Discrimination

  • October 31, 2024

    Judge Says White Worker's Seattle DEI Suit Lacks 'Specifics'

    A Washington federal judge hinted Thursday a former municipal employee's suit claiming Seattle's workplace diversity training discriminated against him as a white man might not have enough detail to survive, as the city's attorneys accused the plaintiff of trying to dismantle its racial justice initiative.

  • October 31, 2024

    DOL Blocked From Using In-House Court In Hiring Bias Spat

    A Texas federal judge temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Labor from using its internal judge system to pursue administrative proceedings against a government contractor for allegedly discriminatory hiring practices, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that placed limitations on these in-house procedures.

  • October 31, 2024

    CBS Escapes Ex-Employee's Vaccine Bias Suit

    CBSViacom/Paramount beat a former employee's lawsuit claiming she was fired because she requested a medical exemption to the company's COVID-19 vaccination policy, with a New York federal judge ruling she failed to fix errors previously identified by the court.

  • October 31, 2024

    NFL, Broncos Say Player's THC Suit Belongs In Federal Court

    The National Football League and the Denver Broncos are urging a Colorado federal court to keep in federal court a linebacker's suit alleging they discriminated against him by fining him for using medically prescribed synthetic THC, saying amending his complaint to remove references to his contract is not enough to warrant removal.

  • October 31, 2024

    11th Circ. Won't Reinstate Fired White Cop's Race Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit declined Thursday to revive a white Alabama cop's suit claiming he was fired by his Black boss out of racial bias, ruling he couldn't overcome the law enforcement agency's position that he was sacked for sharing confidential information and disparaging his employer.

  • October 31, 2024

    Jones Day Pushes To Shield Memo In Parental Leave Case

    As two former Jones Day associates who are challenging the firm's family leave policy prepare to potentially go to trial in late 2025, Jones Day has told a D.C. federal court that a memorandum stating business reasons for a personnel decision shouldn't lose its status as privileged communication just because it references legal issues.

  • October 31, 2024

    Justices Set Arguments In Firefighter's ADA Suit Over Benefits

    The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it set a January date to hear oral arguments in a case that could end up expanding the reach of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

  • October 31, 2024

    NJ Agency Accused Of Wrongfully Firing Legal Professional

    A former legal professional for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority has filed a lawsuit against her ex-employer in state court, alleging the agency discriminated against her because of her disability and wrongfully fired her during a trying time in her life.

  • October 31, 2024

    Argument Sessions Bias Attys Should Watch In November

    The Fourth Circuit will hear from a nurse who was fired for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination while the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will venture to the First, Tenth and Eleventh circuits to back up arguments made in amicus briefs. Here are four argument sessions employment discrimination attorneys should keep tabs on this month.

  • October 31, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Credit One Bank Worker's ADA Suit

    The Ninth Circuit backed Credit One Bank's win over a former employee's claims that she was fired for complaining that her pay was docked while on medical leave, finding she couldn't overcome the bank's explanation that she had used slurs when referring to a supervisor.

  • October 31, 2024

    The 2024 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard

    Check out the Law360 Pulse Leaderboard to see which firms made the list of leaders in all-around excellence this year.

  • October 31, 2024

    Firms' Hiring Strategies Are Evolving In Fight For Top Spot

    Competition for top talent among elite law firms shows no signs of slowing down, even amid economic uncertainty, with financially strong firms deploying aggressive strategies to attract and retain skilled professionals to solidify their market position.

  • October 30, 2024

    Ex-Tyson Worker Denied Class Cert. In Vax Religious Bias Suit

    An Arkansas federal judge on Tuesday denied class certification to a former Tyson Foods employee accusing the company of placing her on unpaid leave after she sought a religious exemption for a COVID-19 vaccine requirement, saying she failed to show that proposed class members shared common legal or factual issues.

  • October 30, 2024

    5th Circ. Upholds Texas A&M's Defeat Of Hiring Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday backed Texas A&M University's win over a professor's lawsuit claiming its hiring practices prevent white and Asian men's applications from being properly considered, finding his failure to actually seek a job at the school doomed his case.

  • October 30, 2024

    Ex-Ford Models CEO Can't Arbitrate Sex Misconduct Suit

    A California appeals court won't let the former CEO of Ford Models send a woman's suit brought under a state sex trafficking law to arbitration, saying her allegations don't fall within the scope of the arbitration agreement she signed.

  • October 30, 2024

    Biopharma Co. Can't Knock Ex-CFO's Bias Suit Out Of Court

    A biopharmaceutical development company can't kick a fired executive's bias suit to arbitration, a California federal judge said, ruling that the harassment she said she faced on the job was gendered enough to invoke a federal law curbing out-of-court-resolutions of sex harassment claims.

  • October 30, 2024

    4 Things Discrimination Attys May Have Missed In October

    An ousted Christian fire chief appealing his loss in a religious bias suit has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to ditch its longstanding McDonnell Douglas test, and a recent Maryland Supreme Court decision that narrowed a bias law exemption for religious employers is being challenged as unconstitutional. Here, Law360 looks at four employment litigation developments that flew under the radar this month.

