Discrimination
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March 27, 2025
Movie Theater Co. Agrees To Settle EEOC Age Bias Suit
A company that owns movie theaters has agreed to settle an age discrimination suit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming it yanked a worker's health insurance after he turned 65 and later forced him to retire during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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March 27, 2025
Ex-Troutman Atty Says Racial Bias Suit Should Go To Trial
A former Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP associate who says she was fired for calling out racial bias told a Washington, D.C., federal judge that the firm's own documents and testimony show it saw her as a valuable attorney, despite saying she was let go over performance.
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March 27, 2025
2nd Circ. Ruling Illuminates Overlooked Disability Law Tenet
The Second Circuit recently made clear that a worker can be qualified for an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act even if they can do their job without one, aligning with its sister circuits on a nuance of discrimination protections that experts say often flies under the radar.
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March 27, 2025
Trans Corrections Officer's Harassment Case Cleared For Trial
A Georgia federal judge said Thursday that the state's corrections department must face a suit from a transgender officer who said he was mocked for transitioning, teeing up a trial on a harassment claim the Eleventh Circuit revived in March 2024.
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March 27, 2025
3M Says It's Settled Ex-Worker's Vaccine Retaliation Suit
3M Co. has reached a settlement with a former employee who claimed she was canned from the company for refusing to comply with its COVID-19 vaccination policy, according to a Wednesday filing in Georgia federal court.
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March 26, 2025
IBM Can't Yet Ditch White Man's 'Reverse Discrimination' Suit
A Michigan federal judge on Wednesday refused to throw out a white male consultant's suit alleging that IBM threatens to punish executives if they don't meet diversity goals, finding that, at least at this stage in the litigation, he's offered enough facts to support a "reverse discrimination" claim.
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March 26, 2025
Delta Must Face Ex-Worker's Disability Bias Suit At Trial
A Tennessee federal judge said a jury needs to determine whether Delta failed to accommodate a former worker's disability by denying his request to use a stool on the job, stating there are too many disputes about whether safety regulations prevented the airline from providing the seating.
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March 26, 2025
EEOC Guidance Flags Affinity Groups As Potentially Risky
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice's recent joint guidance on workplace diversity programs highlighted affinity groups — caucus groups of employees who share common traits or concerns — as measures that could be legally risky.
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March 26, 2025
Ex-IATSE Officer's Discipline Claims Over Porn Issue Survive
A New Mexico federal court on Wednesday sustained some claims from a former vice president for an International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees affiliate who said he was wrongly disciplined after raising concerns about another officer's name appearing on porn websites, while dismissing other allegations under federal racketeering and state laws.
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March 26, 2025
Court Backs Pitt, UPMC In Firing Doctor Over DEI Article
A former program director at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine failed to show that officials at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center were acting in a state capacity when they removed him from overseeing a cardiac fellowship program over his criticism of diversity initiatives, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in dismissing his case.
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March 26, 2025
NJ Appeals Court Says Ruling Nixing Bias Suit Thin On Details
A New Jersey appeals court revived on Wednesday a researcher coordinator's lawsuit claiming Rutgers Cancer Institute fired her for taking time off and asking for a private work area because of a tissue disorder, finding the trial court's explanation for kicking the case to arbitration was too sparse.
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March 26, 2025
Trump's DEI Firings Are Discriminatory, Fed Workers Claim
Former federal workers asked an employment board Wednesday to reinstate them to jobs they lost because of President Donald Trump's executive orders shuttering all government diversity, equity and inclusion positions, stating the firings illegally targeted their assumed political beliefs and fell disproportionately hard on workers who weren't white men.
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March 26, 2025
DOJ Can't DQ Judge In Perkins Coie Suit Over Trump Order
A D.C. federal judge on Wednesday shot down a demand from the U.S. Department of Justice that she step aside from Perkins Coie LLP's lawsuit against the federal government over President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the firm.
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March 26, 2025
Need For Individual Analyses Sinks Class Bid In Vax Bias Suit
A group of former workers claiming they were unlawfully denied medical and religious exemptions from a Pittsburgh public transportation system's COVID-19 vaccination policy cannot proceed as a class, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, saying the case involved too many individual issues.
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March 26, 2025
Trump Admin Asks Justices To End 'Fiscal Micromanagement'
The U.S. Department of Education asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to vacate a Boston federal judge's order reinstating $250 million in teacher training grants that the Trump administration targeted for cuts, saying the case presents an ideal vehicle to put a stop to "district-court fiscal micromanagement" of the executive branch.
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March 25, 2025
Diddy Producer's Atty Gets Warning For 'Shocking' Statement
A New York federal judge threatened counsel for one of Sean "Diddy" Combs' former music producers with sanctions Monday for a pattern of false statements and inappropriate insults in civil sexual assault litigation, calling one statement in the attorney's court filings "not just disturbing, but shocking."
