Discrimination

  • May 28, 2025

    6th Circ. Backs White Bus Driver's Win In Race Bias Trial

    The Sixth Circuit upheld a trial victory for a white bus driver who claimed Detroit's transit system promoted less-qualified Black workers over her out of racial bias, finding there was enough evidence of racial prejudice to support the jury's verdict.

  • May 27, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Girl Scouts Race Bias Claim, Rejects Others

    The Second Circuit on Tuesday declined to revive claims from former officers for a New York Girl Scouts chapter who said they suffered retaliation after complaining that the group misused pandemic relief loans, but held that one plaintiff can pursue racial bias allegations.

  • May 27, 2025

    Trump's WilmerHale Order Struck Down In Forceful Decision

    A D.C. federal judge struck down President Donald Trump's executive order targeting WilmerHale in an impassioned opinion Tuesday, writing that Trump's entire order is unconstitutional, and "to rule otherwise would be unfaithful to the judgment and vision of the Founding Fathers!"

  • May 27, 2025

    9th Circ. Backs Packaging Co. In Fired Worker's Sex Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit declined Tuesday to scrap a packaging manufacturer's win in an ex-manager's suit claiming she was fired out of gender bias, ruling she couldn't overcome the company's position that she was actually terminated for verbally abusing subordinates.

  • May 27, 2025

    Conn. Firefighters Say Age Bias Taints Retirement Program

    Connecticut's municipal employee pension system unlawfully barred a group of firefighters with over two decades of service from participating in a deferred retirement program because they're under 55 years old, the workers and their union claimed in a federal lawsuit.

  • May 27, 2025

    Upcoming State And Local Wage Laws To Watch

    Washington employers will get some reprieve from steep penalties for pay transparency violations, and workers in Los Angeles County will have the benefit of predictive scheduling. Here, Law360 explores a sampling of new developments employers should keep in mind in the coming weeks.

  • May 27, 2025

    Energy Cos. Ink $700K Deal To End EEOC Harassment Suit

    Two oil and gas exploration services companies have agreed to pay nearly $700,000 to close a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming they allowed sexual comments and racial slurs in the workplace and fired workers who spoke up about the harassment.

  • May 27, 2025

    Congress Needed For Major Changes To Workplace Vax Rules

    The Trump administration is exploring changes to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's stance on workplace vaccine mandates, but legal experts say an act of Congress would be necessary to bring about significant change in this arena.

  • May 27, 2025

    ArentFox Schiff Says Workers' 'Antics' Should Get Suit Tossed

    An Illinois federal judge handling age discrimination claims from two longtime former ArentFox Schiff LLP information technology contractors should permanently dismiss their lawsuit as a consequence for routinely destroying case evidence and discarding their mobile phones while the litigation has been pending, the firm says.

  • May 27, 2025

    Auto Co. Seeks Judge's Recusal For Pushing Bias Settlement

    A Pennsylvania magistrate judge has been improperly pushing an automotive dealership to settle a former manager's suit claiming she faced daily sexual advances and inappropriate comments from her boss, the company said, arguing the judge needs to step aside before an upcoming trial.

  • May 27, 2025

    Vice Media VP Rejoins Ogletree In NYC

    A seasoned BigLaw attorney who left Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC five years ago to move into an in-house legal position at Vice Media has rejoined the labor and employment law firm Tuesday as a shareholder.

  • May 23, 2025

    Law360 Reveals Titans Of The Plaintiffs Bar

    This past year, a handful of attorneys secured billions of dollars in settlements and judgments for both classes and individual plaintiffs against massive companies and organizations like Facebook, Dell, the National Association of Realtors, Johnson & Johnson, UFC and Credit Suisse, earning them recognition as Law360's Titans of the Plaintiffs Bar for 2025.

  • May 23, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    Jenner & Block LLP convinced a Washington, D.C., federal judge to invalidate an executive order by President Donald Trump targeting it in part for its diversity, equity and inclusion practices as unconstitutional, and the U.S. Department of Justice announced the formation of an initiative to use the False Claims Act to quell discrimination by federal funding recipients tied to their DEI programs. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments over the past week.

  • May 23, 2025

    Service Members' COVID Vax Claims Sent To Military Boards

    A Court of Federal Claims judge said an executive order directing the reinstatement of service members discharged over a COVID-19 vaccine mandate warranted sending the claims of 10 people who refused to comply with the mandate to military records boards for consideration.

  • May 23, 2025

    Car Dealership Can't Swerve Around EEOC Firing Suit

    An Arkansas federal judge declined Friday to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming a car dealership fired a Black worker for complaining that a co-worker called him a "monkey," stating the business couldn't overcome a "Catch-22" it presented the employee before canning him.

  • May 23, 2025

    NJ Panel Revives Ex-Nursing Director's Discrimination Suit

    A New Jersey appeals court panel on Friday revived a former Capital Health nursing director's suit alleging the state nurses association discriminated against her for receiving treatment for alcoholism, finding that the trial court could hear her complaint.

  • May 23, 2025

    Insurer Accused Of Firing Worker Out Of Pregnancy Bias

    An insurance company reneged on its promise to provide its benefits adviser with paid maternity leave and then fired her not long after she raised several concerns about unpaid commissions, according to a lawsuit removed to North Carolina federal court.

  • May 23, 2025

    Pest Co. Seeks To Stamp Out Workers' Tobacco Fee Case

    Global pest control company Rentokil urged a Pennsylvania federal court to toss a proposed class action claiming it unlawfully charged tobacco users more for health benefits without providing a reasonable way to avoid the fee, arguing it's not the company's fault the workers refused to quit the habit.

