Discrimination

  • October 23, 2024

    Ex-VA Worker Must Repay Sex Harassment Award, Judge Says

    A former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs worker must return a $90,000 award she won in internal proceedings accusing a supervisor of sexual harassment, a Mississippi federal judge ruled, saying she must pay back the money because she lost a subsequent court case over the same allegations.

  • October 23, 2024

    Fired Norton Rose Worker Ends Suit Over COVID Vax Mandate

    A Texas federal judge on Wednesday signed off on a former Norton Rose Fulbright IT worker's agreement to drop his lawsuit, which accused the firm of discriminating against the ex-employee when it fired him after he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine because he didn't feel peace with the Holy Spirit about being inoculated.

  • October 23, 2024

    United Worker Fired Over Online Pics Gets Bias Suit Revived

    A California appeals court revived a United Airlines flight attendant's sex bias suit claiming she was unlawfully fired for appearing in uniform on a social media page advertising her OnlyFans account, crediting her argument that male flight attendants didn't face the same consequences for similar behavior.

  • October 23, 2024

    Law Firm Accuses Ex-Paralegal Of 'Sabotage' In Bears Case

    An Illinois law firm has accused one of its former paralegals of attempting to stiff the firm for work it did settling his discrimination suit against the Chicago Bears, alleging that the erstwhile employee declined to file key paperwork and deleted critical files.

  • October 23, 2024

    Chemical Co. GC Fires Back At Pregnancy Bias Claims In NJ

    Arxada and its general counsel struck back at a former in-house attorney's claims in a New Jersey state court lawsuit that the specialty chemicals company unlawfully dismissed her in the days after she talked about taking leave to recover from a miscarriage.

  • October 23, 2024

    Harvard Enabling 'Outrageous' Antisemitism, Court Told

    Harvard University is intentionally protecting students and faculty accused of antisemitism and an assault on a Jewish student last year, "hoping this whole thing goes away," a lawyer for two student groups said during a hearing Wednesday on the Ivy League school's bid to end a second civil rights lawsuit.

  • October 23, 2024

    Harvey Weinstein Must Face All NY Charges At Retrial

    A New York state judge on Wednesday denied Harvey Weinstein a separate trial for his new sexual assault charge, ruling that he must face that allegation alongside his original indictment at a retrial that is now expected to begin in early 2025.

  • October 22, 2024

    Connecticut GOP Challenges Ex-Aide's Bias Suit Timeline

    A former press secretary for Republican lawmakers in the Connecticut House of Representatives failed to prevent or correct alleged workplace harassment that included cursing by waiting a year to report a key incident cited in her complaint, state House Republicans argued in an answer to the ex-spokesperson's discrimination lawsuit.

  • October 22, 2024

    Ex-Worker Says DOJ Retaliated Over Accommodation Request

    A former human resources officer in the Southern District of Texas lodged a retaliation suit against the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday, claiming she had to wait 100 days for her post-traumatic stress disorder-related accommodation request to be approved.

  • October 22, 2024

    Israeli Intel VP Must Use Real Name In Bias Suit, Judge Says

    A former Intel executive must reveal his name in his suit claiming the company fired him for complaining that his boss openly supported Hamas, a New York federal judge ruled Tuesday, finding concerns of retaliation from Hamas or anti-Israel protesters are too speculative to justify anonymity.

  • October 22, 2024

    Elevance Wants Weight Loss Drug Discrimination Suit Tossed

    Elevance asked a Maine federal court to toss a worker's proposed class action alleging subsidiary Anthem violated healthcare nondiscrimination law by denying coverage for a weight loss drug to treat obesity, arguing the insurer's decision was based on her employer's plan exclusion and not bias.

  • October 22, 2024

    Third-Party Posts Can Complicate Pay Range Compliance

    Employers need to be careful about their job advertisements on third-party platforms, attorneys said, as state pay range laws take different approaches to liability for such postings.

  • October 22, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Give Sbarro Worker New Trial On Rape Claims

    The Ninth Circuit refused to reopen a former Sbarro employee's lawsuit claiming she was repeatedly sexually harassed and assaulted by a manager and co-workers, ruling she hadn't identified any reversible error committed by the lower court during a jury trial that ended in a verdict favoring the company.

  • October 22, 2024

    EEOC Too Opaque On Antisemitism Data, GOP Senator Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission hasn't properly reported incidents of workplace antisemitism dating back to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, a Republican senator said in a letter to the agency Tuesday requesting further data.

  • October 22, 2024

    How Law Firms Get And Keep Elite Status

    For decades, a handful of New York-based law firms thoroughly dominated the national consciousness when it came to power, profitability and prestige. But in today's legal market, increased movement of partners and clients from one firm to the next has begun to shake things up and create opportunities for go-getters to ascend the ranks.

