Discrimination

  • October 09, 2024

    Garth Brooks Accused Of Retaliating After Rape Lawsuit

    A hair and makeup artist told a judge Wednesday that Garth Brooks publicly revealed her name out of spite and retaliation after she sued him for rape, urging the court to sanction the country star and his lawyers for this "appalling and malicious behavior."

  • October 09, 2024

    Repeat Whistleblowing Led To Firing, Ex-Sikorsky Worker Alleges

    A Connecticut man who describes himself as a "well-known" whistleblower at Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. says he was illegally terminated for reporting alleged wage and hour and environmental violations to government authorities, claiming the helicopter manufacturer fired him using bogus allegations he broke into an office he was given clearance to access.

  • October 09, 2024

    9th Circ. Upends Healthcare Workers' Montana Vax Law Win

    The Ninth Circuit on Wednesday reversed a ruling from a Montana federal judge striking for all healthcare settings a state law that bars discrimination based on vaccine status, calling the claimed harms to healthcare workers and patients "too speculative" to find it conflicted with federal law.

  • October 09, 2024

    5th Circ. Revives Air Force Bias Case, Citing Broader Standard

    The Fifth Circuit revived a former civilian U.S. Air Force employee's lawsuit alleging she was given negative performance reviews after rejecting colleagues' sexual advances, saying a lower court needs to reevaluate her claims under a year-old circuit standard that allows for a wider range of bias allegations.

  • October 09, 2024

    Colo. Dispensary To Pay $95K In EEOC Disability Bias Suit

    A Colorado marijuana dispensary has agreed to pay $95,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it fired a worker for failing to clock in and out of her shifts, even though she informed supervisors that she had memory issues due to her disabilities.

  • October 09, 2024

    Conn. College Settles Fired Coach's Sex Discrimination Claim

    The former head coach of a Connecticut college's women's lacrosse team has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit claiming that he faced sex discrimination in a "hypersensitive" environment and was wrongfully fired for unprofessionalism, even though women who engaged in similar conduct went unpunished.

  • October 09, 2024

    World Economic Forum Founder Wants Out Of Worker's Suit

    The founder and chairman of the World Economic Forum told a New York federal court he had nothing to do with the firing of a Black employee, arguing that he should be left out of the worker's discrimination suit.

  • October 09, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Auburn Director's Race Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit backed Auburn University's win Wednesday in a Black former director's race bias and retaliation suit, ruling he couldn't overcome the university's position that he was fired for delaying a report about potential student-athlete favoritism.

  • October 09, 2024

    Ex-USPS Worker Wins $75K Verdict In Race Harassment Suit

    The U.S. Postal Service must pay a Black former custodian $75,000 in damages after a Minnesota federal jury found the agency didn't do enough to stop colleagues from directing racist slurs, threats of violence and other harassment at him and his wife.

  • October 09, 2024

    NJ Law Firm Gets Partial Win In Dispute With Ex-Employees

    The arbitration pacts that two former employees at a New Jersey law firm filed cover their discrimination claims, a New Jersey state court judge ruled, handing the Bergen County-based personal injury firm a partial win in the workers' wage and bias suit.

  • October 09, 2024

    Automotive Interior Co. Settles EEOC Workforce Data Suit

    An automotive interior supply company struck a deal with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to end the agency's suit claiming it spurned its legal responsibility to report demographic data about its workforce, an Alabama federal court filing said.

  • October 09, 2024

    Novant Ex-Exec's Counsel Wins $154K In Fees For Race Case

    Counsel for a former Novant Health Inc. executive who won $4.3 million after accusing the company of firing him during a diversity push because he was white got $154,000 in attorney fees for successfully defending the award on appeal, slightly less than what was requested.

  • October 09, 2024

    NFL Settles Racism, Retaliation Suit From Reporter Jim Trotter

    Award-winning sports journalist Jim Trotter and the National Football League on Wednesday agreed to settle his federal lawsuit accusing the league and its media arm of retaliating against him for persistently raising concerns about discriminatory hiring.

