Discrimination

  • March 17, 2026

    Boeing's Appeal Bid Grounded In Bias Suit Over Bonuses

    Boeing cannot immediately appeal to the Ninth Circuit a decision sending to state court a proposed class action accusing the aerospace company of denying a $12,000 bonus to workers on extended leave, a Washington federal judge ruled.

  • March 16, 2026

    Pregnant Worker Fired After Harassment Complaint, Suit Says

    An ex-employee of a Seattle cannabis shop has filed a sexual harassment and discrimination lawsuit against the company, alleging she was fired after complaining about a co-worker's inappropriate comments and the store's illegal sales to minors.

  • March 16, 2026

    Trans Bias Fight Presents Novel Questions To 4th Circ.

    The Fourth Circuit will consider several questions that sit at the intersection of religious and LGBTQ+ rights when it hears Liberty University's challenge Tuesday to a ruling that allowed a transgender former employee to pursue a sex discrimination suit against the Christian school. Here's a look at five of those questions.

  • March 16, 2026

    Pilots Rip Hawaiian Airlines' Bid To Ditch COVID Vax Bias Suit

    Hawaiian Airlines shouldn't be allowed to boot a lawsuit out of court using the argument that the Railway Labor Act governs, because the dispute over Hawaiian's vaccine mandate can be resolved without invoking the law by bringing in the collective bargaining agreement, a group of pilots argued.

  • March 16, 2026

    5th Circ. Revives Vietnamese Ex-VA Worker's Bias Claims

    The Fifth Circuit reinstated part of an Asian former Department of Veterans Affairs worker's suit claiming she faced persistent harassment on the job and lost out on professional opportunities because of race bias, ruling Monday the lower court was too quick to cast off her hostile work environment claims.

  • March 16, 2026

    2nd Circ. Axes NYC Vax Challenge, Flags Fake Case Citations

    The Second Circuit refused Monday to reinstate a coalition of current and former New York City employees' challenge to the city's now-defunct COVID-19 vaccine mandate and referred the workers' lawyers to its grievance panel over fictional case citations in a court filing.

  • March 16, 2026

    Oil And Gas Co. Can't Sink Race, Disability Bias Suit

    An oil and gas company must face a lawsuit claiming it unlawfully refused to accommodate a worker's attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and fired her for complaining about colleagues' race-based comments, after a Texas federal judge ruled Monday that a jury needs to weigh the company's explanations for its actions.

  • March 16, 2026

    DOJ Says Trump's Trans Restroom Ban Isn't Discriminatory

    The U.S. Department of Justice has told a D.C. federal judge that the Trump administration's decision to prohibit transgender federal employees from using restrooms that match their gender identities was lawful, and that a proposed class action challenging it must fail.

  • March 16, 2026

    Mich. Jury Awards $10M To Med Resident Fired During Leave

    A Michigan state jury has awarded more than $10 million to a former medical student who said she was fired from a hospital's OB-GYN residency program after being forced to take a required licensing exam while on maternity leave.

  • March 16, 2026

    Chicago Female Cops Secure Trials In Sex Bias Suits

    The city of Chicago can't evade trial on three female cops' claims that gender discrimination cost them promotions or got them downgraded to lesser positions, an Illinois federal judge ruled, crediting evidence showing they may have been treated differently due to their sex.

  • March 16, 2026

    Disney Exec's $40M Bias Suit Says HR Tried To 'Dig Up Dirt'

    A Walt Disney Co. gaming executive accused the company Friday in California state court of discriminating and retaliating against him after he complained about a human resources executive contacting his executive coach to "dig up dirt," claiming the poor treatment is because he is Asian.

  • March 16, 2026

    Colorado Pushes For Early Win In Fight Over Sick Leave Law

    An airline trade group advanced only speculative arguments in its efforts to beat Colorado's bid for a pretrial win in the group's suit challenging Colorado's sick leave law, the state told a federal judge.

  • March 16, 2026

    1st Circ. Says Muldrow Can't Save IT Worker's Age Bias Suit

    The First Circuit refused to reopen a former information technology employee's age bias lawsuit, rejecting her argument that the U.S. Supreme Court's Muldrow decision meant that putting her on a performance improvement plan was significant enough to be the basis for a discrimination case.

  • March 16, 2026

    Fired Philly Utility Worker's Bias Suit Clears Initial Hurdle

    A Pennsylvania federal judge trimmed claims from an ex-Philadelphia Gas Works employee's suit alleging the utility fired her days after she sought medical accommodations, but the judge declined to toss the worker's disability bias and sexual harassment claims after finding they were backed up with enough detail.

  • March 13, 2026

    'Swinging Dicks' Dissent Stirs Uproar Across 9th Circ. Bench

    A raunchy dissent in litigation over transgender spa patrons prompted dozens of Ninth Circuit judges to denounce the "vulgar barroom talk" of a colleague, who returned fire by ridiculing his peers for adopting the "fastidious sensibilities of a Victorian nun."

