Discrimination

  • June 11, 2025

    Weinstein Convicted Of 1 Charge In Mixed, Partial Verdict

    A Manhattan state court jury on Wednesday convicted movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexually assaulting a production assistant, acquitted him of assaulting a former model and indicated it had so far failed to reach a verdict on a charge alleging he raped an actress.

  • June 10, 2025

    Tech Recruiter Settles DOJ Claims It Favored Visa Workers

    A San Francisco Bay Area-based technology recruiting company agreed Tuesday to pay civil penalties and change its recruiting practices to resolve allegations it illegally preferred H-1B visa holders over U.S. workers, marking the government's renewed push under the Trump administration to enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act against companies favoring foreign workers.

  • June 10, 2025

    Ga. Schools Must Face Ex-Principal's Suit Over BLM Support

    A federal judge won't let a Georgia school district out of claims that it forced out a Black former principal over his vocal support for the Black Lives Matter movement, ruling that like the school board's individual members and ex-superintendent before it, the district failed to raise its defenses when it had the opportunity to do so.

  • June 10, 2025

    Atty Accuses City Of 'Game-y' Tactics In Race Bias Settlement

    A North Carolina employment attorney accused the city of Charlotte in federal court Tuesday of being "game-y" by trying to change a Black fire chief's racial bias settlement after both sides agreed to certain terms, saying she wouldn't make him sign something that didn't reflect those promises.

  • June 10, 2025

    Worker's Suit Over Weed Firing Gets Thrown Out

    A construction worker can't sue his employer for wrongful termination on claims that his supervisor wrongly accused him of smoking marijuana while on the job, a Virginia federal judge has ruled, saying state law allows companies to fire workers even on untrue allegations of drug use.

  • June 10, 2025

    Pa. University Seeks Toss Of Sergeant's Retaliation Claims

    The University of Scranton wants a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss retaliation and disability bias allegations from a police sergeant who alleged he was fired because he had cancer, telling the district court that the worker hadn't put up enough facts to support some of his claims.

  • June 10, 2025

    Black Honda Worker's Promotion Bias Suit Shipped To Ala.

    Honda's manufacturing arm can send to Alabama a proposed class action alleging its opaque promotional practices unlawfully prevent Black workers from moving up, an Ohio federal judge ruled, saying the worker leading the suit likely would have stayed in the South had he received positions he sought.

  • June 10, 2025

    Brokerage Firm Fired CFO For Starting Family, She Tells Court

    A cloud-based real estate brokerage firm's former chief financial officer was unfairly accused of racking up $17,000 in personal expenses on a company card to justify her termination after her maternity leave ended, she told a New York federal court Tuesday.

  • June 10, 2025

    Feds Say NH Trans Sports Ban Suit Lacks Real Injury

    The U.S. government hopes to escape a New Hampshire lawsuit challenging both state and federal policies prohibiting transgender athletes from competing in women's sports, saying the complaint shows only "speculative future injury."

  • June 10, 2025

    Ala. Mayor Defeats Former Police Chief's Race Bias Suit

    The mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, escaped a lawsuit claiming he harassed a police chief and forced him to resign because he refused to give preferential treatment to Black employees, as a federal judge said there was no evidence of a campaign to oust the law enforcement official.

  • June 10, 2025

    Union, Philharmonic Fight Suits From Suspended Musicians

    A musicians union has asked a New York federal judge to toss two suspended New York Philharmonic players' allegations that the union illegally dropped its fight for their reinstatement, saying it had good reason to abandon the mission after the full extent of their alleged sexual violence was revealed.

  • June 10, 2025

    GOP Lawmakers Launch Probe Into Harvard's Hiring Practices

    A group of House Republicans announced Tuesday that they are opening an investigation into Harvard University's hiring policies to probe whether the institution is shirking Title VII by giving preferences to marginalized applicants when recruiting for open roles.

  • June 10, 2025

    3 Lessons From 3rd Circ. Reviving Fire Dept. Beard Battle

    A recent Third Circuit decision in favor of a Christian fire department worker who wanted to grow facial hair despite the department's no-beard policy holds lessons for employers about handling religious accommodation requests. Here, Law360 looks at three of those lessons.

  • June 10, 2025

    Longtime Reed Smith Employment Pro Joins Fisher Phillips

    An attorney who has focused his career on advising clients on employment and labor matters recently moved his practice to Fisher Phillips' Pittsburgh office after 13 years with Reed Smith LLP.

  • June 10, 2025

    Nev. Pension Plan Urges 9th Circ. To Ax DOJ Military Bias Suit

    Pension credits bought by military service members aren't an accrued benefit under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, Nevada's public employee retirement system argued, urging the Ninth Circuit not to revive the U.S. Department of Justice's suit alleging the state and system overcharged employees for the credits.

  • June 10, 2025

    Amazon Worker Says Military Class Ruling Needs Reopening

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined to weigh in on a case that would have had an impact on a former Amazon employee's request for class status in her military leave suit, the worker told a New York federal court, saying it should reopen her suit and approve class treatment.

  • June 10, 2025

    NY Homeland Unit Resolves Ex-Employee's Harassment Suit

    New York state and its homeland security agency struck a $250,000 deal to end a Hispanic former employee's suit alleging that her boss subjected her to humiliating comments because of her race, gender and sexual orientation until she felt compelled to quit, according to federal court filings.

  • June 10, 2025

    8th Circ. Mulls If Supervisor's Family Remark Signals Sex Bias

    The Eighth Circuit wondered Tuesday whether a Walmart supervisor's supposed rationale for promoting a male employee to a managerial role — that he had a "family to support" — lends credence to a female former employee's sex discrimination claim over the advancement decision.

