Discrimination

  • April 11, 2025

    Pa. Bus Driver's Reinstatement Upheld In Harassment Case

    A Pennsylvania transit workers union can keep its win against a regional public transit operator over the firing of a bus driver accused of harassment, a state appellate court concluded Friday, finding that an arbitration award that changed the firing to a suspension drew its essence from the collective bargaining agreement.

  • April 11, 2025

    Dallas Jury Clears Omni Hotels Of Gender-Based Pay Bias

    A Dallas federal court jury on Friday cleared Omni Hotels Management Corp. of gender discrimination accusations in Omni's second go at defending against the suit before a jury, handing Omni a clean victory after the Fifth Circuit ordered a new trial.

  • April 11, 2025

    3 Things To Know As 2nd Circ. Clarifies NYC Marital Bias Law

    The Second Circuit's recent articulation that a New York City law barring discrimination based on marital status doesn't encompass who a person is married to lines up with recent state court precedent and may make it harder for some prospective plaintiffs to get marriage-related claims off the ground, experts say.

  • April 11, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    Susman Godfrey LLP became the latest firm to sue President Donald Trump over an executive order aimed at its prior legal work and diversity, equity and inclusion practices, while five other firms–including Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Latham & Watkins LLP–reached accords with the Trump administration. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments from the past week.

  • April 11, 2025

    Judge Says Ex-Prof Can't Thread Needle Of Tenure Bias Claim

    Mercer University defeated a yearslong lawsuit from a former professor who alleged she was denied a tenured position due to her gender, as a Georgia federal judge ruled that the professor was asking the court to become "a super personnel department tasked with looking over the shoulders of a decisionmaker."

  • April 11, 2025

    Ex-Exec Alleges Rampant Sex Harassment At Car Auction Co.

    A female former human resources chief at an online vehicle auction company was fired for speaking up against male executives' unchecked sexual misconduct and reporting that women in leadership received less compensation than men, according to a complaint filed in Texas state court.

  • April 11, 2025

    Rebuffed Medical Pot Patient Can Pursue Disability Bias Claim

    A Pennsylvania federal judge has reinstated a medical marijuana user's disability bias claim in a lawsuit against a Cleveland-based construction company after revisiting a prior order, finding the company might have failed to explore alternative accommodations for the man's disabilities — apart from cannabis use — before rescinding a job offer.

  • April 11, 2025

    Black Worker Says BuzzFeed Axed Her Over Bias Complaints

    A Black BuzzFeed communications professional was fired for complaining that her boss and colleagues made inappropriate race-based comments and treated her worse than comparable white employees, the worker told a New York federal court.

  • April 11, 2025

    University Wants Fired Jewish Worker's Bias Suit Nixed

    An Orthodox Jewish worker who said Washington University unlawfully fired her and her supervisor yanked her leave to observe the High Holidays cannot show the misconduct she experienced was severe or directed just at her, the university told a Missouri federal court.

  • April 11, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Tesla Seeks To Split Up WARN Suit

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for a potential ruling on a motion to send a worker's individual WARN Act claims against Tesla to arbitration and stay or dismiss nonindividual claims the worker is bringing. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in the Golden State.

  • April 11, 2025

    EPA Workers Allege Discrimination Over Indefinite Leave

    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency employees dedicated to working on issues facing poor and minority communities exposed to disproportionate pollution say in a new complaint that the EPA is discriminating against them by forcing them into indefinite leave.

  • April 11, 2025

    Worker Seeks Full 6th Circ. Review Of Stomach Bug Bias Suit

    A former employee of a manufacturing component company urged the full Sixth Circuit to reconsider his suit claiming he was fired for needing time off to recover from a temporary stomach ailment, arguing an appeals panel ignored evidence of his disability when it upheld dismissal.

