Discrimination

  • October 04, 2024

    LA Dispensary Hit With Sex Harassment, Unpaid Wages Suit

    A dispensary in Los Angeles failed to fairly compensate workers and allowed its CEO to sexually harass a former employee, she told a California state court.

  • October 04, 2024

    High Court To Weigh In On Halliburton Worker's Age Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to wade into an age discrimination lawsuit from a former Halliburton employee who said his case was wrongly shut down when the Tenth Circuit ruled a trial court lacked the power to reopen it following arbitration.

  • October 04, 2024

    Justices Take Up Straight Worker's Demotion Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Friday it will review a discrimination lawsuit by a former Ohio Department of Youth Services worker claiming she was denied a promotion and then demoted for being heterosexual while LGBTQ candidates were advanced.

  • October 04, 2024

    Greenberg Traurig Adds WeWork Employment Law Head In SF

    Greenberg Traurig LLP is boosting its West Coast team, bringing in WeWork's former global head of employment law as a shareholder in its San Francisco office.

  • October 03, 2024

    Cognizant Worker Transfers From India Declining, Jury Told

    Cognizant Technologies rested its defense Thursday of class action claims that it is biased toward Indian workers after a company executive testified that the number of employee transfers from India to the U.S. has steadily decreased since 2014, bringing to a close live testimony in the racially charged retrial.

  • October 03, 2024

    11th Circ. Rejects Bid To Block Fla. Law Banning Trans Care

    The Eleventh Circuit said Thursday it would not reconsider a decision that allowed a Florida law that bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors and restricts it for adults to take effect.

  • October 03, 2024

    2nd Circ. Revives NYC School Principal's Retaliation Suit

    The Second Circuit reinstated Thursday a former principal's suit claiming the New York City Department of Education hit her with a bogus investigation after she complained about racial bias, ruling the lower court was wrong to find a carveout for Title VI retaliation claims killed her case.

  • October 03, 2024

    12 Lawyers Who Are The Future Of The Supreme Court Bar

    One attorney hasn't lost a single U.S. Supreme Court case she's argued, or even a single justice's vote. One attorney is perhaps "the preeminent SCOTUS advocate." And one may soon become U.S. solicitor general, despite acknowledging there are "judges out there who don't like me." All three are among a dozen lawyers in the vanguard of the Supreme Court bar's next generation, poised to follow in the footsteps of the bar's current icons.

  • October 03, 2024

    Garth Brooks Accused Of Rape By Former Stylist

    Country music star Garth Brooks' former hair and makeup stylist sued him in California state court on Thursday, claiming he raped her in a Los Angeles hotel room while preparing for a Recording Academy event in 2019.

  • October 03, 2024

    Okla. Campus Police Officer Gets Trial In Age Bias Suit

    An Oklahoma federal judge on Thursday teed up for trial a former campus police officer's claims alleging a school district refused to rehire him because he was 65 and had lodged complaints about a superior, but threw out his allegation that he was deprived of his due process rights.

  • October 03, 2024

    Dollar Tree Dodges Retaliation Claims In FMLA Suit

    A former Dollar Tree store manager failed to support her claims that she faced retaliation over her Family and Medical Leave Act request to take time off to care for her disabled son due to the coronavirus pandemic, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, handing a partial win to the retailer.

  • October 03, 2024

    4th Circ. Revives Retaliation Claim In NIH Race Bias Suit

    The Fourth Circuit has revived part of a discrimination suit by a Black former chief grants management officer with the National Institutes of Health, reasoning in a published opinion that the lower court failed to consider her retaliation claim solely in the context of the complaint's allegations.

  • October 03, 2024

    Del. Agency Dodges Ex-Employee's Disability Bias Suit

    A Delaware state agency defeated a former employee's lawsuit alleging she faced increased scrutiny from supervisors because of her service dog and was terminated while on medical leave, with a federal judge ruling Thursday that the department is immune from her federal bias claims.

