Discrimination

  • December 16, 2024

    Va. Commonwealth's Atty Wants Sanctions In FMLA Dispute

    A Virginia commonwealth's attorney urged a federal court Monday to slap sanctions on a former assistant attorney who filed suit after he was fired for requesting time off to care for his mother, saying his failure to respond to discovery requests merits punishment.

  • December 16, 2024

    Dental Workers' Retaliation Appeal Nixed For Lack Of Docs

    A California appeals court declined to revive a suit brought by two dental office workers who claimed they were fired after complaining that their boss sexually harassed them, saying they hadn't provided enough details for the court to evaluate their case.

  • December 16, 2024

    Court Culture Seen As Barrier To Workplace Misconduct Fixes

    The federal judiciary's internal system for resolving workplace misconduct allegations has gone through a six-year overhaul that officials tout as evidence of sustained progress, but some experts say the tight bonds that unite court personnel may still be an impediment to meaningful change.

  • December 16, 2024

    K&L Gates Adds Hirschfeld Kraemer Employment Pro In LA

    K&L Gates LLP continues expanding its labor and employment team, bringing in a Hirschfeld Kraemer LLP employment litigator as a partner in its Los Angeles office.

  • December 13, 2024

    6th Circ. Says FMLA Can Cover Time Off To Care For Siblings

    An Ohio federal court must reexamine a lawsuit claiming a car dealership fired a manager for requesting leave to care for her terminally ill sister, the Sixth Circuit said Friday, rejecting the court's finding that federal medical leave law did not cover their caregiving relationship because the sister wasn't a child.

  • December 13, 2024

    NHTSA Publishes Whistleblower Program Final Rule

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration finalized its whistleblower program, which could award as much as 30% of monetary sanctions to a worker of an auto manufacturer who calls out bad behavior.

  • December 13, 2024

    Aetna Analyst Says She Was Forced Out Over ADD Disability

    Health insurer Aetna was hit with a disability discrimination lawsuit in Georgia federal court by a former data analyst who said she was forced out of her job by regular harassment from her supervisor over her attention deficit disorder.

  • December 13, 2024

    Paula Abdul Settles 'American Idol' Sex Assault Lawsuit

    Paula Abdul told a California state court she has reached a settlement to resolve claims the executive producer behind "American Idol" and "So You Think You Can Dance" sexually assaulted her repeatedly during her years as a judge on the reality competition shows.

  • December 13, 2024

    Jury Sides With MetLife In Fired Exec's Pay Bias Suit

    A New York federal judge closed a former MetLife executive's suit after a jury sided with the company on her claims that she was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars less than her male counterparts and passed over for a promotion due to her gender.

  • December 13, 2024

    J&J Unit Deemed Family Duties A 'Distraction,' Suit Says

    A prosthetics company owned by Johnson & Johnson said an employee returning from parental leave had "distractions outside of work" as it gave him negative performance reviews before firing him, according to a suit filed in Massachusetts federal court Friday.

  • December 13, 2024

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears School District Retaliation Suit

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider a former Connecticut school district executive's attempt to revive her lawsuit alleging she was fired in retaliation for filing a complaint claiming she was passed over for a promotion due to her race and gender. Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • December 13, 2024

    Worker Fired For Union Activity, Not Vax Status, Court Agrees

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday upheld a National Labor Relations Board decision that a commercial property management firm illegally fired a union supporter, finding "substantial evidence" the firing was based on the worker's union support and not his COVID-19 vaccination status.

  • December 13, 2024

    Calif.'s 1st-Ever Willful Heat Penalty Issued To Landscaper

    The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has levied its first-ever willful heat violation penalty against a landscaping and maintenance business for failing to provide workers with access to water when the temperature exceeded 95 degrees Fahrenheit, two years after it cited the company for similar heat-related safety violations.

  • December 13, 2024

    Pizza Hut Franchisee Fired Harassment Victim, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission slapped a Pizza Hut franchisee with a suit in Texas federal court, claiming it fired a manager because she complained that her boss began sabotaging her success after she called off her relationship with him.

  • December 13, 2024

    Calif. Justices Won't Undo Judge's Ouster Over Misconduct

    The California Supreme Court has decided not to overturn a state judge's removal from the bench for conducting a campaign of retaliation against court employees he suspected of being "moles."

  • December 13, 2024

    DOL Orders Asia Pacific To Pay $2M To Ex-Pilot Whistleblower

    Asia Pacific Airlines must pay a former pilot over $2 million in wages, damages and attorney fees, as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the airline had ignored his complaints about the safety of a cargo plane before ultimately firing him, the Department of Labor said.

  • December 13, 2024

    Helicopter Co. Calls Whistleblower Suit 'Premature'

    Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. told a Connecticut state court that a self-described well-known whistleblower failed to turn to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration before filing a lawsuit that accuses the company of firing him for reporting wage and hour and environmental violations, and it urged the court to toss the suit.

  • December 13, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Cop's Bias Case Over COVID Policies

    The Eleventh Circuit backed a win for Birmingham, Alabama, in a lawsuit claiming it assigned a police officer to the city jail as punishment for requesting an exemption from pandemic face mask policies because of his anxiety, finding he hadn't shown the city was motivated by bias.

  • December 13, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: Apple Wants Wage Collective Decertified

    In the next two weeks, attorneys should keep an eye out for the fate of a decertification bid in a wage and hour collective action against Apple. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • December 13, 2024

    5 Rulings That Brought The EFAA Into Sharper Focus In 2024

    Nearly two years after its enactment, courts' interpretations of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act are taking shape, though plenty of questions remain. Here's a look back at five rulings this year that helped clarify how judges see the 2022 law.

  • December 13, 2024

    Workers Hit Cisco With Claims Of Anti-Palestinian Bias

    A group of current and former Cisco workers lodged charges with workplace discrimination and labor regulators accusing the company of allowing Palestinian employees to be harassed for criticizing its decision to provide technology to the Israeli military in its war with Hamas.

  • December 12, 2024

    Diddy Hit With 3 New Sexual Assault Suits In NY

    Three men Thursday filed new suits against Sean "Diddy" Combs, each claiming that the hip-hop mogul got them drunk, drugged them and raped them in recent years, according to complaints filed in New York County Supreme Court.

  • December 12, 2024

    Full 9th Circ. To Rehear Late BNSF Worker's Retaliation Claims

    The full Ninth Circuit on Thursday agreed to reconsider retaliation allegations against BNSF Railway Co. brought by the estate of a former BNSF conductor claiming the railroad terminated him, in part, because he conducted a safety test.

  • December 12, 2024

    Wells Fargo Faces ADA Suit Over Post-COVID Office Mandate

    Wells Fargo Bank NA faces a suit brought by a 20-year employee alleging she faced discrimination for working remotely due to health issues as the company sought to bring its workers back to in-person work on the heels of the coronavirus pandemic.

  • December 12, 2024

    Chemical Co. Cleared In EEOC Race Harassment Suit

    A Missouri federal jury has sided with a chemical company in a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it failed to prevent a Black employee from being harassed and called the N-word by a coworker.

Expert Analysis

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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.