  • October 30, 2024

    Rap Producer Metro Boomin Accused Of Rape In Calif. Suit

    Grammy-nominated rap and hip-hop producer Metro Boomin was sued in California state court Tuesday for allegedly raping a woman who visited his recording studio in 2016, resulting in an unwanted pregnancy and an abortion.

  • October 30, 2024

    3rd Circ. Mulls Definition Of Sexual Harassment In CVS Suit

    A Third Circuit panel on Wednesday attempted to parse distinctions between sexual harassment and sex-based discrimination as a former CVS manager argued that a trial court was wrong to find that a 2022 law limiting mandatory arbitration of sexual harassment claims didn't shield her bias suit from dismissal. 

  • October 30, 2024

    High Court Ruling Gets Social Worker's Bias Suit Reinstated

    The Eighth Circuit reopened a Black social worker's lawsuit alleging he received an unfavorable performance review because he asked for a new desk to work remotely in his wheelchair, ruling Wednesday that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision necessitated giving his case a second look.

  • October 30, 2024

    Southwest Seeks To Dismantle Military Leave Class

    Southwest Airlines urged a California federal judge to disassemble a nearly 3,000-member class of workers who say the company violated federal law by failing to pay them for short stints of military leave, saying new evidence shows there are too many individualized issues to warrant class treatment.

  • October 30, 2024

    National Security Bars FBI Agent's Bias Suit, DC Circ. Says

    The D.C. Circuit declined to revive a fired FBI agent's suit claiming bias toward his Chinese ancestry caused the agency to yank his security clearance after he failed three polygraph tests, ruling the courts can't touch the case because the FBI's decision involved national security.

  • October 30, 2024

    Texas Sues Another Doc For Violating Trans Care Ban

    The state of Texas announced Wednesday it launched another lawsuit accusing a physician of violating a state law barring healthcare providers from offering gender transition services to minors.

  • October 30, 2024

    Jury Awards Wynn Las Vegas Server $321K In FMLA Suit

    A Nevada jury awarded a former Wynn Las Vegas cocktail server about $321,000 in damages from her claim that the casino resort operator interfered with her Family and Medical Leave Act rights, but didn't side with the worker on her discrimination allegation.

  • October 30, 2024

    Honda Blocks Black Workers From Promotions, Suit Says

    Honda's manufacturing arm systematically bars Black workers from securing senior positions in the company by shrouding its promotional processes in secrecy, according to a proposed class action filed by a Black employee in Ohio federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination

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    As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.

  • The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media

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    As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.

  • 7th Circ. Rulings Offer Employee Vaccine Exemption Guidance

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    Dawn Solowey and Samantha Brooks at Seyfarth explain how two recent Seventh Circuit rulings in Passarella v. Aspirus and Bube v. Aspirus could affect litigation involving employee vaccine exemptions, and discuss employer best practices for handling accommodation requests that include both religious and secular concerns.

  • Employers Should Not Neglect Paid Military Leave Compliance

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    An August decision from the Ninth Circuit and the settlement of a long-running class action, both examining paid leave requirements under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, are part of a nationwide trend that should prompt employers to review their military leave policies to avoid potential litigation and reputational damage, says Bradford Kelley at Littler.

  • Old Employment Law Principles Can Answer New AI Concerns

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    Despite growing legal and regulatory concerns about how artificial intelligence tools may affect employment decisions and worker rights, companies should take comfort in knowing that familiar principles of employment law and established compliance regimes can still largely address these new twists on old questions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws

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    With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • How Anti-DEI Bill Could Affect Employers' Diversity Efforts

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    Sen. J.D. Vance's recently introduced Dismantle DEI Act would substantially limit employers’ ability to implement and promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but there are still steps employers can take to support a diverse workforce, says Peter Ennis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • US Labor And Employment Law Holds Some Harsh Trade-Offs

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    U.S. labor and employment laws have evolved into a product of exposure-capping compromise, which merits discussion in a presidential election year when the dialogue has focused on purported protections of middle-class workers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Immigration Insights From 'The Proposal'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with their colleague Robert Lee about how immigration challenges highlighted in the romantic comedy "The Proposal" — beyond a few farcical plot contrivances — relate to real-world visa processes and employer compliance.

  • Employers Face Uncertainty After Calif. Justices' Slur Ruling

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    In Bailey v. San Francisco District Attorney's Office, the California Supreme Court recently ruled that a singular use of a racial slur may be sufficiently severe to support a hostile work environment claim, leaving employers to speculate about what sort of comments or conduct will meet this new standard going forward, says Stephanie Roeser at Manatt.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Flags Work Harassment Risks Of Social Media

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    The recent Ninth Circuit ruling in Okonowsky v. Garland, holding an employer could be liable for a co-worker's harassing social media posts, highlights new challenges in technology-centered and remote workplaces, and underscores an employer's obligation to prevent hostile environments wherever their employees clock in, say Jennifer Lada and Phillip Schreiber at Holland & Knight.

  • Eye On Compliance: NY's New Freelance Protection Law

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    New York's Freelance Isn't Free Act is set to take effect later this month, meaning employers must be proactive in ensuring compliance and take steps to mitigate risks, such as updating documentation and specifying correct worker classification, says Jonathan Meer at Wilson Elser.