  • October 08, 2024

    Vince McMahon Accuser Wants Freedom To Air 'Toxic' Culture

    A woman accusing former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. executive chair Vince McMahon in Connecticut federal court of pressuring her into performing sex acts in exchange for an entry-level job has asked both McMahon and the company to voluntarily waive nondisclosure agreements, saying she and other accusers could help reform WWE's "toxic and sexualized culture."

  • October 08, 2024

    5th Circ. Upholds Texas A&M's Win In Ex-Prof's Race Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit backed Texas A&M University-Kingsville's win in a Mexican American former professor's suit claiming he was denied tenure out of racial bias, ruling Tuesday that his case lacks proof of discrimination and that his scholarship fell short of tenure requirements.

  • October 08, 2024

    MLB Faces New Bias Suit After Settlement Talks Fail

    A former minor league umpire who claims he was sexually harassed by a female umpire filed an expanded suit Tuesday against Major League Baseball after settlement talks failed.

  • October 08, 2024

    SHRM Can't Beat Black Egyptian Worker's Discrimination Suit

    The Society for Human Resource Management can't escape a Black Egyptian ex-employee's lawsuit claiming she was fired for opposing her supervisor's favoritism toward white workers, with a Colorado federal judge ruling Tuesday that a jury should analyze the organization's rationale that she was let go for missing deadlines.

  • October 08, 2024

    DC Circ. Appears Iffy About Reviving Bias Suit Against Union

    The D.C. Circuit seemed reluctant Tuesday to reopen a retired government employee's discrimination suit against a federal employee union, with several judges suggesting that her claims don't belong in federal court.

  • October 08, 2024

    5th Circ Says Ex-Postal Worker's Harassment Suit Falls Short

    The Fifth Circuit upheld a win for the USPS in a retired post office clerk's suit claiming she faced discrimination and harassment on the job due to her age and disability, saying she didn't face "anything close" to a hostile work environment.

  • October 08, 2024

    New High Court Case May Spell Doom For 'Majority' Bias Test

    The U.S. Supreme Court has taken up a case that experts predict will be used to jettison a legal test that's made it harder for some people in "majority" groups to bring Title VII cases, potentially leading to a rise in so-called reverse discrimination lawsuits. Here are three things to keep an eye on if the high court changes the legal landscape.

  • October 08, 2024

    Airlines Say Chicago Sick Leave Law Would Impact Business

    An organization representing the largest U.S. airlines urged an Illinois federal court to keep afloat its challenge to Chicago's new paid sick leave law, saying its claims that the statute would impact flight prices and routes are fact-intensive and should proceed to discovery.

  • October 08, 2024

    Divorced-Dads Firm Beats Fired Paralegal's Retaliation Suit

    A Kansas federal jury on Monday sided with a law firm that bills itself as an advocate for divorced fathers, shutting down a suit from a paralegal who claimed she was fired for speaking up about sexual harassment by one of the firm's attorneys.

  • October 08, 2024

    College Admins Beat Ex-Prof's Suit Over Race-Based Study

    Cleveland State University faculty defeated a former professor's suit alleging he was unlawfully fired for publishing research asserting intelligence differences between white and Black people, with an Ohio federal judge finding he was let go for abusing access to restricted data, not his research subject.

  • October 08, 2024

    Harvard Says Ex-Coach's Pay, Retaliation Suit Falls Flat

    Harvard University has urged a Massachusetts federal judge to dismiss a former ice hockey coach's suit alleging she was paid less than her male counterparts and was forced into retirement, arguing the claims were mostly made after the statute of limitations had expired and failed to make a connection to an action taken by the school.

  • October 08, 2024

    Boarding School Strikes Deal To End COVID Race Bias Suit

    A boarding school agreed to settle a suit from an Asian American electrician who said he was fired after raising concerns that he was the victim of racism related to COVID-19, staving off a trial scheduled for November in Pennsylvania federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Legal Profession Must Do More For Lawyers With Disabilities

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    At the start of Disability Pride month, Rosalyn Richter at Arnold & Porter looks at why lawyers with disabilities are significantly underrepresented in private practice, asserting that law firms and other employers must do more to conquer the implicit bias that deters attorneys from seeking accommodations.