  • October 03, 2024

    Jones Day Parental Leave Bias Claims Must Go To Jury

    Jones Day will have to defend its family leave policy at trial against claims from married ex-associates who say it is discriminatory and violates District of Columbia law, a D.C. federal judge said Thursday in concluding such bias allegations were a close call.

  • October 03, 2024

    Md. State Police Ink $2.8 Deal To End DOJ Hiring Bias Suit

    The Maryland Department of State Police has agreed to pay $2.75 million to settle a U.S. Department of Justice suit claiming it used physical fitness and written tests to screen out Black and female applicants for entry-level trooper positions.

  • October 03, 2024

    Co. Fired Older Worker After One Look, EEOC Says

    A Washington-based construction services company pulled a 67-year-old assembler's job placement because of a manager's incorrect assumption about his physical capabilities, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a complaint filed in federal court.

  • October 03, 2024

    EEOC Says Colo. Pot Shop Fired Budtender Over Disability

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a Colorado marijuana dispensary, alleging that it fired a budtender for memory issues stemming from a mini stroke when she was nine years old, while privately calling her a "fruitcake."

  • October 03, 2024

    Liberty U. Says Its Faith Compelled Trans Worker's Firing

    Liberty University asked a Virginia federal judge Thursday to toss a transgender worker's suit claiming she was fired after she announced she was transitioning, arguing it was allowed to fire her because her gender identity ran counter to the school's religious beliefs.

  • October 03, 2024

    Venable Assistant Sues Firm For Denying Medical WFH Status

    A Venable LLP administrative assistant has sued her employer in Los Angeles Superior Court, accusing the firm of denying her medically necessary work from home request in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act by forcing her into unpaid administrative leave.

  • October 02, 2024

    Kirkland Accuses Ex-IP Atty Of Delaying Bias Suit Discovery

    Kirkland & Ellis LLP told a California federal magistrate judge Wednesday that a former Kirkland intellectual property associate has delayed discovery production in her discrimination lawsuit against the firm, arguing that her discovery responses cite an erroneous legal standard, are non-committal and are "not even close to being proper."

  • October 02, 2024

    Cognizant Exec Cites India's Talent Pool To Explain Workforce

    A Cognizant Technologies vice president repeatedly denied in testimony Wednesday that the company is biased toward Indian workers in a class action brought by former employees, and said the company's high percentage of Indian workers with visas is due to the "vast pool of engineering talent" in that country.

  • October 02, 2024

    5 Takeaways As EEOC Crosses Into New Fiscal Year

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a surge of new suits before its fiscal year wrapped up Monday but still ended up bringing fewer cases than the previous year, which management-side experts attribute to the agency focusing on potentially high-impact systemic suits and targeting key priorities. Here are five takeaways as the calendar flips at the EEOC.

  • October 02, 2024

    White Ex-Coach Won't Get 11th Circ. Redo In Bias Suit

    An Eleventh Circuit panel on Wednesday rejected a former football coach's request to reconsider its decision not to reopen a lawsuit alleging that a Georgia school district refused to renew his contract because he is white.

  • October 02, 2024

    3rd Circ. Revives Fired Window Co. Manager's Retaliation Suit

    The Third Circuit reinstated a suit Wednesday from a window factory manager in Pennsylvania who said he was fired for opposing the termination of two Black employees who didn't show up for their shifts, rejecting the lower court's concerns that he didn't clearly oppose the move as discriminatory.

  • October 02, 2024

    Pa. County Accused Of Failing To Thwart Alleged Harasser

    Delaware County, Pennsylvania, has been hit with a lawsuit claiming its officials ignored its emergency services director's sexual harassment of a female employee, in keeping with the county's alleged history of failing to protect women from the director's inappropriate behavior.

Expert Analysis

  • 2nd Circ. Ruling Clarifies Title VII Claim Standards

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    The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Banks v. General Motors, although it does not break new ground legally, comes at a crucial time when courts are reevaluating standards that apply to Title VII claims of discrimination and provides many useful lessons for practitioners, says Carolyn Wheeler at Katz Banks.

