Discrimination

  • October 02, 2024

    Worker Says Meta, Shutterstock Paid Her $2M Less Than Men

    A former Giphy engineer alleged in New York federal court that her male colleagues earned over $2 million more than she did after Meta, and later Shutterstock, took over the online database for animated GIFs, despite her complaints that she was being undervalued.

  • October 02, 2024

    Generator Co. Inks $500K Deal To End DOL Hiring Bias Probe

    A generator manufacturer has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Labor $500,000 after the agency uncovered what it said was discrimination against Black and Native American applicants in the federal contractor's hiring processes.

  • October 02, 2024

    Auto Biz Must Hand Emails Over To EEOC In Harassment Case

    A Michigan federal magistrate judge has ordered an automotive services company to turn over certain emails sought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a sexual harassment suit, saying only portions can be redacted due to attorney-client privilege.

  • October 02, 2024

    LexShares Argues Ex-CEO's Suit 'Defies Common Sense'

    Litigation financing company LexShares Inc. urged a Massachusetts federal court to throw out a Black former CEO's suit, arguing that his racial discrimination claim against two board members who helped him acquire the company "defies common sense."

  • October 02, 2024

    Starr Says School Insurer Owes $1.9M For Abuse Settlement

    Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. said it is entitled to reimbursement for its $1.9 million portion of a $3.5 million settlement paid to resolve a sexual abuse suit against a California high school, telling a federal court that a school risk-sharing pool insurer is solely liable for the payment.

  • October 02, 2024

    Ga. Surgery Provider Denies Wrongdoing In EEOC Suit

    A cosmetic surgery provider accused by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of firing a surgical sales coordinator who asked to work remotely after being diagnosed with breast cancer during the coronavirus pandemic denied all wrongdoing in a filing Tuesday, saying the worker actually resigned after learning her position couldn't be done remotely.

  • October 02, 2024

    7th Circ. Won't Revive Chicago Worker's Bulgarian Bias Suit

    A Chicago water management employee who contends she was passed over for a 2018 promotion because she's a Bulgarian woman in her 50s couldn't overcome the city's explanation that she didn't have the right experience, the Seventh Circuit ruled in affirming the defeat of the suit.

  • October 01, 2024

    Lyft Beats NY Wheelchair Access, Disability Bias Class Action

    A New York federal judge on Monday threw out a long-running class action alleging that Lyft fails to offer adequate wheelchair-accessible vehicle options for riders in the vast majority of its service regions, finding that the plaintiffs' proposed modifications for increasing accessibility aren't reasonable.

  • October 01, 2024

    Premier Health Sued For Age Bias By Ex-Regional Director

    Premier Healthcare and University of Louisville Health face an age discrimination suit filed Monday in North Carolina federal court by a former employee who alleges he experienced a hostile work environment and that younger colleagues subjected him to derogatory comments, including "boomer" and "dumb son of a bitch," that went unaddressed.

  • October 01, 2024

    EEOC Launches Dozens Of Suits As Fiscal 2024 Wraps Up

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched about 30 new cases as its fiscal year drew to a close, underscoring long-standing agency priorities like protecting underage workers from harassment and making sure deaf workers get fair treatment. Here's a rundown of that wave of lawsuits.

  • October 01, 2024

    Ga. County Urges Full 11th Circ. To Nix Trans Deputy's Win

    A Georgia county told the Eleventh Circuit on Monday that a health plan coverage exclusion for gender-affirming surgery is comparable to other exclusions in coverage and does not violate federal anti-discrimination laws.

  • October 01, 2024

    Argument Sessions Bias Attys Should Watch In October

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will urge the D.C. Circuit to revive a bias suit from a government worker who said her union mishandled a grievance she filed, while a Black attorney will urge the appellate court to reinstate his race bias case against Morrison Foerster LLP. Here, Law360 looks at these and other oral arguments that discrimination attorneys should keep tabs on in October.

