Discrimination

  • February 10, 2025

    Conservative Groups Say ABA Clerk, Intern Programs Illegal

    Conservative advocacy groups urged the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Monday to scrutinize the American Bar Association's diversity and internship programs, claiming the organization is committing unlawful discrimination in the name of diversity.

  • February 07, 2025

    Judge OKs $2.7M In Atty Fees From $23M FBI Sex Bias Deal

    A D.C. federal judge on Friday approved $2.7 million in fees for attorneys representing a class of women accusing the Federal Bureau of Investigation of holding them to sexist double standards, part of a $22.6 million settlement resolving the lawsuit.

  • February 07, 2025

    Calif. Releases Updated Draft Of AI Rules For Public Comment

    California's Civil Rights Council voted Friday to approve a few key changes to proposed rules governing the use of artificial intelligence tools in employment and released the draft for public comment, seemingly slashing potential liability for the tools' developers and removing a controversial definition of "adverse impact."

  • February 07, 2025

    Jewish Woman Says Discrimination At Tesla Led To Her Layoff

    Tesla is facing a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in Texas state court from a former sales staffer who says she was subjected to a hostile workplace because she is Jewish and a woman and was then booted from the company after complaining about the bias to human resources.

  • February 07, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Ex-Bank Auditor's $1.5M Retaliation Suit Win

    The Ninth Circuit upheld a $1.5 million jury verdict in favor of a former bank auditor who claimed he was fired for flagging evidence of wrongdoing, finding evidence suggesting he was treated differently from other workers was enough to back up the jurors' decision.

  • February 07, 2025

    Pa. Bank Settles Fired Worker's Sex Harassment Suit

    Republic First has agreed to settle a worker's suit claiming she was fired for refusing sexual advances from her manager under the pretext that she mismanaged her cash drawer, according to a filing in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • February 07, 2025

    Judge Won't Block DOGE Access To Labor Dept. Data

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge declined Friday to block Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive U.S. Department of Labor data, saying that while he "harbors concerns" about privacy risks, the suing labor unions haven't established standing.

  • February 07, 2025

    Trump's Anti-DEI Push Calls For Change, Not 'Overcorrection'

    President Donald Trump wasted no time launching an aggressive push to rid American workplaces of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, but many companies that have championed diversity may be reluctant to reverse course. Here are five tips for employers that want to keep encouraging diversity while minimizing legal risk.

  • February 07, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: 9th Circ. To Hear DOL Pay Data Release Fight

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for oral arguments at the Ninth Circuit regarding journalists' attempt to seek federal contractor pay data from the U.S. Department of Labor. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • February 07, 2025

    10th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Denver Firefighter's ADA Suit

    The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal Friday of a former firefighter's suit claiming the city of Denver failed to accommodate a hand injury he suffered on the job that forced him into retirement, ruling the lower court correctly found he filed a presuit charge too late.

  • February 07, 2025

    Judge Blocks USAID From Putting 2,200 Workers On Leave

    A D.C. federal judge on Friday issued a "limited" temporary restraining order blocking the U.S. Agency for International Development from putting 2,200 employees on paid administrative leave and ordering the agency to reinstate 500 employees already on leave.

  • February 07, 2025

    Applicant Seeks Group Status For Workday Age Bias Claim

    A spurned job applicant urged a California federal court to confer collective action status on his claim that Workday's automated hiring tools violate federal age discrimination law, saying the artificial intelligence platform's similar treatment of older job seekers was enough to warrant representative status.

  • February 07, 2025

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears Maternity Leave, Retaliation Suit

    This week the Second Circuit is scheduled consider a former New York City Economic Development Corp. employee's attempt to revive her lawsuit claiming her supervisor retaliated against her for taking maternity and medical leave. Here, Law360 looks at this and other notable cases on the docket this week in New York courts.

  • February 07, 2025

    Okla. School District Settles Ex-Teacher's Military Leave Suit

    An Oklahoma school district has agreed to pay a former music teacher $60,000 to resolve his suit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice claiming the district scuttled his employment contract for taking leave to serve in the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

  • February 06, 2025

    Fed. Worker Reps Slam 'Unfathomably Cruel' USAID Shutdown

    The Trump administration's illegal decision to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development has caused a global humanitarian crisis, cost thousands of Americans their jobs and threatens U.S. national security, groups representing federal employees and foreign service workers alleged in a federal lawsuit Thursday in Washington, D.C.

  • February 06, 2025

    Credit Union's Arb. Pact Not Unconscionable, Court Says

    A California state appeals court has reversed a ruling finding an arbitration agreement contained in a credit union's employment contract to be unconscionable, saying the JAMS rules incorporated in the pact permit an arbitrator to allow for necessary third-party discovery.