  • In Focus At The EEOC: Preventing Systemic Harassment

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    With the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recently finalized strategic enforcement plan identifying a renewed commitment to preventing and remedying systemic harassment, employers must ensure that workplace policies address the many complex elements of this pervasive issue — including virtual harassment and workers' intersecting identities, say Ally Coll and Shea Holman at the Purple Method.

  • Cos. Must Reassess Retaliation Risk As 2nd. Circ. Lowers Bar

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    After a recent Second Circuit decision broadened the federal standard for workplace retaliation, employers should reinforce their nondiscrimination and complaint-handling policies to help management anticipate and monitor worker grievances that could give rise to such claims, says Thomas Eron at Bond Schoeneck.

  • An Employer's Guide To EEOC Draft Harassment Guidance

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    Rudy Gomez and Steven Reardon at FordHarrison discuss the most notable aspects of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recently proposed workplace harassment guidance, examine how it fits into the context of recent enforcement trends, and advise on proactive compliance measures in light of the commission’s first update on the issue in 24 years.

  • To Responsibly Rock Out At Work, Draft A Music Policy

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    Employers may be tempted to turn down the tunes after a Ninth Circuit decision that blasting misogynist music could count as workplace harassment, but companies can safely provide a soundtrack to the workday if they first take practical steps to ensure their playlists don’t demean or disrespect workers or patrons, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • 5 Surprises In New Pregnancy Law's Proposed Regulations

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    Attorneys at Baker McKenzie examine five significant ways that recently proposed regulations for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act could catch U.S. employers off guard by changing how pregnant workers and those with related medical conditions must be accommodated.

  • How Employers Can Take A Measured Approach To DEI

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    While corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs are facing intense scrutiny, companies need not abandon efforts altogether — rather, now is the time to develop an action plan that can help ensure policies are legally compliant while still advancing DEI goals, say Erin Connell and Alexandria Elliott at Orrick.

  • Courts Should Revisit Availability Of Age Bias Law Damages

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    Federal courts have held that compensatory damages, including for emotional distress, are unavailable in Age Discrimination in Employment Act cases, but it's time for a revamped textualist approach to ensure plaintiffs can receive the critical make-whole remedies Congress intended the law to provide, say attorneys at Sanford Heisler.

  • Employers Should Take Note Of EEOC Focus On Conciliation

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent strategic plan signals that the agency could take a more aggressive approach when verifying employer compliance with conciliation agreements related to discrimination charges, and serves as a reminder that certain employer best practices can help to avoid negative consequences, says Jacqueline Hayduk at Foley & Lardner.

  • 7th Circ. Ruling May Steer ADA Toward Commuter Issues

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    Employers faced with commuting-accommodation requests from employees who do not require on-site modifications under the Americans with Disabilities Act should consider the Seventh Circuit's recent reopening of a lawsuit alleging unlawful refusal of a night-vision-challenged worker's request to extend a shift change, says Robin Shea at Constangy.

  • How Calif. Ruling Extends Worker Bias Liability To 3rd Parties

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    The California Supreme Court's recent significant decision in Raines v. U.S. Healthworks Medical Group means businesses that provide employment-related services to California employers can potentially be held liable for California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act violations, says Ryan Larocca at CDF Labor.

  • Anticipating The Impact Of 2 Impending New Title IX Rules

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    Two major amendments to Title IX — which the U.S. Department of Education is expected to finalize next month — would substantially alter the process schools must use for sexual discrimination complaints and limiting student participation in athletics based on gender identity, says Rebecca Sha at Phelps Dunbar.

  • Despite Regulation Lag, AI Whistleblowers Have Protections

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    Potential whistleblowers at companies failing to comply with the voluntary artificial intelligence commitments must look to a patchwork of state and federal laws for protection and incentives, but deserve comprehensive regulation in this field, say Alexis Ronickher and Matthew LaGarde at Katz Banks.