  • May 23, 2025

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Hears Speech Therapist Race Bias Suit

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider a New York speech therapist's attempt to revive her lawsuit claiming she was discriminated against on the basis of her race when her school district fired her in 2022. Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • May 23, 2025

    Mo. Says Starbucks Lacks Grounds To Escape DEI Bias Suit

    The state of Missouri urged a federal judge to reject Starbucks' bid to dismiss its suit claiming its diversity policies discriminate based on race and gender, arguing it has put forward enough evidence showing how the company's practices have harmed its citizens to keep the case in court.

  • May 23, 2025

    DOL Picks New Acting Leaders For Wage Compliance Unit

    The U.S. Department of Labor announced Friday a new acting administrator as well as four policy advisers to serve in the agency's division tasked with ensuring employers pay their employees in line with federal minimum wage and overtime laws.

  • May 23, 2025

    EEOC's Acting Chair Eyes Federal Sector Program Revisions

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told federal agencies they will no longer face monetary penalties for disobeying orders during administrative proceedings and warned that workers shouldn't immediately lose opportunities when they're accused of bias, moves the EEOC framed as opening efforts to remold its federal sector program.

  • May 23, 2025

    Cooley Hires 'Next-Gen' Boston Labor & Employment Partner

    A Choate Hall & Stewart LLP partner has joined Cooley LLP's labor and employment practice and global litigation department in Boston.

  • May 23, 2025

    Ruby Tuesday Fired Bartender On Medical Leave, Court Told

    Ruby Tuesday fired a bartender while she was out on medical leave recovering from a broken hip that she sustained in a car accident and refused to let her return to her former role, she said in a suit filed in North Carolina federal court.

  • May 23, 2025

    Southwest Flight Attendant Fights To Revive Nixed Sanctions

    A flight attendant urged the Fifth Circuit to reconsider its move to axe a contempt order against Southwest Airlines in her wrongful termination suit, arguing it shouldn't be scrapped just because the panel took issue with court-ordered religious liberty training for Southwest attorneys.

Expert Analysis

  • Anti-DEI Complaints Filed With EEOC Carry No Legal Weight

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    Recently filed complaints against several companies' diversity, equity and inclusion programs alleging unlawful discrimination against white people do not require a response from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and should not stop employers from rooting out ongoing discriminatory practices, says former EEOC general counsel David Lopez.

  • How DEI Programs Are Being Challenged In Court And Beyond

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmative action decision last year declaring the consideration of race in university admissions unconstitutional, employers should keep abreast of recent litigation challenging diversity, equity and inclusion training programs, as well as legislation both supporting and opposing DEI initiatives in the workplace, say attorneys at Skadden.

  • What Minority Biz Law Ruling Could Mean For Private DEI

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    A Texas federal court’s recent decision to strike down key provisions of the Minority Business Development Act illustrates the wide-reaching effects of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard decision across legal contexts, say attorneys at Jenner & Block.

  • Texas Hair Bias Ruling Does Not Give Employers A Pass

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    A Texas state court’s recent decision, holding that a school could discipline a student with locs for refusing to cut his hair, should not be interpreted by employers as a license to implement potentially discriminatory grooming policies, says Dawn Holiday at Jackson Walker.

  • Broadway Ruling Puts Discrimination Claims In The Limelight

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    A New York federal court's recent decision in Moore v. Hadestown Broadway that the employers' choice to replace a Black actor with a white actor was shielded by the First Amendment is the latest in a handful of rulings zealously protecting hiring decisions in casting, say Anthony Oncidi and Dixie Morrison at Proskauer.

  • Breaking Down California's New Workplace Violence Law

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    Ilana Morady and Patrick Joyce at Seyfarth discuss several aspects of a new California law that requires employers to create and implement workplace violence prevention plans, including who is covered and the recordkeeping and training requirements that must be in place before the law goes into effect on July 1.

  • Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights

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    While a New Jersey state appeals court has twice determined that an employee's termination by a private employer for social media posts is not prohibited, New York has yet to take a stand on the issue — so employers' decisions on such matters still need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, say Julie Levinson Werner and Jessica Kriegsfeld at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Eye On Compliance: Employee Social Media Privacy In NY

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    A New York law that recently took effect restricts employers' ability to access the personal social media accounts of employees and job applicants, signifying an increasing awareness of the need to balance employers' interests with worker privacy and free speech rights, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at Wilson Elser.

  • Draft Pay Equity Rule May Pose Contractor Compliance Snags

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recently proposed rule that would prohibit government contractors from requesting certain job applicants' salary history seems simple on the surface, but achieving compliance will be a nuanced affair for many contractors who must also adhere to state and local pay transparency laws, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • What Texas Employers Should Know After PWFA Ruling

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    After a Texas federal judge recently enjoined federal agencies from enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act against the state of Texas, all employers must still remain sensitive to local, state and federal protections for pregnant workers, and proactive in their approach to pregnancy-related accommodations, says Maritza Sanchez at Phelps Dunbar.

  • AI In Performance Management: Mitigating Employer Risk

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    Companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence tools in performance management, exposing organizations to significant risks, which they can manage through employee training, bias assessments, and comprehensive policies and procedures related to the new technology, say Gregory Brown and Cindy Huang at Jackson Lewis.

  • Spartan Arbitration Tactics Against Well-Funded Opponents

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    Like the ancient Spartans who held off a numerically superior Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, trial attorneys and clients faced with arbitration against an opponent with a bigger war chest can take a strategic approach to create a pass to victory, say Kostas Katsiris and Benjamin Argyle at Venable.

  • What 2 Years Of Ukraine-Russia Conflict Can Teach Cos.

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    A few key legal lessons for the global business community since Russia's invasion of Ukraine could help protect global commerce in times of future conflict, including how to respond to disparate trade restrictions and sanctions, navigate war-related contract disputes, and protect against heightened cybersecurity risks, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.