Discrimination

  • July 10, 2024

    6th Circ. Partly Revives Jailer's Disability Suit Over Chemicals

    The Sixth Circuit partially revived a deputy jailer's disability bias suit against a Tennessee county, tossing a district court's ruling that she failed to support discrimination claims over her termination and the county's alleged failure to accommodate her allergy to cleaning chemicals.

  • July 10, 2024

    Ohio Hospital Beats Fired Worker's COVID Testing Bias Suit

    An Ohio federal judge tossed a pharmacist's suit claiming a children's hospital flouted her beliefs by firing her after she refused the COVID-19 vaccine and weekly testing on religious grounds, ruling that she wasn't owed an accommodation that could have hurt hospital business.

  • July 09, 2024

    Ex-SF Transit Worker Tearfully Tells Of Vax-Mandate Firing

    A former San Francisco Bay Area train system police department member who claims the transit agency religiously discriminated with its COVID-19 vaccination mandate testified tearfully on Tuesday that he felt guilt and anxiety after losing his job, saying his family almost had to sell their home.

  • July 09, 2024

    With Chevron's End, LGBTQ+ Healthcare Regs Face New Risk

    The end of Chevron deference is already disrupting regulation meant to protect LGBTQ+ access to healthcare, with three federal judges blocking enforcement of a Biden administration rule prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in healthcare.

  • July 09, 2024

    6th Circ. Won't Revive Pilots' COVID Vax Preemption Fight

    The Sixth Circuit on Tuesday refused to revive a putative class action by Kalitta Air pilots who were fired over their refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccine, finding that the Railway Labor Act precludes the court from hearing their failure-to-accommodate and disability discrimination claims, which must be resolved through arbitration instead.

  • July 09, 2024

    BCBS Unit Fails To Stop Religious Vaccine Objector Suits

    A Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan subsidiary can't escape claims it treated differently employees who sought accommodations from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, a Michigan federal judge ruled Tuesday, finding it plausible that religious discrimination "was at least a motivating factor" in the way the workers were dealt with.

  • July 09, 2024

    CBD Cos. Tell Justices RICO Can't Cover Personal Injury

    A trio of CBD companies on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to find that a trucker fired for a positive drug test cannot bring a personal injury claim under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

  • July 09, 2024

    Miracle-Gro Scores Early Win In Benefits Cutoff Suit

    Scotts Miracle-Gro notched an early win in a former worker's lawsuit alleging she was forced out when her health benefits were cut after she asked to work remotely following a bout of COVID-19, with a Georgia federal judge ruling Tuesday her position necessitated in-person attendance.

  • July 09, 2024

    EEOC General Counsel Says She's Homing In On Hiring Bias

    U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission general counsel Karla Gilbride said Tuesday her office is focused on holding employers accountable for hiring discrimination, noting the agency has access to company data that allows it to build a case that an individual job seeker cannot.

  • July 09, 2024

    7th Circ. Passes On Look At 2-Step Cert. Process, For Now

    A Seventh Circuit panel turned down pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Co.'s challenge to an Indiana federal court's decision to grant collective certification in an age discrimination suit, but said it would be open to looking at the two-step certification process in place to greenlight collectives.

  • July 09, 2024

    EEOC Asks 11th Circ. To Upend Coal Co. Win In Race Bias Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday to reinstate a lawsuit against a coal company brought by two Black former workers, saying they adequately showed that a white worker was subjected to more lenient standards than they were.

  • July 09, 2024

    Transportation Co. Fined Daily For Ignoring EEOC Subpoena

    A Minnesota federal judge hit a medical transportation company with a $100-a-day fine for failing to hand over information requested by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to aid its investigation into claims that the company underpaid a female driver out of bias.

  • July 09, 2024

    Ex-Uber Driver Urges 9th Circ. To Rehear Race Bias Suit

    An Asian former Uber driver is asking the Ninth Circuit to overturn a panel's June ruling finding he failed to support his allegations that the ride-hailing giant's rating system is racially biased, saying the court held him to too high of a standard.

  • July 09, 2024

    Ex-Worker Says She Was Assaulted By Fulton Court Staffer

    A former Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts employee has filed a lawsuit against the clerk and county for allegedly protecting and enabling a senior staff member who she says sexually assaulted and harassed her.

  • July 09, 2024

    Jackson Lewis Snags Proskauer Atty In NYC Office

    Nationwide employment law firm Jackson Lewis PC announced Tuesday that it has hired a former Proskauer Rose LLP associate as a principal in its New York City office.

  • July 09, 2024

    Akamai Can't Arbitrate Saleswoman's Sex Harassment Suit

    A New York federal judge said Akamai Technologies can't arbitrate a senior account executive's claims that she endured years of sexual harassment and was hit with sexist sales quotas, ruling that her sexual misconduct claims shield the entire case from arbitration under the Ending Forced Arbitration Act.

  • July 09, 2024

    Weinstein May Face Nov. Retrial As DA Vets New Rape Claims

    Manhattan prosecutors Tuesday said November is a "realistic" date for Harvey Weinstein's retrial on rape charges as they continue to investigate new claims that the disgraced Hollywood producer assaulted other women, saying they expect to seek a superseding indictment by late September.

  • July 09, 2024

    Alaska Senators Condemn District Judge After Resignation

    Alaska's two Republican senators reprimanded the federal judge from their state who was found by a special committee to have created a hostile work environment and had an "inappropriately sexualized relationship" with one of his clerks, and has resigned.