  • February 06, 2025

    Trump Creates DOJ Task Force Targeting 'Anti-Christian Bias'

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday establishing a U.S. Department of Justice task force to root out "anti-Christian bias" within federal agencies and prosecute vandalism and violence targeting churches and related religious organizations.

  • February 06, 2025

    Manager's Work, Not Gaza Posts, Led To Firing, Ill. City Says

    A former Evanston, Illinois, employee shouldn't be allowed to go to trial on claims that he was fired for publicly expressing sympathy for Palestinians in Gaza because evidence clearly proves his performance is what cost him his job, city officials argued Wednesday.

  • February 06, 2025

    DOJ To Weigh Criminal Action Against Cos. With DEI Policies

    The U.S. Department of Justice will consider bringing criminal and civil investigations against companies over their diversity, equity and inclusion policies, according to a new memorandum from Attorney General Pam Bondi.

  • February 06, 2025

    Trump's Trans Military Ban Violates Constitution, Suit Says

    A group of transgender service members and a human rights organization sued the Trump administration Thursday in Washington federal court, asserting his executive order banning transgender people from serving in the military is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

  • February 06, 2025

    Teamsters Beat Agent's Bias And Retaliation Claims For Now

    A former Teamsters business agent fell short of proving her exclusion from a slate of candidates in an officers' election constituted age discrimination, retaliation and wrongful discharge, a California federal judge ruled Thursday, tossing the complaint but giving the former business agent an opportunity to refile it.

  • February 06, 2025

    Ex-Cornell Physics Prof Settles Title IX Suit Against School

    A former Cornell University professor settled his Title IX lawsuit against the school, the New Civil Liberties Alliance announced Thursday, ending a yearslong case in which the professor accused the school of sex bias linked to an investigation into a student's sexual misconduct allegation.

  • February 06, 2025

    10th Circ. Backs Hospital's Defeat Of Ex-Worker's ADA Suit

    The Tenth Circuit refused Thursday to reopen a former human resources worker's lawsuit claiming a Wyoming hospital accused her of being "manic" after she reported suspicions of unethical and illegal business practices, ruling her presuit discrimination charge didn't allege that the hospital considered her disabled.

  • February 06, 2025

    Ex-Worker Hits Pot Giant Cresco With Wrongful Firing Suit

    A former kitchen agent for Cresco Labs LLC is suing the cannabis giant in Illinois federal court, alleging she was wrongly fired after a workplace injury and was not afforded time off as required under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

  • February 06, 2025

    Gutted By Trump Executive Order, OFCCP Scrubs Its Website

    The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs quietly removed years of policy directives, conciliation agreements and guidance from its website, following President Donald Trump's rescission of a 60-year-old legal authority the agency used to stop federal contractors from discriminating against workers.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • Eye On Compliance: ADA Accommodations For Obesity

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    As the classification of "obesity" as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act continues to evolve, employers should note federal district and state court deviations from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines, which have deemed obesity to be a qualifying impairment, no matter the cause, says Lauren Stadler at Wilson Elser.

  • 3rd. Circ. Ruling Shows Employers Where To Put ADA Focus

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    A recent Third Circuit decision in Morgan v. Allison Crane & Rigging, confirming that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects some temporarily impaired employees, reminds employers to pursue compliance through uniform policies that head off discriminatory decisions, not after-the-fact debates over an individual's disability status, says Joseph McGuire at Freeman Mathis.

  • 11th Circ. Ruling Offers Refresher On 'Sex-Plus' Bias Claims

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    While the Eleventh Circuit’s recent ruling in McCreight v. AuburnBank dismissed former employees’ sex-plus-age discrimination claims, the opinion reminds employers to ensure that workplace policies and practices do not treat a subgroup of employees of one sex differently than the same subgroup of another sex, say attorneys at Bradley Arant.

  • Employment Verification Poses Unique Risks For Staffing Cos.

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    All employers face employee verification issues, but a survey of recent settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section suggests that staffing companies' unique circumstances raise the chances they will be investigated and face substantial fines, says Eileen Scofield at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Expect As Worker Bias Suit Heads To High Court

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    The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, which concerns how courts treat discrimination claims brought by majority group plaintiffs, and its decision could eliminate the background circumstances test, but is unlikely to significantly affect employers' diversity programs, say Victoria Slade and Alysa Mo at Davis Wright.

  • Mitigating Construction Employers' Risks Of Discrimination

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    Recent heightened government scrutiny of construction industry employment practices illustrates the need for nondiscriminatory recruitment and proactive assessment of workforces and worksites, including auditing for demographic disparities and taking documented steps to address such issues, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Cos. Should Focus On State AI Laws Despite New DOL Site

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    Because a new U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored website about the disability discrimination risks of AI hiring tools mostly echoes old guidance, employers should focus on complying with the state and local AI workplace laws springing up where Congress and federal regulators have yet to act, say attorneys at Littler.