Discrimination
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May 21, 2025
Democracy Forward Adds Another Ex-DOJ Hand
Legal advocacy group Democracy Forward has added a former deputy associate U.S. attorney general and co-chair of the Supreme Court and appellate practice at WilmerHale to its ranks of former U.S. Department of Justice litigators.
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May 21, 2025
5th Circ. Won't Revive Cop's Bias Suit Over Denied Promotion
The Fifth Circuit declined to reinstate a Black cop's suit claiming she lost a promotion out of bias and was transferred to a new role after complaining about it, ruling a Mississippi city showed it tapped a white cop for the role because he had more experience.
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May 21, 2025
Conn. Public Defender Watchdog Wants Chief's Firing Upheld
Connecticut's Public Defender Services Commission said in a state court brief that it was "significant misconduct," not racial bias, that caused it to fire the chief public defender, arguing the June 2024 firing came after a litany of complaints and a lengthy pattern of wrongdoing.
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May 21, 2025
NYC Hotel, EEOC Ink Deal In ADA Suit Over Knee Condition
A hotel and members club in New York City will pay $100,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it refused to provide a reasonable accommodation to a worker with a disability and then fired her, according to a federal court filing.
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May 20, 2025
Ex-Emory Prof Says Palestine Support Led To 'Brazen' Ouster
A former professor at Emory University's medical school has sued the university, alleging that she was ousted in 2023 for her social media posts in support of Palestinians, claiming she was the victim of a smear campaign coordinated between the university and outside groups akin to "modern-day McCarthyism."
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May 20, 2025
Wash. Judge Doubts T-Mobile Worker's Birthday Bias Stance
A Washington federal judge expressed skepticism on Tuesday with a former T-Mobile employee's contention that her manager's failure to wish her a happy birthday bolstered her case against the company, questioning any nexus to discrimination.
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May 20, 2025
Unions Walk Tightrope When Members Split On Mideast War
A recent National Labor Relations Board charge accusing a legal aid union of discriminating against Jewish members by opposing an employer's rule that restricts speech about the Israel-Hamas war tests the bounds of unions' obligations to represent all workers when they're split on a divisive identity issue.
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May 20, 2025
Injunction On Trump Order Limited To Perkins, Judge Clarifies
A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday clarified the scope of her injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order targeting Perkins Coie LLP, explaining that her ruling prohibits the president from directing government agencies to investigate only Perkins Coie's employment practices and not the other BigLaw firms.
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May 20, 2025
Lawmakers Refloat Bipartisan Bill To Support Age Bias Suits
A bipartisan group of lawmakers announced Tuesday they will be reintroducing a bill that aims to lower the legal hurdles workers must clear to show they have been discriminated against because of their age.
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May 20, 2025
Texas A&M Says Prof's Pregnancy Leave Wasn't Under FMLA
Texas A&M University told a state appellate court that it should be freed from a lawsuit brought by a professor who was denied tenure because she technically never took family medical leave as she claimed.
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May 20, 2025
3rd Circ. Revives Ex-Prison Officer's Rumor Harassment Suit
The Third Circuit reversed Tuesday the dismissal of an ex-correctional officer's suit claiming she was tricked into resigning after complaining that her colleagues spread rumors that she slept with superiors, ruling a lower court was wrong to downplay the alleged harassment as mere gossip.
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May 20, 2025
5th Circ. Service Dog Ruling Highlights Circuit Split On ADA
A recent Fifth Circuit decision finding that failing to accommodate a disabled worker can violate the Americans with Disabilities Act — even if that failure doesn't translate to harm like job loss — underscores disagreement among federal appeals courts that the U.S. Supreme Court needs to resolve, experts say.
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May 20, 2025
Red Cross Seeks Clarity On Deposition Order In Vax Bias Case
The American Red Cross asked a Michigan federal judge on Monday to clarify that an April ruling allows the organization to depose the husband of a Christian nurse alleging she was fired for not getting the COVID-19 vaccine, saying the worker's attorneys refused to make him available.
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May 20, 2025
Rehab Co. Will Pay To End EEOC Bias Probe Over Vaccine
An Oregon-based rehabilitation and therapy provider will pay damages to a former employee who told the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission she was fired because of her religious opposition to the COVID-19 vaccine, the federal agency announced Tuesday.
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May 20, 2025
Colorado Bans Deadnaming Transgender Workers
It is now illegal in Colorado to intentionally deadname or misgender a transgender person at work or school, according to a new law signed by the state's governor that expands anti-discrimination protections for transgender residents.
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May 20, 2025
Detroit Tigers, Former VP Spar Over Age, Race Bias Claims
The Detroit Tigers said a former vice president was let go as part of a COVID-19 pandemic workforce reduction while the ex-executive said the pandemic was a smokescreen for firing an older Black woman, as each argued the other side should not get an early win in the lawsuit.
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May 20, 2025
9th Circ. Revives Ex-Army Corps Boat Operator's Bias Suit
The Ninth Circuit revived a lawsuit claiming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers refused to rehire a boat operator because he was in his 50s and has diabetes, saying a trial court held the civilian worker's allegations to an incorrectly high standard.
