Discrimination

  • January 12, 2026

    Wilson Sports Co., Worker End Paternity Leave Firing Suit

    A Minnesota federal court tossed a suit Monday from a former Wilson Sporting Goods Co. employee who alleged the company fired him for taking parental leave in violation of the Family and Medical Leave Act, with the dismissal coming after the parties disclosed a settlement earlier this month.

  • January 12, 2026

    Ex‑NJ Judge's Trial Postponed Amid Police Immunity Appeal

    A New Jersey federal civil rights suit brought by a former state court judge against Woodbridge Township and two police officers stalled Monday, just days before a trial was set to commence, after the officers filed an interlocutory appeal challenging the court's refusal to grant them qualified immunity.

  • January 12, 2026

    High Court Turns Away Texas Tech Prof's Retaliation Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined a Texas Tech University professor's invitation Monday to review a Fifth Circuit ruling that found a former business school dean did not have to face the instructor's retaliation suit claiming he faced professional blowback for his anti-tenure opinions.

  • January 12, 2026

    High Court Turns Down Chance To Review McDonnell Douglas

    The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an invitation Monday by a former medical school dean to rethink a five-decade-old precedent for evaluating discrimination claims that several conservative justices have recently indicated should get a fresh look.

  • January 12, 2026

    Justices Pass On Houston Hospital Workers' COVID Vax Fight

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a challenge to a Houston hospital's win in a lawsuit brought by a group of employees who said they were unlawfully terminated after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.

  • January 12, 2026

    Justices Won't Weigh Collective Cert. Process In Eli Lilly Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined on Monday to review whether courts should stick with a long-standing two-step analysis for certifying collective actions in an age discrimination case against Eli Lilly and Co. that could have affected wage and hour litigation.

  • January 09, 2026

    Up Next At High Court: Pollution Lawsuits & Trans Athletes

    The U.S. Supreme Court will kick off the new year by hearing disputes over the constitutionality of state laws banning transgender female athletes from female-only sports and whether state or federal courts are the proper forum for lawsuits seeking to hold major oil companies accountable for harm caused by their oil production activities along Louisiana's coast. 

  • January 09, 2026

    Ill. Judge Refuses Fla. United Pilot's Vax Mandate Case

    An Illinois federal judge who has handled several employment disputes over United Airlines' allegedly illegal handling of COVID-19 vaccination policy exemption requests said Friday that he's "done" adding more to his plate as he rejected the airline's request to accept a pilot's case recently transferred from Florida.

  • January 09, 2026

    EEOC's Quiet Guidance Repeal Just The 'Opening Salvo'

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's swift approach to retracting workplace harassment guidance promulgated under the Biden administration may shed light on how the EEOC will handle future guidance rescissions, experts say, despite questions about whether the strategy comports with agency procedures.

  • January 09, 2026

    Worker's Poor Performance Dooms Bias Suit, 4th Circ. Says

    The Fourth Circuit declined to revive a Black USPS worker's retaliation suit claiming her white boss crafted a paper trail to oust her after she filed a race bias complaint against him, ruling Friday that she couldn't overcome evidence that her repeated performance issues got her temporarily fired, not bias.

  • January 09, 2026

    Ex-CTA Bus Driver's Disability Bias Claims Will Go To Trial

    An Illinois federal judge Thursday refused to grant summary judgment to the Chicago Transit Authority on a former bus driver's disparate treatment and failure to accommodate claims, clearing the way for the dispute over her 2022 firing to go to trial in April.

  • January 09, 2026

    Seyfarth Names New Labor & Employment Chair In Seattle

    One of the youngest equity partners in Seyfarth Shaw LLP's 80-year history has been named chair of the firm's labor and employment practice for the Seattle office, the firm has announced.

  • January 09, 2026

    Food Service Co. Can't Sink Fired Manager's Sex Bias Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge narrowed but refused to toss a suit alleging a dining services company fired a district manager for calling out its boys club culture, leaving it up to a jury to decide whether the company's stated reason for her firing was a smokescreen for discrimination.

  • January 09, 2026

    DirecTV Gets Laid-Off Worker's Bias Suit Kicked To Arbitration

    A federal judge sent a former DirecTV senior e-commerce director's lawsuit over alleged age and gender discrimination during a workforce reduction to arbitration, unswayed by her claim that she was unaware of an agreement to handle disputes out of court.

  • January 09, 2026

    Calif. Forecast: 9th Circ. Hears Trump Bargaining EO Args

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for Ninth Circuit oral arguments in a challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order that eliminates labor contracts for what the order refers to as national security agencies. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • January 08, 2026

    T-Mobile Strikes Deal To End Gay Manager's Harassment Suit

    T-Mobile has agreed to settle a California federal suit from a gay ex-store manager who claimed he was fired as punishment for complaining that a coworker harassed him by mocking his voice and calling him a diversity hire.

  • January 08, 2026

    Colo. Judge Tosses Banker's Cancer-Leave Suit Against UMB

    A Colorado federal judge granted an early win to UMB Financial Corp. over a banker's claims that the company discriminated and retaliated against her by denying her leave to recover from chemotherapy treatments, ruling that her request for nine months' leave is "presumptively unreasonable."

  • January 08, 2026

    Aetna Must Cover Gender-Affirming Surgery, Conn. Court Told

    Two individuals from a proposed class of transgender women on Thursday urged a Connecticut federal judge to stop Aetna from refusing to cover gender-affirming facial reconstruction to treat severe depression, anxiety and, in one case, suicidal thoughts, saying the insurer committed sex discrimination while claiming the surgeries were purely cosmetic.

