Discrimination

  • July 10, 2024

    4 State AI Bills To Watch In 2nd Half Of 2024

    After Colorado recently moved to the forefront of regulating artificial intelligence in the workplace, numerous other states across the ideological spectrum — including conservative bastions like Oklahoma — are considering legislation of their own. Here, Law360 looks at four bills to regulate the use of AI in the workplace that bear watching in the second half of 2024. 

  • July 10, 2024

    7th Circ. Won't Renew Honeywell DEI Video White Bias Suit

    The Seventh Circuit refused Wednesday to revive a former Honeywell engineer's claims he was unlawfully fired after he declined to watch a diversity, equity and inclusion training film that he claimed vilified white people, ruling he was only making assumptions since he never watched the video.

  • July 10, 2024

    Salt Co. CEO, Worker Settle Suit Over Spurned Affair

    A Seattle-area gourmet sea salt company has settled a discrimination suit by an employee who says she was demoted and ostracized when she rejected sexual advances from its founder and CEO, who allegedly tried to win her over by paying for a new car, a new apartment and her student loans.

  • July 10, 2024

    X Corp., Musk Dodge $500M Severance Suit

    X Corp. and Elon Musk can escape claims they owe former employees $500 million in severance following the business mogul's purchase of the social platform formerly known as Twitter, a California federal judge ruled, saying the facts don't show that federal benefits law governed the payments workers received.

  • July 10, 2024

    Former Conn. Top Public Defender Claims Bias Led To Ouster

    The former chief public defender in Connecticut has filed a second action challenging her June 4 ouster for misconduct, lodging an administrative appeal in state court that claims racial bias.

  • July 10, 2024

    House Panel Votes To Nix Biden's Retirement Advice Rule

    A Republican-controlled panel of U.S. House lawmakers advanced legislation Wednesday to block recently finalized regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor that expand the definition of a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, after a brief debate on retirement policy that clearly split along party lines.

  • July 10, 2024

    Bankruptcy Filing Halts Dueling Unions' Defamation Dispute

    One of two security and law enforcement unions embroiled in defamation suits in Michigan federal court has informed the court that it has filed for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania, pausing the claims against it a week before trial.

  • July 10, 2024

    Worker Says Law Firm Fired Her For Flagging Harassment

    A law firm brushed off a former accounts payable specialist's complaints that a male contractor was harassing her, telling her his actions were "laughable," and then fired her after she continued to bring up his conduct, she told a Virginia federal court.

  • July 10, 2024

    Atlanta, Ex-Worker Want Trial Rescheduled In Retaliation Case

    The city of Atlanta and a former city department head who says she was fired after blowing the whistle on failures in its immigrant outreach services asked a Georgia federal judge on Tuesday to reschedule a jury trial set to start in August to allow time for private mediation.

  • 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.

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.