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May 20, 2025
Doctor's Disability Bias Claim Too Late, Mass. Court Says
A former Brigham and Women's Hospital anesthesiologist and Harvard Medical School faculty member is time-barred from pursuing disability bias claims for actions by the hospital that he was aware of as early as 2006, an intermediate Massachusetts appellate court has concluded.
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May 20, 2025
EEOC Annual Worker Data Bid Opens With Diversity Warning
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's annual workplace demographic data collection window opened Tuesday with a warning from the EEOC's acting chair that employers can't act on protected characteristics like race and sex to try to enhance diversity.
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May 19, 2025
Former Kite Pharma Exec Alleges Gender Bias, Retaliation
Gilead Sciences and its subsidiary Kite Pharma have been hit with a suit in California state court by a former company executive alleging she was underpaid compared to her male counterparts and fired while out on medical leave after she raised concerns about equal pay.
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May 19, 2025
11th Circ. Says Logistics Worker's FMLA Award Lacks Support
The Eleventh Circuit partially overturned a $1.2 million award Monday in favor of a former supervisor who claimed a logistics company prevented him from taking Family and Medical Leave Act leave after he had back surgery, saying he hadn't shown the alleged interference caused him to lose any money.
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May 19, 2025
FCC's Carr Claims Victory Versus DEI In Verizon-Frontier OK
Verizon took a leap toward closing its $20 billion bid for Frontier Communications by gaining the Federal Communications Commission's approval after ditching its diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the behest of FCC Chair Brendan Carr.
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May 19, 2025
5th Circ. Tosses FCC Workplace Diversity Reporting Rule
The Fifth Circuit on Monday threw out a Federal Communications Commission rule that required TV and radio broadcasters to disclose employment diversity data to the FCC.
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May 19, 2025
7th Circ. Won't Reopen Male Ex-School Director's Bias Suit
The Seventh Circuit refused to upend a private school's win over a lawsuit alleging it unlawfully terminated an administrator and replaced him with a woman, saying he couldn't overcome the school's explanation that he was let go for breaching his boss's trust.
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May 19, 2025
Ex-CTA Worker Can Take Vaccine Bias Claim To Trial
An ex-Chicago Transit Authority employee fired after refusing COVID-19 vaccination can take his religious discrimination claim to a jury this summer after an Illinois federal judge grilled the agency Monday on its assertion that the plaintiff didn't seek an exemption for sincerely held religious beliefs and rejected its argument that he was "cherry-picking" Catholic doctrine.
Expert Analysis
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After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue
As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.
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After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law
Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.
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FIFA Maternity Policy Shows Need For Federal Paid Leave
While FIFA and other employers taking steps to provide paid parental leave should be applauded, the U.S. deserves a red card for being the only rich nation in the world that offers no such leave, says Dacey Romberg at Sanford Heisler.
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What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation
Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.
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Eye On Compliance: A Brief History Of Joint Employer Rules
It's important to examine the journey of the joint employer rule, because if the National Labor Relations Board's Fifth Circuit appeal is successful and the 2023 version is made law, virtually every employer who contracts for labor likely could be deemed a joint employer, say Bruno Katz and Robert Curtis at Wilson Elser.
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Top 5 Issues For Employers To Audit Midyear
Six months into 2024, developments from federal courts and regulatory agencies should prompt employers to reflect on their progress regarding artificial intelligence, noncompetes, diversity initiatives, religious accommodation and more, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.
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Tailoring Compliance Before AI Walks The Runway
Fashion industry players that adopt artificial intelligence to propel their businesses forward should consider ways to minimize its perceived downsides, including potential job displacements and algorithmic biases that may harm diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, say Jeffrey Greene and Ivory Djahouri at Foley & Lardner.
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Where Anti-Discrimination Law Stands 4 Years After Bostock
On the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Bostock ruling, Evan Parness and Abby Rickeman at Covington take stock of how the decision, which held that Title VII protects employees from discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, has affected anti-discrimination law at the state and federal levels.
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Politics In The Workplace: What Employers Need To Know
As the 2024 election approaches and protests continue across the country, employers should be aware of employees' rights — and limits on those rights — related to political speech and activities in the workplace, and be prepared to act proactively to prevent issues before they arise, say attorneys at Littler.
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What High Court Ruling Means For Sexual Harassment Claims
In its recent Smith v. Spizzirri decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that a district court compelling a case to arbitration is obligated to stay the case rather than dismissing it, but this requirement may result in sexual harassment cases not being heard by appellate courts, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.
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5 Steps For Gov't Contractor Affirmative Action Verification
As the federal contractor affirmative action program certification deadline approaches, government contractors and subcontractors should take steps to determine their program obligations, and ensure any required plans are properly implemented and timely registered, say Christopher Wilkinson at Perkins Coie and Joanna Colosimo at DCI Consulting.
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New OSHA Memo Helps Clarify Recordkeeping Compliance
Based on recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidance on whether musculoskeletal disorders are recordable injuries under the agency's recordkeeping regulation, it appears that OSHA may target active release techniques and stretching programs during its inspections, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Cos. Must Stay On Alert With Joint Employer Rule In Flux
While employers may breathe a sigh of relief at recent events blocking the National Labor Relations Board's proposed rule that would make it easier for two entities to be deemed joint employers, the rule is not yet dead, say attorneys at Day Pitney.