  • July 09, 2024

    Biz Groups, Nonprofits Back EEOC Harassment Guidelines

    Several business groups and nonprofits urged a Tennessee federal court to reject a bid from a coalition of Republican state attorneys general to block new guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying the agency's guidelines are necessary for safeguarding LGBTQ+ individuals from workplace harassment.

  • July 09, 2024

    UNC Health Worker's Age Bias Mediation Ends In Stalemate

    The University of North Carolina Health Care System and a former supply chain manager have reached an impasse trying to resolve his age discrimination claims outside of court, according to a mediator's recent report.

  • July 08, 2024

    Fintech Co. Current Can't Stop Ex-GC's Depo In Bias Case

    Fintech company Current must allow the deposition of its former general counsel in a suit claiming it fostered a discriminatory work culture, a New York federal magistrate judge has ruled though the judge limited the deposition to focus on discrimination the general counsel may have personally experienced or witnessed.

  • July 08, 2024

    Polsinelli Adds Prominent Employment Attys To Calif. Offices

    Polsinelli LLP has added a pair of experienced labor and employment attorneys to its Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, bolstering the firm's wage-and-hour and general employment practice in the Golden State, according to an announcement made Monday.

  • July 08, 2024

    UPS Beats 'Old Boys' Club' Gender Bias Suit For Good

    United Parcel Service Inc. scored a pretrial win Monday in a lawsuit claiming it passed over women for promotions and gave men better pay and working conditions after a California federal judge ruled that the three plaintiffs hadn't done enough to show the shipping company discriminated against them.

  • July 08, 2024

    Biggest Michigan Decisions Of 2024: A Midyear Report

    Michigan's appellate courts started off the year with notable labor and no-fault insurance opinions, allowing retaliation claims from a whistleblower's friends who didn't make any complaints themselves, and clarifying confusing auto insurance coverage changes after legislative reforms. Here is a look at some of the biggest decisions in Michigan so far this year.

  • July 08, 2024

    State Pay Equity Laws May Ease Path For EEOC Salary Survey

    While the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's first attempt to collect salary details from employers faced strong headwinds, experts said the proliferation of state-level pay transparency mandates may make a fresh wage data collection effort an easier lift for businesses.

Expert Analysis

  • Parsing EEOC Guidance On Accommodating Low Vision

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    Employers need to examine recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance on provisions for employees who are blind or partially sighted, particularly on the consequences of terminating an employee with blindness or low vision without meeting obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, says Amy Epstein Gluck at FisherBroyles.

  • 5 Tips For Employers Handling Generative AI Privacy Risks

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    Employers should carefully consider the privacy implications of using generative artificial intelligence tools, and employ steps to mitigate the risks, such as de-identifying data, providing notice and identifying data flows, say Zoe Argento and Amy Kabaria at Littler.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'The Bear' Serves Up Advice For Managers

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Ernst & Young’s Laura Yehuda about Hulu's "The Bear" and the best practices managers can glean from the show's portrayal of workplace challenges, including those faced by young, female managers.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Mass. Age Bias Ruling Holds Employer Liability Lessons

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    The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling in Adams v. Schneider Electric — upholding a laid-off employee’s age discrimination claim — is an important reminder that employers may face liability even if a decision maker unknowingly applies a discriminatory corporate strategy, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Regulating AI: Litigation Questions And State Efforts To Watch

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    In view of the developing legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence systems in the U.S., including state legislation and early federal litigation, there are practical takeaways as we look toward the future, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Regulating AI: An Overview Of Federal Efforts

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    The U.S. has been carefully managing a national policy and regulatory ecosystem toward artificial intelligence, but as AI technology continues to expand into our everyday lives, so too has its risks and the need for regulation, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Justices' Job Transfer Review Should Hold To Title VII Text

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis should hold that a job transfer can be an adverse employment action, and the analysis should be based on the straightforward language of Title VII rather than judicial activism, say Lynne Bernabei and Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.

  • Employer Tips For Fighting Back Against Explosive Verdicts

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    Massive jury verdicts are a product of our time, driven in part by reptile tactics, but employers can build a strategic defense to mitigate the risk of a runaway jury, and develop tools to seek judicial relief in the event of an adverse outcome, say Dawn Solowey and Lynn Kappelman at Seyfarth.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Changing Status Quo In A Union Shop

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    A recent administrative law decision concerning a dispute between Fortune Media and the NewsGuild of New York is an important reminder to employers with unionized workforces to refrain from making unilateral updates to employee handbooks that will change the terms and conditions of employment, says Jennifer Hataway at Butler Snow.

  • What EEOC's 2023 Stats Mean For Future Enforcement

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    The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s unusual burst of spring lawsuits and its new Democratic majority should cue employers and HR personnel to expect EEOC enforcement activity to ramp up to pre-pandemic rates, especially in regions where filings are on the rise and in those areas the agency appears to be targeting, such as workplace discrimination, say Andrew Scroggins and James Nasiri at Seyfarth Shaw.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Shift In Religious Accommodation Law

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    The recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Groff v. DeJoy is making it more difficult for employers to deny religious accommodations, and there are three takeaways employers should keep in mind, say William Cook and Matthew High at Wilson Elser.

  • Tick Tock: When Punctuality Raises Employee ADA Questions

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    A recent viral TikTok video — where a user claims they were disrespected by a potential employer when inquiring about accommodations for difficulty with being on time — shows that even in the most seemingly questionable situations, there may be legitimate issues that require Americans with Disabilities Act considerations, says Daniel Pasternak at Squire Patton.