Discrimination

  • February 05, 2025

    Sprouts Supermarket Worker To Arbitrate Age Bias Suit

    A former worker for supermarket chain Sprouts Farmers Market has agreed to arbitrate his suit claiming the business refused to promote him and handed career advancements to younger workers out of age bias, according to a filing in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • February 05, 2025

    Va. Law Firm Ends Ex-Worker's Harassment, Retaliation Suit

    A Virginia law firm has agreed to resolve a former accounts payable specialist's lawsuit claiming she was fired for repeatedly complaining that a male contractor followed her to the restroom and acted threateningly toward her, according to a Wednesday federal court filing.

  • February 05, 2025

    11th Circ. Backs Navy Win In IT Worker's Promotion Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit upheld the U.S. Navy's defeat of a civilian tech employee's suit claiming he was passed over for several promotions because he was Hispanic and in his 50s, saying he failed to show that supervisors considered his age or race when making decisions.

  • February 05, 2025

    Women's Soccer League Will Pay $5M To Abused Players

    The National Women's Soccer League on Wednesday agreed to a $5 million settlement with a trio of attorneys general that had been investigating the league's widespread mistreatment of its players.

  • February 04, 2025

    Baltimore, Advocacy Groups Sue Trump Over Anti-DEI Orders

    The city of Baltimore and a coalition of academic and restaurant advocacy groups hit the Trump administration with a suit Monday in Maryland federal court over the president's push to curtail diversity, equity and inclusion programs, saying his executive orders are unlawfully vague and block Congress' constitutional power of the purse.

  • February 04, 2025

    FCC Drops 5th Circ. Defense Of Nonbinary Gender Category

    The Federal Communications Commission will no longer defend a nonbinary gender category on its employment diversity forms amid challenges brought by religious broadcasters in the Fifth Circuit, where judges grilled the FCC on Tuesday about its authority to collect and publish industry data on employee diversity.

  • February 04, 2025

    Interplay Between ADA, Rail Safety Regs Teed Up At 5th Circ.

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday will chime in as amicus on behalf of a colorblind train conductor at Fifth Circuit oral arguments, saying the lower court incorrectly gave railway safety regulations more weight than federal disability law.

  • February 04, 2025

    Trump Trans Care Order Usurps Congress' Power, Suit Says

    The Trump administration overstepped when it issued an executive order cutting off gender-affirming care for people under 19, a group of transgender adolescents, young adults and their families told a Maryland federal court Tuesday, arguing the president is trying to usurp Congressional authority by forcing federally funded hospitals to discriminate.

  • February 04, 2025

    Ex-Meta Marketing Director Alleges Sex Bias, Retaliation

    A former Meta marketing director sued the tech giant in federal court Monday for sex discrimination and retaliation, saying despite her "distinguished" 15 years working to grow the company, she was treated differently than male peers, chastised for complaining about bias and discrimination, and booted after taking mental health leave.

  • February 04, 2025

    Severance Pact Sinks Ex-Mercedes Exec's Age, Race Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit upheld the dismissal Tuesday of a former executive's suit claiming the financial arm of Mercedes-Benz pushed her out of the company due to age and racial bias, rejecting her argument that a severance agreement she signed before suing the business wasn't enforceable.

  • February 04, 2025

    UPS, Ex-VP Resolve Race Bias Suit Over Promotion Dispute

    UPS agreed to end a Black former vice president's lawsuit claiming she was passed over for promotion and then replaced by a less experienced white subordinate whom she had trained, according to a Tuesday filing in Georgia federal court.

  • February 04, 2025

    DC Circ. Hints Race Bias Battles Over Vax Rules Merit Reboot

    Incisive questions from a talkative D.C. Circuit panel Tuesday indicated the court is leaning toward reinstating two Black workers' lawsuits alleging a union's phased rollout of its COVID-19 vaccination requirements unlawfully favored white employees.

  • February 04, 2025

    Trans Deputy's Bias Case Hits Headwinds At 11th Circ.

    The full Eleventh Circuit grappled Tuesday with whether a county health plan's coverage exclusions for gender-affirming surgery conflicted with a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision, with several judges taking issue with a panel's ruling that found coverage denials for a transgender employee's vaginoplasty amounted to unlawful discrimination.