  • January 08, 2026

    6th Circ. Says CEO's Comments Too Tame To Back Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit declined to reinstate a former worker's suit alleging that the CEO of a logistics company sexually harassed her with inappropriate comments about her appearance, ruling his behavior wasn't bad enough to keep her hostile work environment suit in court.

  • January 08, 2026

    Legal Services Atty Named Top NYC Human Rights Enforcer

    New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani has tapped a lawyer from a group that provides free legal services to low-income clients to spearhead the city's human rights enforcement body.

  • January 08, 2026

    Ex-Child Pop Artist Sues Management Co. Alleging Sex Assault

    A former child singer who released Christian pop albums is suing her former manager and agency, alleging that she was groomed and sexually assaulted as a teen and that the agency covered it up and allowed the abuse to happen.

  • January 08, 2026

    Haynes Boone Adds Perkins Coie Employment Pro In Dallas

    Haynes Boone has bolstered its labor and employment practice with the addition of an experienced Dallas-based partner who came aboard after more than a decade with Perkins Coie LLP.

  • January 08, 2026

    Harvey Weinstein In Plea Talks As 3rd NY Trial Looms

    A lawyer for Harvey Weinstein said Thursday the former Hollywood movie mogul will consider pleading guilty to a third-degree rape charge after a New York judge denied his bid to toss a separate sexual assault conviction.

  • January 07, 2026

    NC Judge Warns Of 'Pandora's Box' In Shareholder Row

    A North Carolina business court judge Wednesday cautioned counsel for a discharged director of a real estate and insurance company against potentially "opening Pandora's Box" as he argued that his client was targeted by his fellow directors — and family members — due to his age, but can be protected as an employee under state and federal law.

  • January 07, 2026

    EEOC Mulling Changes To Voting Process, Leadership Roles

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Wednesday that it will meet next week to consider rescinding the commission's voting procedures and address agency leaders' roles in the context of "organizational changes."

Expert Analysis

  • Justices Mull Sex-Based Classification In Trans Law Case

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in U.S. v. Skrmetti this week, it appears that the fate of the Tennessee law at the center of the case — a law banning gender-affirming healthcare for transgender adolescents — will hinge on whether the majority read the statute as imposing a sex-based classification, says Alexandra Crandall at Dickinson Wright.

  • Pa. Ruling Highlights Challenges Of Employer Arb. Appeals

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    A Pennsylvania federal court's recent ruling in Welch Foods v. General Teamsters Local Union No. 397 demonstrates the inherent difficulties employers face when seeking relief from labor arbitration decisions through appeals in court — and underscores how employers are faced with often conflicting legal priorities, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • 7 Ways To Prepare For An I-9 Audit Or Immigration Raid

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    Because immigration enforcement is likely to surge under the upcoming Trump administration, employers should take steps to ensure their staff is trained in employment eligibility verification requirements and what to do in the event of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement I-9 audit or workplace raid, say attorneys at Littler.

  • California Supreme Court's Year In Review

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    Attorneys at Horvitz & Levy highlight notable decisions on major questions from the California Supreme Court's last term, including voter initiatives, hostile work environment and the economic loss rule.

  • Disentangling Various Forms Of Workplace Discrimination

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    Pay inequity can be missed where it exists and misidentified due to incorrect statistics, leaving individuals to face multiple facets of discrimination connected by a common root cause, meaning correct identification and measurement is crucial, says Daniel Levy at Advanced Analytical.

  • Key Requirements In New Maryland Pay Transparency Laws

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    Although several jurisdictions now require pay transparency in job advertisements, Maryland's new law is among the broadest in the country, both in terms of what is required and the scope of its applicability, says Sarah Belger at Quarles & Brady.

  • Lessons From EEOC Case Of Fla. Worker Fired After Stillbirth

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    A recent federal court settlement between a Florida resort and a fired line cook shows that the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission sees stillbirth as protected under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, also providing four other important lessons, says Gordon Berger at Pierson Ferdinand.

  • Advising Employers As AI Meets DEI And Discrimination

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    Though companies can use artificial intelligence tools to develop more diverse and inclusive workforces, counsel should also prepare employers for how AI can stymie these efforts, provoke discrimination claims and complicate resulting litigation, says Emily Schifter at Troutman Pepper.

  • A Look At The Hefty Demands In Calif. Employer AI Draft Regs

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    California's draft regulations on artificial intelligence use in employment decisions show that the California Privacy Protection Agency is positioning itself as a de facto AI regulator for the state, which isn't waiting around for federal legislation, says Lily Li at Metaverse Law.

  • Federal Salary History Ban's Reach Is Limited

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    Though a newly effective Office of Personnel Management rule takes important steps by banning federal employers from considering job applicants' nonfederal salary histories, the rule's narrow applicability and overconfidence in the existing system's fairness will likely not end persistent pay inequities, says Margaret House at Kalijarvi Chuzi.

  • 2nd Circ. Hostile Workplace Ruling Widens Arbitration Pitfalls

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    The Second Circuit’s recent decision, affirming the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act applies to a worker whose workplace hostility claims arose before the law’s 2022 enactment, widens the scope of the law — and the risks of unenforceable arbitration agreements for employers, say attorneys at Hinshaw.

  • Title VII Compliance Lessons From Raytheon Age Bias Suit

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    A Texas federal court’s recent refusal to dismiss age discrimination claims from a former Raytheon employee, terminated after he admitted to acts that Raytheon says violated its harassment policy, nonetheless illustrates strategies employers can use to protect themselves when facing competing Title VII workplace obligations, say attorneys at Segal McCambridge.

  • How The Presidential Election Will Affect Workplace AI Regs

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    The U.S. has so far adopted a light-handed approach to regulating artificial intelligence in the labor and employment area, but the presidential election is unlikely to have as dramatic of an effect on AI regulations as it may on other labor and employment matters, say attorneys at Littler.