  • Calif. Whistleblower Decision Signals Change For Employers

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    Because the California Supreme Court's recent The People v. Kolla's decision significantly expands employee whistleblower protections, employers should ensure that internal reporting procedures clearly communicate the appropriate methods of reporting and elevating suspected violations of law, say Alison Tsao and Sophia Jimenez at CDF Labor Law.

  • What Affirmative Action Ruling Means For Higher Ed And Cos.

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's holding that race-conscious admissions programs at two educational institutions violate the Constitution's equal protection clause applied the "strict scrutiny" standard that governs race-conscious programs in a way that will be very difficult for educational institutions and other entities to satisfy, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Pay Transparency And ESG Synergy Can Inform Initiatives

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    The proliferation of pay transparency laws and ESG initiatives has created unique opportunities for companies to comply with the challenging laws while furthering their social aims, says Kelly Cardin at Ogletree.

  • Eye On Compliance: An NLRB Primer For Private Employers

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    Many employers, especially those with nonunionized workforces, may not realize they are subject to federal labor law, but with a recent flurry of precedent-changing rulings from the National Labor Relations, understanding how to comply with the National Labor Relations Act may now be more important than ever, says Bruno Katz at Wilson Elser.

  • Formula In New York City AI Bias Law Is Not Ready For Use

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    New York City will soon begin enforcing its law regulating the use of artificial intelligence in employment decisions, but the statute's bias audit rules introduced a problematic scoring rate formula that should be rectified before it's mandated for use in the real world, says Jey Kumarasamy at BNH.AI.

  • Employer Tips For Complying With NYC Weight Bias Ban

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    To comply with New York City’s new law that prohibits weight or height discrimination in employment and housing decisions, employers will not only need to update workplace handbooks, anti-bias policies and training materials, but also job postings, applications and descriptions, say Jonathan Wexler and Taylor McCann at Vedder Price.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Office Drug Abuse Insights From 'Industry'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Squarespace general counsel Larissa Boz about how employees in the Max TV show "Industry" abuse drugs and alcohol to cope with their high-pressure jobs, and discuss managerial and drug testing best practices for addressing suspected substance use at work.

  • How New Pregnancy, Nursing Laws Surpass Prior Protections

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    Employers must understand how the new Pregnant Workers Fairness and PUMP Acts build on existing federal workplace laws — and they will need to make key updates to ensure compliance, say Alexandra Garrison Barnett and Leigh Shapiro at Alston & Bird, and Kandis Wood Jackson at McKinsey & Co.

  • 4th Circ. Ruling Outlines Defense Against Retaliation Claims

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    The Fourth Circuit's surprising decision in Johnson v. Global Language Center eschewed the low standard typically applied to demonstrating protected activities under Title VII and could affect internal complaint processes and the retaliation defenses available to employers, say Tory Summey and Zack Anstett at Parker Poe.

  • An Overview Of OFCCP's Religious-Exemption Reset

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    The recent rescission of a Trump-era rule that gave government contractors broader latitude under federal anti-discrimination rules doesn't prohibit employment decisions based on religious faith, but clarifies the factors a company must consider when seeking a religious exemption, say Zev Grumet-Morris and Christopher Durham at Duane Morris.

  • FMLA Confusion Persists Despite New DOL Advisory

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    A recent U.S. Department of Labor advisory opinion provides some clarity regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act's handling of holiday weeks, but the FMLA remains a legal minefield that demands fact-specific analysis of each employee's unique situation, says Nicholas Schneider at Eckert Seamans.

  • 2 Steps To Improve Arbitrator Diversity In Employment Cases

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    There are prevalent obstacles in improving diversity among arbitrator ranks, but in the realm of employment-related disputes, there are two action items practitioners should consider to close the race and gender gap, say Todd Lyon and Carola Murguia at Fisher Phillips.