Discrimination

  • April 16, 2025

    DOJ Resists Perkins Coie Summary Judgment Bid In EO Case

    The U.S. Department of Justice is continuing to defend President Donald Trump's March 6 order suspending security clearances held by Perkins Coie LLP attorneys, arguing on Wednesday that the BigLaw firm cannot take an early win, in part due to the firm's alleged "discriminatory employment activities" through participation in Mansfield Certification.

  • April 16, 2025

    Novel Equal Pay Laws Double-Edged Sword, Advocate Says

    Worker-side attorney Schwanda Rountree said she is optimistic about pay transparency empowering employees but wary of how other developments in equal pay-adjacent areas and return-to-work policies may inadvertently hurt workers. Here, Law360 speaks with Rountree about how pay-gap issues will evolve.

  • April 16, 2025

    7th Circ. Judge Doubts CTA Worker's Signal Chat Claims

    A Seventh Circuit judge on Wednesday expressed skepticism that a lower court erred in tossing a former Chicago Transit Authority employee's retaliation suit as a sanction for spoiling evidence, saying he changed his story about how electronic phone messages were deleted after a Signal executive said the initial explanation was technologically impossible.

  • April 16, 2025

    Construction Cos., EEOC Resolve Suit Over Racist Comments

    A trio of building materials and auto mechanic companies agreed to pay nearly $216,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it failed to stop a supervisor from using racial slurs to refer to Black and Hispanic employees, according to a filing in Florida federal court.

  • April 16, 2025

    Pa. Law Firm Escapes Ex-Paralegal's Bias Claims, For Now

    A federal judge largely nixed a suit brought by a former paralegal for a Pennsylvania law firm who claimed she was fired for taking medical leave to treat her panic disorder, ruling her complaint was short on specifics about whether she was disabled under the law.

  • April 16, 2025

    Law Firm Must Face Trial For Ex-CPO's Retaliation Claims

    A personal injury law firm can't dodge a suit from its former chief people officer accusing the firm of firing her after she raised concerns about pay bias, a Tennessee federal judge ruled, because the firm didn't back up its claim that she was fired for insubordination. 

  • April 16, 2025

    Transgender Women Don't Count As Women Under UK Law

    Britain's highest court ruled Wednesday that the definition of a woman in the country's equality law is restricted to biological sex, ruling that it would create an incoherent system of protected characteristics if transgender women were included.

  • April 15, 2025

    Google Failed To Pay $2M In Commissions, Ex-Sales Rep Says

    A former Google Cloud unit salesperson alleged the company blocked him from receiving $2 million in commissions after he landed a $35 million contract with Otis Elevator and fired him while he underwent cancer treatment to avoid paying out nearly $3 million in life insurance benefits.

  • April 15, 2025

    Colo. Gov. Ignored Ex-Official's Race Bias Concerns, Suit Says

    A former commissioner of Colorado's Behavioral Health Administration filed a race discrimination lawsuit on Tuesday accusing Gov. Jared Polis and his former chief of staff of ignoring reports that she was treated worse than peers because she is African American and then firing her for complaining.

  • April 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Gold Mine's Win In Mechanic's Disability Suit

    The Ninth Circuit upheld on Tuesday a mining company's win in an ex-employee's suit alleging it fired him upon his return from disability leave, agreeing with a lower court that the mechanic was set to return with restrictions that left him unable to do required repair work.

  • April 15, 2025

    Food Service Co. Can't Escape Tobacco Surcharge Suit

    A food service company can't dodge a proposed class action alleging it unlawfully charges tobacco users an additional fee to obtain health insurance, an Illinois federal judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting the company's assertion that federal benefits law doesn't require retroactive reimbursement for completing a cessation program.

  • April 15, 2025

    LSU Must Face Former Attys' Retaliation Claim

    Louisiana State University cannot escape two former in-house attorneys' claim alleging their new job offers were rescinded after they raised concerns about gender equity, a federal judge ruled, rejecting the school's argument that the women forfeited their rights under federal discrimination laws.

  • April 15, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Ex-Tax Office Worker's $110K Harassment Win

    The Ninth Circuit declined to undo sanctions leveled against a tax and accounting company or reduce a $110,000 jury win handed to a former worker who claimed the business's owner sexually harassed her, ruling the company's arguments fell flat against a lower court's orders.

  • April 15, 2025

    Jersey City, Mayor Can't Escape Fired Aide's Retaliation Suit

    Jersey City, New Jersey, and its mayor, Stephen Fulop, are now the lone defendants in a lawsuit by one of Fulop's former aides who was terminated for supporting his conservative sister's political campaign following a Garden State federal judge's dismissal of four city officials from the suit. 

  • April 15, 2025

    Law Students Say EEOC Overreached With DEI Info Demands

    A trio of law students sued the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in D.C. federal court Tuesday, claiming the agency "grossly overstepped" by demanding workplace diversity information, including personal details about applicants and workers, from prominent law firms.

  • April 15, 2025

    DC Judge Blocks Trump Order Against Susman Godfrey

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday largely blocked President Donald Trump's executive order over Susman Godfrey's handling of election litigation, saying the "Framers of the Constitution would see this as a shocking abuse of power."

  • April 15, 2025

    Ga. Plant Alleges Ex-CFO Tried To Bribe Atty In Bogus Letter

    The owner of a now-shuttered Atlanta plastics manufacturing plant has alleged it was the company's disgruntled former financial chief who authored a letter offering to pay off the attorney representing sibling plaintiffs in a federal discrimination lawsuit, in a response this week to a sanctions bid.

  • April 15, 2025

    Mail Delivery Contractor, EEOC Wrap Up Disability Bias Suit

    A South Dakota-based mail delivery contractor agreed to pay $45,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it violated federal disability bias law when it fired an employee because of his physical disability. 

