Discrimination

  • June 11, 2024

    4th Circ. Says Md. Development Entity Immune From Bias Suit

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit alleging a Maryland economic development corporation fired a Black employee for complaining she'd been denied opportunities because of her race and gender, saying a lower court correctly ruled that the state organization is immune from her claims.

  • June 11, 2024

    Lacrosse Coach Loses Bias Suit After Getting Cozen Booted

    A Pennsylvania federal judge tossed a lawsuit Tuesday from a high school lacrosse coach who said her contract wasn't renewed because of gender, age and disability bias, finding the school district showed that its decision stemmed from concerns about her professionalism.

  • June 11, 2024

    Stanford Says Instructor's Firing Over Gaza Class Is Legit

    Stanford University has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit by a Black Muslim lecturer who said he was let go after giving a controversial talk on the Gaza war, saying it didn't dismiss him because of his race, color or religion, but because he ran a bad classroom exercise.

  • June 11, 2024

    GRSM50 Adds Labor And Employment Pro In San Diego

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP has hired as a partner for its employment law practice an attorney with prior private practice experience who has also worked for multiple companies and a labor union during her more than 20-year career.

  • June 11, 2024

    Ariz. Builder Settles EEOC Suit Over Late Workforce Data

    A homebuilder reached a deal with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to end a suit claiming it failed to hand over its workforce demographic data, marking the latest settlement in a spate of recent EEOC suits challenging reporting requirement noncompliance.

  • June 11, 2024

    Ex-Papa John's Driver's Race Harassment, Pay Suit Proceeds

    A Black former pizza delivery driver for a Papa John's franchise can pursue his claims that he faced a hostile work environment and was underreimbursed for mileage, an Alabama federal judge ruled, but the judge limited the methods the worker can use to prove his allegations.

  • June 11, 2024

    Gastropub, HR Firm Strike Deal To End EEOC Harassment Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday that a Honolulu gastropub and its human resources consultant have agreed to pay $115,000 to resolve a suit accusing the companies of allowing sexual harassment to run rampant in the restaurant.

  • June 10, 2024

    Weinstein Calls Accuser 'Brazen Liar' In Calif. Criminal Appeal

    Harvey Weinstein told a California appellate court that prejudicial rulings deprived him of a fair trial in the Golden State, arguing in his opening brief that the jury wrongfully heard evidence of uncharged sex assault offenses but never heard evidence that would have exposed his accuser as a "brazen liar."

  • June 10, 2024

    EEOC Says Auto Co. Got Rid Of Harassment Suit Evidence

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a Michigan federal court Monday that an automotive services company improperly deleted crucial emails, text messages and personnel records related to claims that it fired an employee after she reported that a supervisor was pressuring her for sex.

  • June 10, 2024

    9th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-City Worker's Accommodation Suit

    The Ninth Circuit declined Monday to revive an employee's suit alleging the city he worked for used an argument he had with police officers as a cover-up to fire him because he requested leave to treat a knee injury, ruling that the worker lacked proof of prejudice.

  • June 10, 2024

    6th Circ. Backs CBP Win In Black Worker's Race Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit on Monday refused to reinstate a lawsuit a patrol officer brought against the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency alleging he was demoted because he's Black, saying no new trial is needed despite the worker's argument that the lower court wrongly excluded certain evidence.

  • June 10, 2024

    Introducing Law360's Pay Disclosure Law Tracker

    A movement to tackle discriminatory pay gaps has swept the U.S. in recent years as nearly half of states have enacted bans on salary history requests while almost a dozen have issued laws that require employers to share what they're willing to pay for a position. Law360 has created an interactive, nationwide map tracking these salary history bans and pay transparency requirements.

  • June 10, 2024

    2nd Circ. Upholds Toss Of Fired Cop's Race, Sex Bias Suit

    The Second Circuit refused Monday to revive a Black police officer's lawsuit alleging a New York town fired her after she hurt her back while allowing white men to take on light work or retire, finding she was treated the same as colleagues who weren't receiving disability benefits.

  • June 10, 2024

    Jury Says School Workers Owed $950K In COVID Bias Suit

    An Oregon federal jury said six education workers should get a combined $950,000 win in their religious bias suit claiming their school district illegally placed them on indefinite unpaid leave after approving their exemptions to its COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

  • June 10, 2024

    W.Va. Anti-Trans Sports Suit Stayed Amid High Court Bid

    A West Virginia federal judge has temporarily paused a lawsuit from a transgender minor challenging a state law that prohibits biological males from joining girls' teams, arguing it is not in the best interest of taxpayers to proceed while the U.S. Supreme Court weighs whether to take up the case.

