Discrimination

  • 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.

  • February 03, 2025

    NJ Mayor Says Ex-Aide Was At-Will And Can't Sue Over Firing

    Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop has asked a New Jersey federal judge to toss a retaliation lawsuit by a former aide who was fired after the aide supported his Republican sister's political campaign in Missouri, contending the worker was an "at will" employee whose rights under the First Amendment or the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination were not violated.

  • February 03, 2025

    Drexel Owes Prof $350K After Equal Pay Jury Win, Judge Says

    A Pennsylvania federal judge said Drexel University owes a philosophy professor $350,000 in damages after a jury found she was willfully paid less than male colleagues out of bias, rejecting the university's position that the award should be reduced because it did not deliberately violate equal pay laws.

  • February 03, 2025

    Fired EEOC General Counsel Lands New Gig At Public Citizen

    Karla Gilbride, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission general counsel whom President Trump fired last week, has landed a new job as deputy director of Public Citizen Litigation Group.

  • February 03, 2025

    6 Argument Sessions Bias Attorneys Should Watch In Feb.

    The full Eleventh Circuit will tackle a high-profile legal fight over a Georgia county health plan's coverage exclusion for gender dysphoria treatment, while the EEOC is scheduled to appear at the Fifth and D.C. circuits to back up arguments made in amicus briefs. Here are six argument sessions discrimination attorneys should keep tabs on this month.

  • February 03, 2025

    Former Acting DOL Head Heads To Harvard As Spring Fellow

    Former acting Labor Secretary Julie Su will join the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics as a spring 2025 fellow, the university announced.

  • February 03, 2025

    Attys For Blake Lively, Baldoni Warned Over Media Statements

    Lawyers representing feuding actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni in their "It Ends With Us" damages litigation agreed Monday to rein in public statements, after a Manhattan federal judge cited their duty not to taint a potential future jury pool.

  • February 03, 2025

    Ex-WWE Staffer Says She Was 'Sexual Pawn' In Wrestler Deal

    A woman accusing former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. executive Vince McMahon of sex trafficking, assault and harassment added more allegations to her case in Connecticut federal court, including that McMahon offered sex with her to wrestler Brock Lesnar during a contract negotiation.

  • February 03, 2025

    Sen. Sanders Seeks Information From EEOC, NLRB On Firings

    Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is probing the Trump administration's removal of several Democratic officials from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations Board, saying he's concerned the unwarranted firings have left the agencies unable to function.

  • February 03, 2025

    BofA, Merrill Lynch Say Arbitration Policy Covers Bias Suit

    Two Black financial advisers' suit accusing Bank of America and subsidiary Merrill Lynch of handing more opportunities to white men belongs in arbitration, the companies told a New York federal court, saying an arbitration policy shared with employees the day the suit was filed covers their claims.

  • February 03, 2025

    Troutman Says Lawyer's Firing Due To Performance, Not Bias

    A former Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP associate was let go from the firm due to under-performance, not racial bias, the firm told a D.C. federal judge in a bid to end the lawyer's racial discrimination suit, arguing undisputed facts show a diverse group of partners agreed she was not meeting expectations prior to her being dismissed.

Expert Analysis

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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Immigration Insights From 'The Proposal'

    Author Photo

    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with their colleague Robert Lee about how immigration challenges highlighted in the romantic comedy "The Proposal" — beyond a few farcical plot contrivances — relate to real-world visa processes and employer compliance.

  • Employers Face Uncertainty After Calif. Justices' Slur Ruling

    Author Photo

    In Bailey v. San Francisco District Attorney's Office, the California Supreme Court recently ruled that a singular use of a racial slur may be sufficiently severe to support a hostile work environment claim, leaving employers to speculate about what sort of comments or conduct will meet this new standard going forward, says Stephanie Roeser at Manatt.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Flags Work Harassment Risks Of Social Media

    Author Photo

    The recent Ninth Circuit ruling in Okonowsky v. Garland, holding an employer could be liable for a co-worker's harassing social media posts, highlights new challenges in technology-centered and remote workplaces, and underscores an employer's obligation to prevent hostile environments wherever their employees clock in, say Jennifer Lada and Phillip Schreiber at Holland & Knight.

  • Eye On Compliance: NY's New Freelance Protection Law

    Author Photo

    New York's Freelance Isn't Free Act is set to take effect later this month, meaning employers must be proactive in ensuring compliance and take steps to mitigate risks, such as updating documentation and specifying correct worker classification, says Jonathan Meer at Wilson Elser.

  • 3 Notes For Arbitration Agreements After Calif. Ruling

    Author Photo

    After last month's California Supreme Court decision in Ramirez v. Charter Communications invalidated several arbitration clauses in the company's employee contracts as unconscionable, companies should ensure their own arbitration agreements steer clear of three major pitfalls identified by the court, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Eye On Compliance: New Pregnancy And Nursing Protections

    Author Photo

    With New York rolling out paid lactation breaks and extra leave for prenatal care, and recent federal legislative developments enhancing protection for pregnant and nursing workers, employers required to offer these complex new accommodations should take several steps to mitigate their compliance risks, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at Wilson Elser.

  • How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement

    Author Photo

    The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.