  • April 11, 2025

    5 BigLaw Firms Strike Deals With Trump Administration

    The world's highest-grossing law firm, Kirkland & Ellis LLP, is among a group of five BigLaw firms that have reached deals with President Donald Trump's administration to stave off executive orders that could have pulled their federal security clearances and hampered their ability to serve as legal counsel to the federal government and its contractors, according to social media posts by the president Friday.

  • April 10, 2025

    Omni Hotel Underpaid Woman Due To Bias, Dallas Jury Hears

    Counsel for a woman accusing Omni Hotels Management Corp. of gender discrimination told a federal jury in Dallas on Thursday that the company paid her less than her three male predecessors, capping off the woman's second attempt at getting a verdict to stick after the Fifth Circuit ordered a new trial.

  • April 10, 2025

    7th Circ. Probes Muldrow's Impact On United Age Bias Battle

    The Seventh Circuit grappled Thursday with whether the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Muldrow decision meant it should revive a former United Airlines worker's age bias suit, pondering whether a negative performance review could be the basis for a valid discrimination case. 

  • April 10, 2025

    Expedia Forced Restroom Spy Cam Victim To Quit, Suit Says

    A former Expedia Inc. employee who was the victim of voyeurism via a bathroom spy camera at work alleges in a complaint filed in Washington state court that she was forced to resign after the company retaliated against her for wanting to work from home after the incident.

  • April 10, 2025

    Soulja Boy's Ex-Assistant Wins $4.25M At Trial Over Abuse

    A jury in California state court held Thursday that the rapper known as Soulja Boy must pay $4.25 million for physically and sexually abusing his live-in personal assistant for nearly two years, according to the plaintiff's counsel.

  • April 10, 2025

    6th Circ. Says Ex-Mortgage Co. Worker Can't Avoid Arbitration

    A Black former United Wholesale Mortgage account executive can't keep his lawsuit claiming he was fired for reporting coworkers' racist comments out of arbitration, the Sixth Circuit ruled Thursday, saying his memory lapse about agreeing to arbitrate didn't excuse him from complying.

  • April 10, 2025

    Elevance Beats Teacher's Bias Suit Over Weight Loss Drugs

    A Maine federal judge tossed a teacher's proposed class action claiming health insurer Elevance committed disability discrimination by declining to cover weight loss medication to treat obesity, finding she hadn't shown bias was behind her health plan's refusal to pay for the drugs.

  • April 10, 2025

    Congressional Bill Would Amend FMLA To Bar Clawbacks

    Employers would be forbidden to recover health insurance costs from workers who use the federal Family and Medical Leave Act and then choose not to return to work under a bill introduced in Congress. 

  • April 10, 2025

    3rd Circ. Backs Hospital In Doctor's COVID Vaccine Bias Suit

    The Third Circuit on Thursday upheld a Philadelphia-area health system's win over an emergency room doctor's suit claiming he was unlawfully denied a religious exemption from its COVID-19 vaccination policy, saying the hospital demonstrated that granting his request would have been too difficult.

  • April 10, 2025

    CSX Accused Of Punishing Workers For FMLA Leave

    Railroad giant CSX Transportation Inc. discourages and punishes its employees who miss work under the Family and Medical Leave Act through an attendance point system and scare tactics, according to a federal lawsuit filed by a conductor in North Carolina.

  • April 10, 2025

    Movie Theater Co. Inks $250K Deal In EEOC Age Bias Suit

    A movie theater chain has agreed to pay $250,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it forced an employee into retirement and pulled his health insurance after he turned 65, according to a Thursday court filing.

  • April 10, 2025

    DraftKings Engineer's Suit Over Parental Leave Narrowed

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday hacked a former DraftKings engineer's retaliation lawsuit to nearly nothing, leaving intact a single claim that his firing by the sports betting platform violated the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

  • April 10, 2025

    5th Circ. Revives Fired City Atty's ADA, Leave Suit

    A trial court jumped the gun when it tossed a former municipal attorney's suit claiming a Texas city didn't do enough to accommodate her anxiety and fired her for taking medical leave, the Fifth Circuit ruled.

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.