weren't bad enough to sustain her case.

  • November 19, 2024

    Raytheon Must Face Former Engineer's Age Bias Suit

    Defense contractor Raytheon can't escape a former engineer's age discrimination suit claiming he was unjustly fired after he tapped a male colleague on the backside with a cafeteria tray, with a Texas federal judge saying Tuesday he wasn't convinced factual disputes in the case had been resolved.

  • November 19, 2024

    FDNY Says Poor Interviews, Not Bias, Thwarted EMS Workers

    Two union-represented emergency medical service workers with the New York City Fire Department missed their shot at promotions because they performed poorly during their interviews, not because the department discriminates against women, people of color and people with disabilities, the FDNY told a New York federal judge Tuesday.

  • November 19, 2024

    ​​​​​​​10th Circ. Judge Hints Forced Counseling Can Buoy ADA Suit

    A Tenth Circuit judge seemed incredulous Tuesday at a healthcare provider's argument that making an employee undergo company-sponsored mental health counseling to keep their job doesn't qualify as the kind of workplace action that can sustain an Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit. 

  • November 19, 2024

    6th Circ. Backs St. Jude's Win In Religious Vaccine Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit refused to reopen a former St. Jude Children's Research Hospital employee's lawsuit claiming she was unlawfully fired for requesting a religious exception from the medical center's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, finding it would have been too difficult for the hospital to accommodate her request.

  • November 19, 2024

    GMU Asks Court To Toss Ex-Prof's Suit Over Title IX Probe

    George Mason University asked a court to throw out the remainder of former professor Joshua Wright's lawsuit over its investigation of a Title IX retaliation claim against him related to allegations of sexual misconduct, saying Monday that the school had already dismissed the claim by the time he filed his amended complaint.

  • November 19, 2024

    Meat Buyer For BJ's Wholesale Says Co. Pushed Him Out

    A former BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. meat buyer who oversaw more than $12 billion in annual sales of beef and lamb for the Massachusetts-based company says he was fired after the retailer refused to accommodate his need to care for his ailing wife, according to a complaint filed on Monday in state court.

  • November 19, 2024

    Detroit Casino Must Face Narrowed COVID Vax Bias Suit

    A Michigan federal judge refused to toss a religious bias suit from a worker who said the MGM Grand Detroit fired him for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination, ruling a jury should decide whether the casino could have accommodated his beliefs by letting him skip the jab.

  • November 19, 2024

    FDIC's Gruenberg To Exit On Eve Of Trump's Inauguration

    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s embattled chairman, Martin Gruenberg, said Tuesday that he will step down and retire from the agency before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, clearing the way for a new, likely Republican leader at the deposit insurer.

  • November 19, 2024

    Law Firm Wants Out Of Ex-Paralegal's OT, Disability Suit

    An Allentown, Pennsylvania, law firm is asking a federal judge to dismiss a former paralegal's claim that the firm fired her due to her panic disorder, arguing that among other things, the paralegal failed to prove she has a legitimate disability recognized by law.

  • November 18, 2024

    Pol Says Ex-Staffer 'Indicated' Link To Chandra Levy's Killing

    A California state senator accused by her former chief of staff of sexual harassment fired back with a countersuit alleging he stole $50,000 from her campaign, abused drugs and "indicated" to her that he is responsible for the notorious unsolved homicide of Chandra Levy.

  • November 18, 2024

    Worker Urges High Court To Fix Rift In Axed Age Bias Suit

    A former Halliburton employee asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to overturn a Tenth Circuit order shuttering his age bias suit after finding he couldn't challenge an arbitration award because the case was voluntarily dismissed, arguing the ruling creates a "twilight zone" in the law.

  • November 18, 2024

    BCBS Wants New Trial After Worker's $12M Vax Suit Win

    Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has urged a federal judge to expunge a $12.69 million jury award won by a former employee who claimed she was unlawfully fired because her religious beliefs forbade her from getting a COVID-19 vaccination, saying her evidence of discrimination wasn't up to snuff.

  • November 18, 2024

    General Mills Plant 'Haunted' By Racist Past, Workers Say

    A group of Georgia General Mills plant workers who said their workplace was run by a clique of neo-Confederate racists fought back Monday against the company's bid to toss the suit, arguing the plant remains "haunted" by a legacy of white supremacist leadership.

