Discrimination

  • June 17, 2025

    NFL Coach's Lawyer Faces Scrutiny Over NY Practice Claims

    A federal judge on Tuesday chastised a lawyer defending a former NFL coach in his discrimination suit against the league, ordering him to show why he claimed he could practice in the Southern District of New York even though it appears "that is not accurate."

  • June 17, 2025

    General Motors Says Precedent 'Eviscerates' EEOC Bias Suit

    General Motors urged an Indiana federal judge Tuesday to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it discriminated against older workers by reducing disability benefits if they also received Social Security, arguing the policy says nothing about age, allowing it to stand under high court precedent.

  • June 17, 2025

    Packaging Co. Ex-Worker's Genetic Privacy Suit Dropped

    A former employee claiming a food packaging company unlawfully asked her and other prospective workers about their family medical history have agreed to drop a lawsuit alleging her ex-employer violated Illinois' privacy law, according to a joint filing in Illinois federal court.

  • June 17, 2025

    UMB Says It Granted Ex-VP's Request For More Cancer Leave

    UMB Financial Corp. said an ex-executive's suit claiming she was illegally denied leave to recover from chemotherapy treatments can't stay in Colorado federal court, telling a judge her request to extend her monthslong leave was ultimately approved after the company initially raised concerns about her changing return-to-work date.

  • June 17, 2025

    Ex-Stone Hilton Employee Adds Sexual Harassment Claim

    A onetime executive assistant has expanded a federal lawsuit against her ex-employer Stone Hilton PLLC — founded by former top prosecutors in the Texas attorney general's office — to include a sexual harassment claim after the Texas Workforce Commission found there is reasonable cause.

  • June 17, 2025

    EEOC Says Survey Sent In Walmart ADA Suit Is Privileged

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission shouldn't have to turn over communications with potential class members and third parties in its suit alleging Walmart used a training test to disqualify workers with disabilities, the agency told an Arkansas federal court, arguing that the information is private and protected.

  • June 17, 2025

    Fuel Co. Says Fired CEO's 'Incompetence' Dooms Bias Suit

    A Michigan-based petroleum distributor urged a federal judge to toss its ex-CEO's suit claiming she was fired from the family-run business out of gender and disability bias, arguing that her claims fall flat against evidence that she was sacked for years of lackluster profits under her leadership.

  • June 17, 2025

    2nd Circ. Seems Inclined To Uphold FedEx Race Bias Win

    A Black fired FedEx driver may not have laid out sufficient evidence to get his race discrimination and retaliation suit revived, a Second Circuit panel indicated Tuesday, with one judge saying she wasn't sure how the facts he had presented would be enough for an initial case.

  • June 16, 2025

    Davis Wright Must Face Employment Atty's Defamation Claim

    A Washington state judge refused to toss in their entirety an employment attorney's defamation claims against Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and other firm partners, finding Washington's Uniform Public Expression Protection Act shields the firm from some of the attorney's allegations, but not all.

  • June 16, 2025

    Tyler Perry Hit With 'The Oval' Actor's $260M Sex Assault Suit

    Actor Derek Dixon has accused Tyler Perry of sexually harassing and assaulting him while he was a series regular on the media mogul's political drama, "The Oval," and then retaliating against Dixon when he didn't reciprocate Perry's unwanted advances, according to the actor's $260 million lawsuit filed in Los Angeles.

  • June 16, 2025

    Nurse Lost Job Over Co.'s Belief He Was Trans, Suit Says

    A medical staffing agency misidentified a gay nurse as transgender and unlawfully revoked his job assignment because of his sexual orientation before forcing him out of the company, the worker claimed Monday in North Carolina federal court.

  • June 16, 2025

    Google Says 'Raucous' Pro-Palestine Protests Doom Bias Suit

    Google urged a California judge Monday to toss a proposed class action claiming it illegally fired employees for holding protests at work challenging the company's connections to the Israeli military, arguing civil rights law doesn't protect employees when they turn the workplace into a "raucous theatre."

  • June 16, 2025

    Lowe's Faces Worker Class Claims Over Tobacco Surcharge

    Lowe's overcharges its employees for health insurance if they are tobacco users in violation of federal benefits law, according to a proposed class action filed Monday in North Carolina federal court.

  • June 16, 2025

    Unions Can't Sue Over Canceled Columbia Funds, Judge Says

    A New York federal judge on Monday dismissed two unions' challenge to the Trump administration's decision ending $400 million in funding to Columbia University, saying the unions cannot sue over funding that was never theirs.

  • June 16, 2025

    Ex-Fox News Host, Employee Agree To End Sex Assualt Case

    Former Fox News anchor Ed Henry has settled a lawsuit brought by a former producer who accused him of rape and sexual assault, according to a stipulation of dismissal filed in New York federal court on Monday.

  • June 16, 2025

    HIV, AIDS Patients Denied Class Cert. In CVS Bias Fight

    A California federal judge has refused to certify a proposed class of HIV and AIDS patients alleging CVS Pharmacy Inc. violated federal disability bias protections by making their medication harder to access, finding the proposed group failed to meet the commonality standards under federal law. 

  • June 16, 2025

    ABA Sues Over Trump's 'Law Firm Intimidation Policy'

    The American Bar Association sued dozens of federal officials and agencies in D.C. federal court Monday, saying President Donald Trump and his administration have used the executive branch's vast powers "to coerce lawyers and law firms to abandon clients, causes and policy positions" he doesn't like.

  • June 16, 2025

    Worker Asks 4th Circ. To Rethink Tossed Pregnancy Bias Suit

    A former medical center worker who claims she was fired out of pregnancy bias urged the Fourth Circuit to reconsider upholding the dismissal of her suit, arguing the panel ignored evidence that she performed her job successfully when crediting her ex-employer's defense that she was fired for subpar work.