  • October 01, 2024

    Meta Subjected Employee To Colleague's Stalking, Suit Says

    Meta was sued in New York state court on Tuesday by an employee who claims the tech giant failed to assist him when a former colleague began stalking and harassing him — and then accidentally rehired the co-worker.

  • October 01, 2024

    EEOC, Hooters Not Taking Bias Suit 'Seriously,' Judge Chides

    Attorneys for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Hooters got a dressing down Tuesday by a federal judge in North Carolina who accused them of dragging their feet and wasting the court's time by asking for deadline extensions without making meaningful progress.

  • October 01, 2024

    Client's Late Arrival, Bankruptcy Complicate Age Bias Suit

    The co-owner for a bankrupt Pittsburgh hotel almost lost his lawyer Tuesday, arriving late and introducing himself to the attorney for the first time in person at a hearing on the attorney's motion to withdraw from defending him against an ex-employee's age bias claim.

  • October 01, 2024

    Wigdor Sued For Dragging Cuomo Aide Into Harassment Case

    Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's spokesperson hit Wigdor LLP with a malicious prosecution suit Tuesday, claiming the well-known employment law firm filed a bogus retaliation claim against him for likening a sexual harassment suit against Cuomo to extortion.

  • October 01, 2024

    EEOC Says La. Cos. Let Black Women Drivers Get Harassed

    Two Louisiana-based energy companies failed to address male workers' racist and sexually explicit behavior toward Black female truck drivers and fired anyone who complained, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit.

  • October 01, 2024

    Technology Co. Settles EEOC Sex Discrimination Probe

    A technology services provider in Ohio will pay $15,000 after a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation discovered reasonable cause to believe it denied women employment opportunities based on their sex, the agency said. 

  • September 30, 2024

    'I Was Excluded,' White Ex-Cognizant Worker Tells Jury

    A former Cognizant employee testifying for a class of former workers alleging the company is biased in favor of Indian employees corrected an attorney on Monday when asked if she "felt excluded" at the company, insisting, "Well, I was excluded."

  • September 30, 2024

    Newsom Signs Landmark Intersectionality Anti-Bias Bill

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill enshrining intersectionality in the state's anti-discrimination laws, making California the first state in the country to explicitly recognize the concept, the governor's office announced over the weekend.

  • September 30, 2024

    Kent State Defeats Transgender Prof's Promotion Bias Suit

    Kent State University defeated a transgender associate professor's lawsuit alleging the professor was denied a promotion and a tenure transfer because of the professor's gender identity, with an Ohio federal judge ruling that the professor hadn't shown the school's actions had a material impact on the professor's employment.

  • September 30, 2024

    Ex-UNC Prof Claims Admin Tapped Classroom In Firing Suit

    A Native American former professor at the University of North Carolina has taken the school to federal court for allegedly recording his lectures without his consent and terminating him in retaliation for his public comments criticizing what he says is a lack of proper diversity initiatives at the university.

  • September 30, 2024

    US To Pay $23M To End Female FBI Trainees' Sex Bias Suit

    The federal government has agreed to pay $22.6 million to resolve a proposed class action alleging the Federal Bureau of Investigation drove out female trainees by targeting them with unfair discipline, the former trainees behind the case said Monday.

  • September 30, 2024

    EEOC Sues Fla. Resort Over Worker Fired After Stillbirth

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a Florida resort Monday for alleged discrimination for firing a female line cook who requested time off to recover from a stillbirth, saying the former employee qualified for accommodations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

  • September 30, 2024

    Insurer Says Miami Can't Toss Retaliation Coverage Dispute

    An insurer for the city of Miami sought to maintain its action seeking reimbursement of $5 million for expenses incurred in defending the city and one of its commissioners against underlying lawsuits alleging political retaliation, arguing that it didn't "commingle" claims regarding its potential defense and indemnification obligations.

Expert Analysis

  • AI For Advancing Diversity In The Workplace: Friend Or Foe?

