EEOC Amicus Tracker

The EEOC has filed - amicus briefs in federal courts across the country since the start of 2024, tackling a wide range of employment law topics, including diversity and inclusion training, affirmative action programs, and artificial intelligence in the workplace.




Legal status  Pending   Resolved   Dismissed 
--Graphics by Ben Jay.

NEWS & ANALYSIS


EEOC Backs Rehab Worker's Retaliation Case At 10th Circ.

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Friday urged the Tenth Circuit to revive an occupational therapist's lawsuit claiming a colleague inappropriately touched her and that she was fired after she reported the co-worker's harassment, arguing the trial court used the wrong standard when it tossed her retaliation claim.

Law360 Gives Attys New Tool To Track EEOC Amicus Briefs

By Anne Cullen

Law360 has launched its U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission amicus brief tracker, providing an interactive map to keep lawyers up to date on the EEOC's views on cutting-edge areas of discrimination law, as well as where the agency is focusing its efforts.

Christian Group Can't Get Around Anti-Bias Law, EEOC Says

By Grace Elletson

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Ninth Circuit to reject a Christian humanitarian organization's argument that it was on solid legal ground to yank a job offer from an applicant after learning she was in a same-sex marriage, saying siding with the group will "undermine" Title VII.

Cop's Fitness Exam May Qualify As Retaliation, 6th Circ. Told

By Patrick Hoff

A trial court wrongly tossed an Ohio police officer's suit claiming he was sidelined for complaining about age bias, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said, telling the Sixth Circuit that forcing him to undergo a fitness assessment could qualify as unlawful retaliation.

EEOC Tells 6th Circ. Medical Allergies Can Be Disabilities

By Grace Elletson

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told the Sixth Circuit on Monday that a trial court wrongly tossed an insurance company worker's disability bias suit claiming she was fired for defying its COVID-19 vaccination mandate because of her antibiotics allergy, arguing the condition is considered a disability.

No Special Retaliation Standard For HR Workers, EEOC Says

By Grace Elletson

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday the Seventh Circuit should revive a former human resources manager's suit claiming she was fired for reporting discrimination, arguing a lower court erred by holding her claims to a higher standard because of her job.

Arbitration Limits Cover Anti-LGBT Harassment, EEOC Says

By Grace Elletson

A two-year-old law barring mandatory arbitration of sex harassment claims extends to harassment that targets sexual orientation or gender identity, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said, urging the Third Circuit to back a ruling keeping a former nursing assistant's suit in court.

EEOC Tells 6th Circ. To Take Harassment Suit Slurs Seriously

By Grace Elletson

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Sixth Circuit to revive claims brought by two Black former workers that they faced racist harassment at a transportation company, arguing the lower court minimized that they were regularly called slurs on the job.

EEOC Tells Full 8th Circ. To Revive Diabetic Worker's ADA Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the full Eighth Circuit to uphold the revival of a lawsuit alleging a Hardee's franchisee fired a manager over her diabetes, arguing Friday that an employer's honest belief that a worker violated corporate policy doesn't automatically defeat disability bias claims.

Amicus Brief Shows EEOC Homing In On Disparate Impact

By Anne Cullen

A recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission amicus brief arguing that a workplace vaccination mandate may have unlawfully disadvantaged Black workers highlights the agency's focus on seemingly impartial workplace policies that yield skewed results, experts said. 

EEOC Tells 5th Circ. To Revive ADA Suit Over Service Dog Bid

By Grace Elletson

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission backed a worker who said a school district unlawfully slow-walked its response to her request to bring a service dog to work, telling the Fifth Circuit that a trial court missed the big picture when it tossed her case.

EEOC Backs Worker's 1st Circ. Bid To Revive ADA Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission threw its weight behind a former heating and air conditioning technician's suit claiming he was fired for requesting a modified schedule because of a knee injury, telling the First Circuit a lower court used outdated standards to dismiss it.

EEOC Backs Gay Walmart Worker's Bias Suit At 10th Circ.

By Grace Elletson

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told the Tenth Circuit that a district court was too quick to toss a former Walmart worker's suit claiming he was demoted and fired for being gay, arguing the lower court applied incorrect legal standards to his case.

EEOC Backs Ex-Uber Driver's Bid To Revive Race Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Ninth Circuit to reconsider a former Uber driver's lawsuit claiming the ride-hailing giant's rating system is racially biased, arguing that a panel's June ruling flew in the face of federal civil rights law and U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

EEOC Asks 11th Circ. To Upend Coal Co. Win In Race Bias Suit

By Emmy Freedman

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to reinstate a lawsuit against a coal company brought by two Black former workers, saying they adequately showed that a white worker was subjected to more lenient standards than they were.

EEOC Backs Fired Worker's Pregnancy Bias Suit At 4th Circ.

By Grace Elletson

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Fourth Circuit to reinstate a hospital worker's suit claiming she was fired for requesting a reprieve from 12-hour workdays to manage her high-risk pregnancy, arguing the lower court used incorrect legal standards to toss her case.

EEOC Says Union Pacific Disability Bias Suit Wrongly Tossed

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Eighth Circuit on Monday to revive a lawsuit alleging Union Pacific Railroad Co. barred an inspector from working for five years because of a traumatic brain injury, arguing a trial court incorrectly ruled the company didn't view him as disabled.

EEOC Asks DC Circ. To Revive Bias Case Against Union

By Emily Brill

A Washington, D.C., federal judge erred by saying a government employee's discrimination suit against her union was essentially an unfair representation suit that belonged before the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told the D.C. Circuit on Friday, saying the case belongs in court.

EEOC Backs Suit Over Hospital Patients' Racial Preferences

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told the Fifth Circuit it should revive a Nigerian nurse's race bias case against a Texas hospital, arguing the medical center's practice of honoring patients' requests for non-Black caregivers could demonstrate a hostile work environment.

EEOC Urges Reversal In State Farm Worker's Retaliation Suit

By Emmy Freedman

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked the Sixth Circuit to upend State Farm's win in a former worker's suit, saying there's evidence she was fired in retaliation for helping a disabled colleague lodge a complaint against her supervisor because he abruptly yanked her accommodation.