  • June 16, 2025

    Meta, Shutterstock Say Ex-Worker Must Arbitrate Pay Bias Suit

    A former Giphy engineer should arbitrate her lawsuit claiming Meta, and later Shutterstock, paid her less than male colleagues when they took over the online GIF database, the tech companies told a New York federal court, arguing she can't avoid an agreement she signed when Meta began its acquisition.

  • June 16, 2025

    Former DOJ Worker's Disability Bias Suit Trimmed In Texas

    A Texas federal judge has cut out several claims, including those alleging a hostile work environment, from a former Department of Justice human resources employee's lawsuit, leaving intact only claims for retaliation and disability discrimination relating to the termination of her employment.

  • June 16, 2025

    Ga. Judge Won't Revive Attorney's Lien On Former Client

    The former attorney of a onetime Georgia county auditor cannot recover attorney fees from her earlier representation of the auditor in a whistleblower suit, a federal judge has ruled, finding she failed to prove she was prevented from fully and fairly litigating her case.

  • June 16, 2025

    Ex-Employee Accuses NFL's Chiefs Of Racial Bias After Firing

    The Kansas City Chiefs' former director of player engagement is accusing the team in Missouri federal court of unjustly firing him and retaliating against him because he is Black, and that other Black employees received disproportionate treatment compared to white workers.

  • June 16, 2025

    5th Circ. Won't Keep Dish Bias Case Out Of Arbitration

    The Fifth Circuit reinstated a Hispanic former Dish Network employee's suit claiming he was forced out in favor of a younger, white worker, but said the case had to remain in arbitration because he hadn't shown an agreement he signed was invalid.

  • June 16, 2025

    Town Pushed Out Older, Black Worker Out Of Bias, Suit Says

    A North Carolina town forced a Black worker to retire due to his age after refusing to properly staff and fund his wastewater treatment facility with the same resources handed to white managers, he said in a race and age bias suit in federal court.

  • June 16, 2025

    High Court Won't Revisit Landmark Religious Freedom Ruling

    The U.S. Supreme Court vacated and remanded a case from a Roman Catholic diocese in New York on Monday, bypassing for now the chance to overturn a landmark ruling that restricts First Amendment religious freedom challenges.

Expert Analysis

  • 2 Areas Of Labor Law That May Change Under Trump

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    Based on President Donald Trump's recent moves, employers should expect to see significant changes in the direction of law coming out of the National Labor Relations Board, particularly in two areas where the Trump administration will seek to roll back the Biden NLRB's changes, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Justices' Revival Ruling In Bias Suit Exceeds Procedural Issue

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Waetzig v. Halliburton allowed the plaintiff in an age discrimination lawsuit to move to reopen his case after arbitration, but the seemingly straightforward decision on a procedural issue raises complex questions for employment law practitioners, says Christopher Sakauye at Dykema.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'Late Night' Shows DEI Is More Than Optics

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    Amid the shifting legal landscape for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Troutman's Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter chat with their firm's DEI committee chair, Nicole Edmonds, about how the 2019 film "Late Night" reflects the challenges and rewards of fostering meaningful inclusion.

  • 9 Considerations For Orgs Using AI Meeting Assistants

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    When deciding to use artificial intelligence meeting assistants, organizations must create and implement a written corporate policy that establishes the do's and don'ts for these assistants, taking into account individualized business operations, industry standards and legal and regulatory requirements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.

  • What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit

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    The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.

  • Determining What 'I Don't Feel Safe' Means In The Workplace

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    When an employee tells an employer "I don't feel safe," the phrase can have different meanings, so employment lawyers must adequately investigate to identify which meaning applies — and a cursory review and dismissal of the situation may not be a sufficient defense in case of future legal proceedings, says Karen Elliott at FordHarrison.

  • How EEOC Enforcement Priorities May Change Under Trump

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    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already been rocked by the Trump administration's dramatic changes in personnel and policy, which calls into question how the agency may shift its direction from the priorities set forth in its five-year strategic enforcement plan in 2023, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Back To Basics After Admin Change

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    Having an up-to-date employee handbook is more critical now than ever, given the recent change in administration, and employers should understand their benefits and risks, including how they can limit employers’ liability and help retain employers’ rights, say Kasey Cappellano and Meaghan Gandy at Kutak Rock.

  • What Axed Title IX Gender Identity Rule Means For Higher Ed

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    Following a Kentucky federal court's recent decision in State of Tennessee v. Cardona to strike down a Biden-era rule that expanded the definition of Title IX to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity, institutions of higher education should prepare to reimplement policies that comply with the reinstated 2020 rule, say attorneys at Venable.

  • A Path Forward For Cos. Amid Trump's Anti-DEIA Efforts

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    Given the Trump administration’s recent efforts targeting corporate diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility programs — including threatening possible criminal prosecution — companies should carefully tailor their DEIA initiatives to comply with both the letter and the spirit of antidiscrimination law, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • Workforce Data Collection Considerations After DEI Order

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    Following President Donald Trump's executive order targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, employers should balance the benefits of collecting demographic data with the risk of violating the order’s prohibition on "illegal DEI," say Lynn Clements at Berkshire Associates, David Cohen at DCI Consulting and Victoria Lipnic at Resolution Economics.

  • How DOGE's Severance Plan May Affect Federal Employees

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    President Donald Trump's administration, working through the Department of Government Efficiency, recently offered a severance package to nearly all of the roughly 2 million federal employees, but unanswered questions about the offer, coupled with several added protections for government workers, led to fewer accepted offers than expected, says Aaron Peskin at Kang Haggerty.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.