  • February 04, 2025

    USPS, Ex-Worker End Pregnancy Accommodation Suit

    A Colorado federal judge closed a former U.S. Postal Service worker's suit claiming the agency walked back accommodations it promised her while she was pregnant, after the parties informed the court that they had agreed to end the dispute that was scheduled for trial.

  • February 04, 2025

    Ex-Littler, Paul Hastings Atty Picked As Acting EEOC Top Cop

    President Donald Trump on Tuesday tapped a top aide to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's acting head for the role of the agency's acting general counsel, elevating an attorney who formerly worked for Paul Hastings LLP and Littler Mendelson PC.

  • February 04, 2025

    Dem School Advocate Says Bias Complaints Led To Firing

    The former Massachusetts director of a pair of Democratic educational advocacy groups said she was subjected to retaliatory criticism and then fired after raising concerns about a new CEO's treatment of women and decision to partner with a conservative organization.

  • February 03, 2025

    'Nowhere To Go': Neil Gaiman Accused Of Raping Ex-Nanny

    "American Gods" author Neil Gaiman has for decades engaged in a pattern of sexual misconduct, including repeatedly raping a woman hired to care for his young son, while his estranged wife Amanda Palmer did nothing to stop the abuse, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday in Wisconsin.

  • February 03, 2025

    DOJ Creates Multiagency Task Force Targeting Antisemitism

    The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that it is putting together a multi-agency task force to investigate and prosecute antisemitic crimes, including harassment in schools and on college grounds, in response an executive order issued last week by President Donald Trump.

  • February 03, 2025

    5th Circ. Won't Revisit HHS Win On Scope Of ACA

    The Fifth Circuit has declined to conduct an en banc rehearing after an appellate panel upheld a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule that said the Affordable Care Act forbids against transgender bias in healthcare, but one judge argued the court got its analysis wrong.

  • February 03, 2025

    U. Of Alabama Can't Ax Military Family Leave Suit At 11th Circ.

    The University of Alabama at Birmingham can't escape a former researcher's lawsuit claiming she was disciplined for not working while on leave to care for her daughter in the Marines Corps, the Eleventh Circuit said Monday, ruling states don't have sovereign immunity to military-related provisions of federal family leave law.

  • February 03, 2025

    11th Circ. Bias Fight Could Set Bar For Trans Benefits Suits

    The full Eleventh Circuit will hear arguments Tuesday from a Georgia county looking to overturn a trial court's ruling that found its health plan's denial of gender-affirming surgery violated federal anti-discrimination law, in a case that could help clarify how a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision impacts employee benefits.

  • February 03, 2025

    Fired SpaceX Workers Want To Know Where Musk Was

    An attorney representing fired SpaceX workers urged a California federal judge Monday to reconsider a previous judge's ruling that the retaliation case does not belong in state court and to allow her clients access to records about CEO Elon Musk's past movements to prove the location from which he directed the company.

  • February 03, 2025

    Amazon Military Leave Class Should Be Certified, Judge Says

    A New York federal judge recommended on Monday greenlighting class treatment for more than 9,000 military reservists who accused Amazon of failing to fully provide paid leave for employees on active duty, saying the workers have shown the employment policies at issue apply to all of them.

  • February 03, 2025

    Ex-Fox Sports TV Host Accuses Executive Of Sexual Assault

    A former on-air Fox Sports host and reporter has sued the network and executive Charlie Dixon in California state court alleging he sexually assaulted her in his hotel room in 2016.

  • February 03, 2025

    Feds Back Out Of Trans Ga. Deputy's 11th Circ. Rehearing

    The U.S. Department of Justice said Friday that it was pulling out of supporting a Georgia transgender sheriff's deputy's bid to have gender-affirming surgery covered by her county government, just days before her case is set to be reheard by the full Eleventh Circuit.

Expert Analysis

  • The Key Changes In Revised FDIC Hiring Regulations

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.

  • US Labor And Employment Law Holds Some Harsh Trade-Offs

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    U.S. labor and employment laws have evolved into a product of exposure-capping compromise, which merits discussion in a presidential election year when the dialogue has focused on purported protections of middle-class workers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.