  • November 18, 2024

    BlackBerry Faces Uphill Fight To Nix Harassment Claims

    A California federal magistrate judge expressed doubts Monday about BlackBerry's latest bid to toss claims that its current CEO sexually harassed a former executive before he took the top job, saying she's unsure if she can decide at the pleading stage what constitutes "objectively severe" discrimination.

  • November 18, 2024

    Trump Co. Seeks Coverage Of Wage Theft, Discrimination Suit

    The Trump Corp. asked a New York federal court to force an insurer to defend it in a more than $500,000 wage theft and age discrimination dispute brought by a former employee of a company-managed luxury condo in Manhattan.

  • November 18, 2024

    Ex-UPS Driver's $238M Race Bias Verdict Slashed To $40M

    A Washington federal judge reduced a $237.6 million jury verdict in a Black former UPS driver's lawsuit claiming he was treated differently than his white colleagues and fired for speaking up, ruling the worker hadn't provided enough evidence to support jurors' $198 million punitive damages award.

  • November 18, 2024

    Amazon Worker Can't Add Retaliation Claim To December Trial

    A federal judge in Washington state has rejected a worker's eleventh-hour bid to amend his lawsuit accusing Amazon of passing him up for a promotion after he took protected military leave, saying the operations manager cannot "ambush" the e-commerce giant with fresh retaliation allegations just weeks before a trial in December.

  • November 18, 2024

    Diddy Accusers' Atty Buzbee Accused Of Extorting Celebs

    An anonymous public figure lodged a suit in Los Angeles court Monday accusing personal injury lawyer Tony Buzbee of using false rape allegations to "shake down innocent celebrities, politicians and businesspeople" who have even the smallest ties to indicted hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.

  • November 18, 2024

    EEOC Top Cop To Argue At 10th Circ. In 'Unusual' Move

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's general counsel is scheduled to make an uncommon courtroom appearance Tuesday when she ventures to the Tenth Circuit to argue that the U.S. Supreme Court's April decision in Muldrow v. St. Louis eases the path forward for workers bringing disability discrimination claims.

Expert Analysis

  • How The Tide Of EEOC Litigation Rolled Back In FY 2024

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    An analysis of the location, timing and underlying claims asserted in U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-initiated cases during fiscal year 2024 shows that the commission saw a substantial decrease in litigation activity after a surge last year, but employers should not drop their guard, say Christopher DeGroff and Andrew Scroggins at Seyfarth.

  • The Key Changes In Revised FDIC Hiring Regulations

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    Attorneys at Ogletree break down the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rule, effective Oct. 1, that will ease restrictions on financial institutions hiring employees with criminal histories, amend the FDIC's treatment of minor offenses and clarify its stance on expunged or dismissed criminal records.

  • Employer Tips For PUMP Act Compliance As Law Turns 2

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    Enacted in December 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for employees to express breast milk, but some companies may still be struggling with how to comply, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Know About Ill. Employment Law Changes

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    Illinois employers should review their policies in light of a number of recent changes to state employment law, including amendments to the state’s Human Rights Act and modifications to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination

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    As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.

  • The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media

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    As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.

  • 7th Circ. Rulings Offer Employee Vaccine Exemption Guidance

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    Dawn Solowey and Samantha Brooks at Seyfarth explain how two recent Seventh Circuit rulings in Passarella v. Aspirus and Bube v. Aspirus could affect litigation involving employee vaccine exemptions, and discuss employer best practices for handling accommodation requests that include both religious and secular concerns.

  • Employers Should Not Neglect Paid Military Leave Compliance

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    An August decision from the Ninth Circuit and the settlement of a long-running class action, both examining paid leave requirements under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, are part of a nationwide trend that should prompt employers to review their military leave policies to avoid potential litigation and reputational damage, says Bradford Kelley at Littler.

  • Old Employment Law Principles Can Answer New AI Concerns

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    Despite growing legal and regulatory concerns about how artificial intelligence tools may affect employment decisions and worker rights, companies should take comfort in knowing that familiar principles of employment law and established compliance regimes can still largely address these new twists on old questions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws

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    With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • How Anti-DEI Bill Could Affect Employers' Diversity Efforts

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    Sen. J.D. Vance's recently introduced Dismantle DEI Act would substantially limit employers’ ability to implement and promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but there are still steps employers can take to support a diverse workforce, says Peter Ennis at Cozen O’Connor.