  • June 10, 2025

    7th Circ. Won't Revive United Workers' Vax Mandate Suit

    A Seventh Circuit panel on Monday affirmed a district court's decision to throw out a lawsuit from former employees challenging United Airlines' COVID-19 vaccination mandate, agreeing that the workers' claims are "either improperly preserved or inadequately pled."

  • June 10, 2025

    Blue States Back Harvard In $2.2B Funding Freeze Fight

    A coalition of 20 states and the District of Columbia filed a brief supporting Harvard University's bid for a pretrial win in its challenge to the Trump administration's move to freeze $2.2 billion in funds, telling a Massachusetts federal judge that the president's attacks on universities are "an attack on the states themselves."

  • June 10, 2025

    Gov't Settles Asian ATF Agent's Bias Suit Over Job Transfer

    The federal government agreed to settle a suit from an Asian agent of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who claimed his boss insinuated that Asian workers were better fit for administrative work, and then transferred him to a clerical position.

  • June 09, 2025

    Blake Lively, NYT Defeat 'It Ends With Us' Defamation Claims

    A New York federal judge on Monday threw out Justin Baldoni's defamation claims against his "It Ends With Us" costar Blake Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and The New York Times, among others, ruling that Baldoni hasn't plausibly alleged any statements were made or reported maliciously.

  • June 09, 2025

    Florida Will Ask 11th Circ. To Revive Trans Health Suit

    The state of Florida indicated Friday it will ask the Eleventh Circuit to reopen its lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services challenging a rule setting coverage requirements on employers for gender-affirming care, despite the new administration's reversal on the rule.

  • June 09, 2025

    Emirates Ex-Workers Seek Class Certification In Layoff Suit

    A group of Emirates ex-employees who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic asked a New York federal judge to certify their lawsuit against the airline as a class action, saying their discrimination, benefits and WARN Act claims apply to many ex-workers and should be processed collectively.

  • June 09, 2025

    Jury Awards Ex-Napoli Atty $6.1M In Lengthy Retaliation Battle

    A six-person jury in New York awarded more than $6.1 million in damages to the former general counsel of now-defunct firm Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik LLP on her claim that the firm attacked her reputation after she sued for sex discrimination 10 years ago.

Expert Analysis

  • EEOC Wearable Tech Guidance Highlights Monitoring Scrutiny

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent fact sheet on wearable technologies cautions against potential issues with federal anti-discrimination laws and demonstrates growing concern from regulators and legislators about intrusive technologies in the workplace, say attorneys at Littler.

  • 4 Employment Law Areas Set To Change Under Trump

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    President Donald Trump's second term is expected to bring significant changes to the U.S. employment law landscape, including the potential for updated worker classification regulations, and challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion that are already taking shape, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • What Employment Bias Litigation Looks Like After Muldrow

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    Nine months after the U.S. Supreme Court created an undemanding standard for discrimination claims in Muldrow v. St. Louis, Eric Schnapper at the University of Washington discusses how the Title VII litigation landscape has changed and what to expect moving forward.

  • 10 Key Worker-Friendly California Employment Law Updates

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    New employment laws in California expand employee rights, transparency and enforcement mechanisms, and failing to educate department managers on these changes could put employers at risk, says Melanie Ronen at Stradley Ronon.

  • How PAGA Reform Can Inform Employer Strategies In 2025

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    While recent changes to California's Private Attorneys General Act will not significantly reduce PAGA claims, employers can use the new law to potentially limit their future exposure, by taking advantage of penalty reduction opportunities and more, say attorneys at Thompson Coburn.

  • How Deregulation Could Undermine Trump's Anti-DEI Agenda

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    While rolling back federal agency power benefited conservative policies during the Biden administration, it will likely undermine President Donald Trump's ability to wield agencies like the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives beyond the federal workforce and into the private sector, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • Trump Should Pass On Project 2025's Disparate Impact Plan

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    The Trump administration should reject Project 2025's call to eliminate the disparate impact doctrine because, as its pro-business Republican creators intended, a focus on dismantling unnecessary barriers to qualified job candidates serves companies' best interests more successfully than the alternatives, says Susan Carle at American University.

  • Expect A Big Shake Up At The EEOC Under 2nd Trump Admin

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    During President-elect Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is likely to significantly shift its focus and priorities, especially where workplace DEI initiatives, immigration enforcement, LGBTQ+ rights and pregnancy protections are concerned, say attorneys at Stoel Rives.

  • 4 Novel Issues From The Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Suits

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    A series of lawsuits arising from actress Blake Lively's sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against her "It Ends With Us" co-star, Justin Baldoni, present novel legal issues that employment and defamation practitioners alike should follow as the litigation progresses, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.

  • Religious Accommodation Lessons From $12.7M Vax Verdict

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    A Michigan federal jury’s recent $12.7 million verdict against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan starkly reminds employers of the risks they face when assessing employees’ religious accommodation requests, highlighting pitfalls to avoid and raising the opportunity to consider best practices to follow, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • Lessons From United's Axed Win In Firing Over Online Pics

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    In Wawrzenski v. United Airlines, a California state appeals court revived a flight attendant’s suit over her termination for linking photos of herself in uniform to her OnlyFans account, providing a cautionary tale for employers navigating the complexities of workplace policy enforcement in the digital age, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • How Trump Admin May Approach AI In The Workplace

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    Key indicators suggest that the incoming Trump administration will adopt a deregulatory approach to artificial intelligence, allowing states to fill the void, so it is critical that employers pay close attention to developing legal authority concerning AI tools, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Lessons Learned From 2024's Top FMLA Decisions

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    Last year's major litigation related to the Family and Medical Leave Act underscores why it is critical for employers to understand the basics of when leave and accommodations are required, say attorneys at Dechert.