  • June 10, 2024

    5th Circ. Upends Dallas School District Win In Age Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit reinstated a lawsuit from a Dallas school district worker who said she was passed over for promotions and fired because she was in her mid-50s, saying a trial court held her to too high a standard when it threw out her lawsuit.

  • June 10, 2024

    Cozen O'Connor Booted From Pa. Equal Pay Case

    Cozen O'Connor has been booted off a Pennsylvania school district's equal-pay lawsuit that was being overseen by a judge with personal ties to the firm, according to an order the judge issued Monday.

  • June 10, 2024

    FordHarrison Makes Associate Hires Across 5 Offices

    FordHarrison LLP announced that it made associate hires across five of the employment law firm's office locations including Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

  • June 10, 2024

    Duane Morris Rehires Employment Partner From Cooley

    A labor and employment attorney who spent nearly two decades at Duane Morris LLP has rejoined the firm after working at Cooley LLP the past few years.

  • June 10, 2024

    Live Urgent Care In-House Atty Axed For Pregnancy, Suit Says

    A former in-house attorney and compliance officer for Live Urgent Care LLC alleged in New Jersey state court on Friday that she was fired in retaliation for asking to take maternity leave and demanding a bonus she claims was never paid.

  • June 10, 2024

    Order Trims Cuomo Suit Over Harassment Probe Documents

    A New York state judge has partially dismissed a petition brought by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo seeking dozens of unredacted transcripts of witness interviews as part of the state attorney general's sexual harassment investigation that led to his 2021 resignation.

  • June 10, 2024

    EEOC Settles 2 Suits Over Late Demographic Data Reports

    A Georgia chicken processor and a New Jersey food distributor are the latest businesses to settle suits with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after it targeted 15 companies for failing to submit mandatory workforce demographic reports to the government, according to Monday court filings.

  • June 10, 2024

    Treasury Dept. Beats IRS Agent's Religious Bias Suit

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury defeated an Internal Revenue Service agent's suit claiming he was disciplined for a three-day celebration of Easter mandated by his Christian faith, with a Florida federal judge finding the reprimand was based on performance rather than religion.

  • June 07, 2024

    Split 9th Circ. Revives LA Schools Vaccine Policy Row

    A split Ninth Circuit panel on Friday reversed a California federal court's dismissal of a proposed class action challenging a recently rescinded Los Angeles Unified School District policy requiring employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine to keep their jobs, ruling that the district still has the potential to reinstate it.

  • June 07, 2024

    Hospital Dodges Hostile-Workplace Claim In Race Bias Suit

    A federal court trimmed a state-level claim of hostile work environment and two allegations of racial bias from a Black former emergency room doctor at a hospital outside Philadelphia, but said there were enough questions of fact for other parts of her case to move ahead.

Expert Analysis

  • Why Employers Should Heed High Court Web Designer Ruling

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    While not an employment law ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in the First Amendment case 303 Creative v. Elenis raises serious questions for employers that constitute public accommodations and have related anti-discrimination policies, says Tanner Camp at Foley & Lardner.

  • What To Expect From The EEOC's Proposed Pregnancy Law

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    U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act require accommodations for many conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, and while the final rule won't be published until the public comment period expires in October, employers should act promptly, says Amy Gluck at FisherBroyles.

  • Employer Best Practices For Pay Transparency Compliance

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    With conflicting pay transparency and disclosure laws appearing across the country, employers must carefully develop different strategies for discussing compensation with employees, applicants, and off-site workers, disclosing salaries in job ads, and staying abreast of new state and local compliance requirements, says Joy Rosenquist at Littler Mendelson.

  • Congress Must Level The Employer Arbitration Playing Field

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    Federal courts have largely eviscerated state bans on arbitration of employment claims through Federal Arbitration Act preemption holdings, and they are also limiting the impact of the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, so Congress needs to step in and amend both laws, says Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.

  • What 11th Circ. Revival Of Deaf Employee's Bias Suit Portends

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent Beasley v. O'Reilly Auto Parts decision, which created a circuit split involving the issue of linking accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act to essential job functions, is a curiosity about the court's analysis at least and a potential game changer for employer duties at most, says John Doran at Sherman & Howard.

  • What To Watch As Justices Take Up Title VII Job Transfer Case

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    With its recent decision to hear Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether an involuntary job transfer can count as employment discrimination under Title VII — an eventual ruling that has potential to reshape workplace bias claims nationwide, says Adam Grogan at Bell Law Group.

  • 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.