  • March 13, 2026

    Alaska Airlines Pilot's Military Leave Benefits Suit Trimmed

    A Seattle federal judge has narrowed a pilot's class action accusing Alaska Airlines of denying employees sick leave and vacation accrual during military leave, while recognizing in the same Thursday order that a "reasonable jury" could find service members are entitled to certain benefits during absences spanning one to two months.

  • March 13, 2026

    5 Cases To Watch As EEOC Seeks To Undo Trial Court Losses

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lodged two opening appellate briefs Thursday, seeking reinstatement of a sexual harassment suit brought on behalf of teenage Chili's workers and a disability discrimination case alleging that long COVID symptoms cost a worker her job. Here, Law360 looks at these and three other cases that the anti-discrimination watchdog wants appeals courts to revive.  

  • March 13, 2026

    9th Circ. Finds ASU Worker's Bias Claims Met Filing Deadline

    The Ninth Circuit reinstated a race bias and retaliation lawsuit Friday from a Hispanic former Arizona State University worker, faulting a lower court for finding some of his claims untimely in an appeal that won support from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

  • March 13, 2026

    CTA, Ex-Worker Settle Vaccine Bias Dispute Before Retrial

    The Chicago Transit Authority and a former employee who beat the public transit agency in a COVID-19 vaccine bias trial have reached a settlement in principle they expect will call off a redo an Illinois federal judge ordered last year, according to court records.

  • March 13, 2026

    CSX Can't Get Quick Appeal In Fired Worker's FMLA Suit

    CSX can't immediately ask the Eleventh Circuit to take up a former employee's lawsuit claiming he was unlawfully fired for taking medical leave, a Florida federal judge ruled, saying the district court's conclusion that the worker hadn't waited too long to file suit wasn't eligible for a mid-case appeal.

  • March 13, 2026

    HR Services Co. Fired Exec Over Medical Leave, Court Told

    A human resources outsourcing company fired an executive just three days after learning he had applied for Colorado medical leave while he was still recovering from sepsis that led to kidney and lung failure, according to a complaint filed in state court.

  • March 13, 2026

    Reed Smith Is Ignoring Expanded Back Pay Window, Atty Says

    A former Reed Smith LLP attorney who claimed she was unlawfully underpaid told a New Jersey state court on Friday that the firm's bid to limit the window of time for which she's seeking damages is an attempt to roll the case back in time.

  • March 13, 2026

    Baldoni Atty Avoids Sanctions For Blake Lively Comments

    A lawyer for Justin Baldoni will not face sanctions for public comments critical of Blake Lively because they came long enough ago that they are unlikely to influence the feuding Hollywood stars' upcoming trial, a Manhattan federal judge held Friday.

  • March 13, 2026

    Staffing Co. Ends EEOC Suit Over Deaf Worker's Yanked Offer

    A Michigan federal judge signed off on a $60,000 deal Friday between a staffing company and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a suit claiming the business revoked a deaf candidate's job offer, pushing the EEOC's recovery in the case to $107,000.

  • March 13, 2026

    Little Rock Defeats Black Worker's Promotion Bias Suit

    Little Rock, Arkansas, defeated a Black public works employee's suit claiming he was unlawfully denied a promotion, with a federal judge ruling he hadn't provided evidence that an interview panel ranked him lower because of his race.

Expert Analysis

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • How To Comply With Chicago's New Paid Leave Ordinance

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    Chicago's new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance went into effect earlier this month, so employers subject to the new rules should update leave policies, train supervisors and deliver notice as they seek compliance, say Alison Crane and Sarah Gasperini at Jackson Lewis.

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

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    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • A Timeline Of Antisemitism Legislation And What It Means

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    What began as hearings in the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce has expanded to a House-wide effort to combat antisemitism and related issues, with wide-ranging implications for education, finance and nonprofit entities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Colo. Ruling Adopts 'Actual Discharge' Test For The First Time

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    After a Colorado court’s recent decision in Potts v. Gaia Children, adopting for the first time a test for evaluating an actual discharge claim, employers must diligently document the circumstances surrounding termination of employment, and exercise particular caution when texting employees, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.

  • It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

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    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • FIFA Maternity Policy Shows Need For Federal Paid Leave

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    While FIFA and other employers taking steps to provide paid parental leave should be applauded, the U.S. deserves a red card for being the only rich nation in the world that offers no such leave, says Dacey Romberg at Sanford Heisler.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Brief History Of Joint Employer Rules

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    It's important to examine the journey of the joint employer rule, because if the National Labor Relations Board's Fifth Circuit appeal is successful and the 2023 version is made law, virtually every employer who contracts for labor likely could be deemed a joint employer, say Bruno Katz and Robert Curtis at Wilson Elser.

  • Top 5 Issues For Employers To Audit Midyear

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    Six months into 2024, developments from federal courts and regulatory agencies should prompt employers to reflect on their progress regarding artificial intelligence, noncompetes, diversity initiatives, religious accommodation and more, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • Tailoring Compliance Before AI Walks The Runway

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    Fashion industry players that adopt artificial intelligence to propel their businesses forward should consider ways to minimize its perceived downsides, including potential job displacements and algorithmic biases that may harm diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, say Jeffrey Greene and Ivory Djahouri at Foley & Lardner.