  • April 15, 2025

    NJ Law Firm Hit With Bias Suit From Cancer-Stricken Aide

    A former legal assistant at a New Jersey personal injury firm is suing the firm alleging that she was fired for requesting a workplace accommodation after she was diagnosed with and had surgery for ureter cancer.

  • April 15, 2025

    DOL Blocked From Forcing Contractors To Swear Off DEI

    The U.S. Department of Labor cannot force federal funding recipients to certify that they don't operate programs that violate recent executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, an Illinois federal judge held, saying President Donald Trump's directive likely violates the First Amendment.

  • April 15, 2025

    DOJ Drops Equal Pay Suit Against Mississippi Senate

    A U.S. Department of Justice suit accusing the Mississippi state Senate of paying a Black attorney less than her white colleagues came to an end in federal court Tuesday after the government agreed to toss the case.

  • April 15, 2025

    5 Questions Employers Should Ask Before Buying An AI Tool

    Not all artificial intelligence tools are created equal, and employers should be sure to ask a few crucial questions before buying AI tools for resume screening or other decision-making to get the most out of the technology and avoid violating antidiscrimination law, experts say. Here are five questions employers should ask before buying AI tools for the workplace.

  • April 14, 2025

    Susman Godfrey Asks To Block 'Unconstitutional' Order

    Susman Godfrey LLP on Monday asked a D.C. federal judge to immediately restrain the federal government from enforcing President Donald Trump's "unconstitutional" executive order revoking the firm's access to government resources, saying the directive is blatant retaliation for the firm's representation of clients and causes the president doesn't like.

  • April 14, 2025

    Worker Says Accenture's DEI Goals Cost Him His Job

    Accenture LLP refused to promote a male employee and eventually fired him in order to make room for less-qualified women in the name of gender parity, according to a sex discrimination suit the worker filed Monday in Illinois federal court.

  • April 14, 2025

    Akerman Calls Back Labor And Employment Atty As Partner

    Management-side firm Akerman LLP added a partner to its labor and employment practice group in Chicago who is returning to the firm after seven years and called going back "a homecoming."

Expert Analysis

  • Justices Mull Sex-Based Classification In Trans Law Case

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. v. Skrmetti this week, it appears that the fate of the Tennessee law at the center of the case — a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents — will hinge on whether the majority read the statute as imposing a sex-based classification, says Alexandra Crandall at Dickinson Wright.

  • Pa. Ruling Highlights Challenges Of Employer Arb. Appeals

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    A Pennsylvania federal court's recent ruling in Welch Foods v. General Teamsters Local Union No. 397 demonstrates the inherent difficulties employers face when seeking relief from labor arbitration decisions through appeals in court — and underscores how employers are faced with often conflicting legal priorities, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 7 Ways To Prepare For An I-9 Audit Or Immigration Raid

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    Because immigration enforcement is likely to surge under the upcoming Trump administration, employers should take steps to ensure their staff is trained in employment eligibility verification requirements and what to do in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement I-9 audit or workplace raid, say attorneys at Littler.

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • Disentangling Various Forms Of Workplace Discrimination

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    Pay inequity can be missed where it exists and misidentified due to incorrect statistics, leaving individuals to face multiple facets of discrimination connected by a common root cause, meaning correct identification and measurement is crucial, says Daniel Levy at Advanced Analytical.

  • Key Requirements In New Maryland Pay Transparency Laws

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    Although several jurisdictions now require pay transparency in job advertisements, Maryland's new law is among the broadest in the country, both in terms of what is required and the scope of its applicability, says Sarah Belger at Quarles & Brady.

  • Lessons From EEOC Case Of Fla. Worker Fired After Stillbirth

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    A recent federal court settlement between a Florida resort and a fired line cook shows that the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission sees stillbirth as protected under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, also providing four other important lessons, says Gordon Berger at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Advising Employers As AI Meets DEI And Discrimination

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Though companies can use artificial intelligence tools to develop more diverse and inclusive workforces, counsel should also prepare employers for how AI can stymie these efforts, provoke discrimination claims and complicate resulting litigation, says Emily Schifter at Troutman Pepper.

  • A Look At The Hefty Demands In Calif. Employer AI Draft Regs

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    California's draft regulations on artificial intelligence use in employment decisions show that the California Privacy Protection Agency is positioning itself as a de facto AI regulator for the state, which isn't waiting around for federal legislation, says Lily Li at Metaverse Law.

  • Federal Salary History Ban's Reach Is Limited

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    Though a newly effective Office of Personnel Management rule takes important steps by banning federal employers from considering job applicants' nonfederal salary histories, the rule's narrow applicability and overconfidence in the existing system's fairness will likely not end persistent pay inequities, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • 2nd Circ. Hostile Workplace Ruling Widens Arbitration Pitfalls

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision, affirming the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act applies to a worker whose workplace hostility claims arose before the law’s 2022 enactment, widens the scope of the law — and the risks of unenforceable arbitration agreements for employers, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • Title VII Compliance Lessons From Raytheon Age Bias Suit

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    A Texas federal court’s recent refusal to dismiss age discrimination claims from a former Raytheon employee, terminated after he admitted to acts that Raytheon says violated its harassment policy, nonetheless illustrates strategies employers can use to protect themselves when facing competing Title VII workplace obligations, say attorneys at Segal McCambridge.

  • How The Presidential Election Will Affect Workplace AI Regs

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    The U.S. has so far adopted a light-handed approach to regulating artificial intelligence in the labor and employment area, but the presidential election is unlikely to have as dramatic of an effect on AI regulations as it may on other labor and employment matters, say attorneys at Littler.