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March 25, 2025
Virginia Gov. Vetoes AI Bias Bill, Citing Industry Impact
Virginia's governor has blocked legislation that would have required the developers and deployers of "high-risk" artificial intelligence systems used in employment, healthcare and other areas to implement safeguards against algorithmic discrimination, saying that the "burdensome" proposal would have "stifled" the burgeoning AI industry.
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March 25, 2025
11th Circ. Weighs Muldrow Ruling In ASU Gender Bias Case
Alabama State University on Tuesday faced an Eleventh Circuit judge's question on whether its argument for reversing a gender discrimination win for the school's former softball coach holds up under the U.S. Supreme Court's Muldrow ruling for Title VII claims.
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March 25, 2025
Trans Military Ban Rests On 'Unconvincing' Proof, Judge Says
A Washington federal judge hinted Tuesday he might block the Trump administration's ban on transgender troops later this week, expressing doubt that the U.S. Department of Defense has evidence to back its stance that gender dysphoria alone makes people unfit for military service.
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March 25, 2025
Office Depot Must Face Ex-Manager's Sex Bias Claims At Trial
A New York federal judge said Tuesday that a jury needs to probe a former Office Depot manager's claims that her supervisor sexually harassed her and that she was fired for purportedly making up the allegations, finding enough fact disputes on the record to warrant a trial.
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March 25, 2025
Expedia, White Job Applicant End Race Bias Suit
A white male job applicant agreed to drop his lawsuit claiming Expedia took back an offer for an executive-level position in favor of a Black woman because of the company's focus on diversity, according to a filing in Texas federal court.
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March 25, 2025
'Biased' Arbitration At Stake As Flores, NFL Speak To 2nd Circ.
A Second Circuit panel weighing former NFL coach Brian Flores' discrimination suit against the league acknowledged Tuesday that shipping the aggrieved coach's dispute to arbitration could pave a new course in corporate dispute settlement.
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March 25, 2025
Con Ed To Enact Reforms To Settle NY AG's Bias Case
New York utility provider Consolidated Edison Inc. will pay $750,000 and implement a series of workplace reforms to resolve an investigation that found it allowed widespread discrimination and harassment of female and nonwhite employees, state Attorney General Letitia James said Tuesday.
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March 25, 2025
Hershey Escapes Ex-Production Worker's Leave Bias Suit
Hershey defeated a former production operator's lawsuit claiming he was fired for taking time off to assist his wife with fertility treatments, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, saying there was nothing wrong with an internal investigation that found he was misusing the leave he'd been given.
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March 25, 2025
NYPD Denied Vax Waiver To Detective, Suit Says
A former New York City Police Department detective has filed a lawsuit against the department and city alleging he was effectively forced out after being denied a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Expert Analysis
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The Key Changes In Revised FDIC Hiring Regulations
Attorneys at Ogletree break down the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rule, effective Oct. 1, that will ease restrictions on financial institutions hiring employees with criminal histories, amend the FDIC's treatment of minor offenses and clarify its stance on expunged or dismissed criminal records.
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Employer Tips For PUMP Act Compliance As Law Turns 2
Enacted in December 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for employees to express breast milk, but some companies may still be struggling with how to comply, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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What To Know About Ill. Employment Law Changes
Illinois employers should review their policies in light of a number of recent changes to state employment law, including amendments to the state’s Human Rights Act and modifications to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.
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Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies
The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.
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How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination
As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.
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The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media
As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.
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7th Circ. Rulings Offer Employee Vaccine Exemption Guidance
Dawn Solowey and Samantha Brooks at Seyfarth explain how two recent Seventh Circuit rulings in Passarella v. Aspirus and Bube v. Aspirus could affect litigation involving employee vaccine exemptions, and discuss employer best practices for handling accommodation requests that include both religious and secular concerns.
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Employers Should Not Neglect Paid Military Leave Compliance
An August decision from the Ninth Circuit and the settlement of a long-running class action, both examining paid leave requirements under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, are part of a nationwide trend that should prompt employers to review their military leave policies to avoid potential litigation and reputational damage, says Bradford Kelley at Littler.
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Old Employment Law Principles Can Answer New AI Concerns
Despite growing legal and regulatory concerns about how artificial intelligence tools may affect employment decisions and worker rights, companies should take comfort in knowing that familiar principles of employment law and established compliance regimes can still largely address these new twists on old questions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.
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NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws
With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.
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Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers
As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.
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How Anti-DEI Bill Could Affect Employers' Diversity Efforts
Sen. J.D. Vance's recently introduced Dismantle DEI Act would substantially limit employers’ ability to implement and promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but there are still steps employers can take to support a diverse workforce, says Peter Ennis at Cozen O’Connor.
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US Labor And Employment Law Holds Some Harsh Trade-Offs
U.S. labor and employment laws have evolved into a product of exposure-capping compromise, which merits discussion in a presidential election year when the dialogue has focused on purported protections of middle-class workers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.