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    In the wake of calls for increased workplace diversity, employers are turning to artificial intelligence to automate hiring and cut costs to reach environmental, social and governance objectives, but this technology requires human oversight to minimize biases and discrimination, say Consuela Pinto and Dawn Siler-Nixon at FordHarrison.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Attendance Policies

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    Employee attendance problems are among the most common reasons for disciplinary action and discharge, which is why a clear policy neatly laid out in an employee handbook is necessary to articulate expectations for workers and support an employer's position should any attendance-related disputes arise, says Kara Shea at Butler Snow.

  • What Employers Should Know About Proposed Calif. AI Regs

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    Recently proposed California regulations aim to hold employers and agencies liable for disparate treatment arising from automated-decision systems, and there are five things employers should look out for, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

  • Beware The Legal Risks Of Personality Tests In Hiring

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    The rise of remote work has led employers to increasingly use personality tests to evaluate candidates, but hiring teams must exercise caution to avoid liability, as such tests may be discriminatory, or in violation of certain civil rights, state or local laws, says Daniel Schwartz at Shipman & Goodwin.

  • New Ruling Shows Benefits Of HR-Only Harassment Policies

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    By recently ruling that Penguin Random House did not unlawfully retaliate by demoting a supervisor who failed to promptly report sexual harassment allegations to human resources, the Seventh Circuit provides welcome support to companies that want managers to go straight to HR instead of investigating employee complaints on their own, says Robin Shea at Constangy Brooks.

  • Reproductive Rights Ruling May Thwart Employee Protections

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in Slattery v. Hochul — greenlighting an anti-abortion group's case against a New York law prohibiting employee discrimination related to reproductive choices — could mean trouble for certain worker statutory protections, say Grayson Moronta and Courtney Stieber at Seyfarth.

  • Calif. FCRA Ruling Boosts Technical Claim Defense

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    The California Supreme Court's recent decision to let a state appeals court's Limon v. Circle K Store opinion stand will bolster Fair Credit Reporting Act defendants' ability to assert lack of standing against technical claims in cases where plaintiffs haven't suffered concrete harm, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Quiet Quitting Insights From 'Seinfeld'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Paradies Lagardere's Rebecca Silk about George Costanza's "quiet quitting" tendencies in "Seinfeld" and how such employees raise thorny productivity-monitoring issues for employers.

  • What The 3rd McD's Ruling Means For Claims Against Officers

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    The Delaware Chancery Court's third decision in the McDonald's stockholder litigation related to sexual harassment at the company indicates that plaintiff stockholders bringing Caremark claims against officers are not likely to be successful if the board acted properly, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Pros And Cons As Calif. Employers Rethink Forced Arbitration

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    As California employers reconsider mandatory arbitration pacts following favorable high-profile federal and state court rulings, they should contemplate the benefits and burdens of such agreements, and fine-tune contract language to ensure continued enforcement, say Niki Lubrano and Brian Cole at CDF Labor Law.

  • Eye On Compliance: Cross-State Noncompete Agreements

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    The Federal Trade Commission's recent proposal to limit the application of worker noncompete agreements is a timely reminder for prudent employers to reexamine their current policies and practices around such covenants — especially businesses with operational footprints spanning more than one state, says Jeremy Stephenson at Wilson Elser.

  • A DOL Reminder That ADA Doesn't Limit FMLA Protections

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    A recent U.S. Department of Labor opinion letter and some case law make clear that the Family and Medical Leave Act fills in gaps where the Americans with Disabilities Act may not neatly apply, however the agency ignored a number of courts that have supported termination when "no overtime" restrictions effectively reduce a position to part-time, says Jeff Nowak at Littler Mendelson.

  • 5 Potential Perils Of Implementing Employee Sabbaticals

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    As companies try to retain employees with sabbatical benefits amid record-low unemployment rates, employers should be aware of several potential legal risks when considering policies to allow these leave periods, say Jesse Dill and Corissa Pennow at Ogletree.