  • October 22, 2024

    The 2024 Prestige Leaders

    Check out our Prestige Leaders ranking, analysis and interactive graphics to see which firms stand out for their financial performance, attractiveness to attorneys and law students, ability to secure accolades and positive legal news media representation.

  • October 22, 2024

    AutoNation Can't Ax $2.5 Million Age Bias Arbitration Award

    A Washington federal judge said AutoNation Inc. can't scrap a $2.5 million arbitration award for a former sales manager who said he was fired due to his age, rejecting the company's concerns that the order was not properly calculated.

  • October 22, 2024

    Ex-Abercrombie CEO Charged With Sex Trafficking

    Former Abercrombie & Fitch Co. CEO Mike Jeffries was indicted Tuesday on charges he ran an international sex trafficking and prostitution ring that abused male models who were led to believe their participation in sex parties would benefit their careers.

  • October 21, 2024

    Firm Fired HR Manager Because Of Pregnancy, Fla. Jury Told

    The lawyer for a former human resources manager at a South Florida law firm told a federal jury Monday that she was fired for being pregnant, saying that her ex-employer made her come into work despite a doctor's note telling her to stay home after determining that she had a high-risk pregnancy.

  • October 21, 2024

    EEOC Tells 6th Circ. Medical Allergies Can Be Disabilities

    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.

  • October 21, 2024

    SpaceX Firing Suit Belongs In State Court, Ex-Workers Say

    Terminated SpaceX employees on Monday urged a California federal judge to remand their hostile work environment and retaliation case to state court due to lack of diversity jurisdiction, arguing that when they first sued, SpaceX's principal place of business was Hawthorne, California, not Starbase, Texas, where the company later moved.

  • October 21, 2024

    Hooters, EEOC Strike Deal To End Post-COVID Rehiring Suit

    Hooters will pay $250,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit claiming it failed to bring back most of its Black employees when it reopened a North Carolina restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a filing in federal court Monday.

  • October 21, 2024

    Nonprofit Settles EEOC Disability Bias Probe For $150K

    A nonprofit that runs child development centers in California will pay $150,000 after a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation found it fired a worker after he asked for an accommodation for his intellectual and cognitive disabilities, the agency announced Monday.

  • October 21, 2024

    Lilly Ledbetter Was An 'Indefatigable' Force For Equal Pay

    Lilly Ledbetter, whose unequal pay lawsuit against her employer sparked a 2009 law and led her to dedicate the rest of her life to fighting for pay equity, recently died at 86. Those who worked with her say her legacy lives on in the ongoing fight to close the wage gap.

  • October 21, 2024

    Ogletree Shareholder Who Went In-House 'Returning Home'

    Communications company WPP Group USA's vice president and counsel for the Americas rejoined Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC on Monday as a labor and employment shareholder, the firm said.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • FCRA Legislation To Watch For The Remainder Of 2023

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    If enacted, pending federal and state legislation may result in significant changes for the Fair Credit Reporting Act landscape and thus require regulated entities and practitioners to pivot their compliance strategies, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • A Closer Look At Another HBCU Race Bias Suit Against NCAA

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    The National Collegiate Athletic Association's Academic Performance Program has become a lightning rod for scrutiny, as seen in the recently filed class action McKinney v. NCAA — where statistics in the complaint raise questions about the program's potential discriminatory impact on student-athletes at historically Black colleges and universities, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Employer Defenses After High Court Religious Bias Decision

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    Following the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Groff v. DeJoy — which raised the bar for proving that a worker’s religious accommodation presents an undue hardship — employers can enlist other defense strategies, including grounds that an employee's belief is nonsectarian, say Kevin Jackson and Jack FitzGerald at Foley & Lardner.

  • Where Employers Stand After 5th Circ. Overturns Title VII Test

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    The substantial impact of the recent holding in Hamilton v. Dallas County means employers in the Fifth Circuit can now be liable under Title VII for a whole range of conduct not previously covered — but the court did set limits, and employers can take tangible steps to help protect themselves, say Holly Williamson and Steven DiBeneditto at Hunton.

  • Gauging The Scope Of NYC's New AI Employment Law

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    Although employers have received some guidance on the requirements of New York City's new restriction on the use of automated employment decision tools, there are many open questions to grapple with as Local Law 144 attempts to regulate new and evolving technology, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Eye On Compliance: Women's Soccer Puts Equal Pay In Focus

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    As the U.S. Women's National Team returns from World Cup, employers can honor the fighting spirit of the athletes — which won them a historic gender pay equality settlement in 2022 — by reviewing federal equal pay compliance requirements and committing to a level playing field for all genders, says Christina Heischmidt at Wilson Elser.