Discrimination

  • March 18, 2025

    3 State AI Bills For Workplace Discrimination Attys To Watch

    Virginia stands poised to join Colorado at the forefront of regulating the creation and use of artificial intelligence, while California and Texas are working on their own sweeping bills to safeguard against AI-related bias. Here, experts offer an overview of three bills with the potential to impact millions of employers.

  • March 18, 2025

    10th Circ. Pokes Holes In Walmart's Defenses In Bias Suit

    A talkative Tenth Circuit panel seemed inclined Tuesday to revive a Walmart employee's lawsuit alleging he was discriminated against for being gay, as the court's chief judge appeared incredulous that evidence of slurs and other derogatory comments being thrown around the workplace weren't enough to sustain his harassment claim.

  • March 18, 2025

    Maynard Nexsen Adds 5 Constangy Employment Attys In LA

    Maynard Nexsen PC has brought a 5-lawyer team from labor and employment firm Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLP to its Los Angeles office, bringing on a team that is experienced in management-side employment law and can converse in six languages.

  • March 18, 2025

    NJ Firm Blume Forte Hit With Disability Bias Suit

    New Jersey personal injury firm Blume Forte Fried Zerres & Molinari PC has been hit with a disability discrimination lawsuit in state court by a staffer who claims she was fired after a seizure and other health setbacks.

  • March 18, 2025

    Dem Ex-EEOC Officials Call Law Firm DEI Letters Overreach

    A group of Democratic-appointed former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officials urged acting Chair Andrea Lucas on Tuesday to rescind letters seeking information from 20 law firms about their diversity, equity and inclusion practices, saying she had exceeded the agency's power.

  • March 18, 2025

    11th Circ. Backs Hospital's Win In Black Surgeon's Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit refused to reopen a neurosurgeon's suit claiming a Georgia hospital subjected him to increased scrutiny and fired him because he is Black, finding he couldn't overcome the medical center's rationale that providing the mentorship necessary to fix his performance issues was too burdensome.

  • March 18, 2025

    11th Circ. Nixes College GC Applicant's Age Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit won't revive an attorney's suit claiming she lost out on a general counsel position with a Florida college to someone four decades younger due to age bias, finding she gave up her right to challenge the case's dismissal by not objecting to a lower court decision.

  • March 17, 2025

    Google To Pay $28M On Claim It Favored White, Asian Workers

    Google LLC will pay $28 million to put to rest allegations it pays and promotes certain nonwhite employees less than their white and Asian colleagues, counsel for a class of workers said Monday.

  • March 17, 2025

    Major Lindsey Can't Escape Attorney's Retaliation Suit

    Legal recruiting firm Major Lindsey & Africa LLC must face an associate's lawsuit claiming it unlawfully refused to work with her because she filed a race discrimination suit against Troutman, a Maryland federal judge ruled Monday, saying the attorney had plausibly alleged the events were connected.

  • March 17, 2025

    Apprentice Program Seeks To Toss Black Worker's Bias Suit

    An apprenticeship program called on a New Jersey federal judge to nix hostile work environment and race bias allegations from a former participant, saying the worker had not presented enough evidence to prove the training organization committed discrimination.

  • March 17, 2025

    Teacher Suspended Over Crucifix Seeks Reinstatement

    A Catholic teacher placed on leave for refusing to pull down a crucifix in her classroom asked a Connecticut federal judge to take action to get her back to work, arguing that she's likely to succeed on her arguments that the move violated the First Amendment.

  • March 17, 2025

    20 Law Firms Face EEOC Demands For DEI Employment Info

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has written to 20 law firms seeking information about their diversity, equity and inclusion-related employment practices, the agency announced Monday.

  • March 17, 2025

    OSU Fired Black Coach Over Diversity Advocacy, Suit Says

    The Ohio State University fired a Black assistant cheerleading coach because she called out what she saw as a lack of diversity in the school's athletics department, according to a federal suit.

  • March 17, 2025

    Walmart Strikes Deal To End EEOC Sex Harassment Suit

    Walmart agreed to pay $415,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it didn't properly address a store manager's aggressive sexual harassment of female employees, according to a filing in West Virginia federal court.

  • March 14, 2025

    Trump Revokes Paul Weiss Security Clearances

    Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP became the third law firm to have workers' security clearances suspended by President Donald Trump, who signed the executive order Friday, citing the firm's DEI hiring practices and the decision by a former attorney there to assist the Manhattan district attorney's investigation of Trump.

  • March 14, 2025

    4th Circ. Lets White House Anti-DEI Efforts Proceed

    The Fourth Circuit on Friday lifted a temporary injunction blocking President Donald Trump's administration from implementing the bulk of his executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs, though each judge on the panel had differing views on the matter. 

  • March 14, 2025

    Md. Judge Joins Calif. In Reversing Federal Workers' Firing

    A Maryland federal judge has ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary employees who were abruptly fired from 18 federal agencies, saying the Trump administration's lack of required notice left states "scrambling" to pick up the pieces.

  • March 14, 2025

    Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet

    The Fourth Circuit unblocked executive orders issued by President Donald Trump that seek to curtail diversity, equity and inclusion programs, while Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP became the latest firm singled out by Trump over its legal work and diversity measures. Here, Law360 catches you up on DEI-related developments from the past week.

  • March 14, 2025

    Black Tech Worker's $535K Retaliation Verdict Scrapped

    A Georgia federal judge vacated a Black former technology company employee's $535,000 jury verdict in his lawsuit alleging he was terminated for complaining that he hadn't received a raise because of his race, ruling Friday that the worker's voluntary resignation doomed his claim.

  • March 14, 2025

    3rd Circ. Won't Revive Ex-J&J Worker's COVID Testing Suit

    The Third Circuit refused Friday to reopen a former Johnson & Johnson employee's lawsuit claiming the company wouldn't accommodate her Christian faith by excusing her from its COVID-19 testing requirement, ruling her objections were medical or personal rather than religious.

  • March 14, 2025

    Worker Sues NBA's Suns For Age Discrimination, Retaliation

    A 46-year-old video engineer filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the NBA's Phoenix Suns, alleging the organization coerced him into changing his employment status to contractor and forced him to work in a rodent-infested garage when he complained.

  • March 14, 2025

    4th Circ. Reluctant To Loosen EEOC Charge Requirement

    A Fourth Circuit panel seemed hesitant Friday to revive a bias case from a worker whose presuit U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge didn't specifically name one of the entities he hauled into court, with one judge expressing "apprehension" about adopting a widely used exception to charge filing rules.

  • March 14, 2025

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Weighs Scope Of Marital Bias Law

    This week, the Second Circuit will weigh whether New York City law prohibits discrimination on the basis of marriage to a specific person, as it considers a suit brought by Wendy Williams' ex-husband over claims he was fired as a producer on her talk show after she filed for divorce. Here, Law360 looks at this and other cases on the docket in New York.

  • March 14, 2025

    Sheetz Can't Shrink Timeframe In EEOC Criminal Screen Case

    Convenience store chain Sheetz can't reduce the time period targeted by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a race bias suit over the company's screening of job applicants for criminal convictions, a Pennsylvania federal judge said.

  • March 14, 2025

    Circuits May Tweak Bias Test After High Court Sidestep

    The U.S. Supreme Court's recent refusal to reevaluate a long-standing legal framework applied in employment discrimination lawsuits won't tamp down growing frustration with the doctrine, experts said, and lower courts may minimize the test's role even while it remains on the books.

Expert Analysis

  • What To Watch As Justices Take Up Title VII Job Transfer Case

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    With its recent decision to hear Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether an involuntary job transfer can count as employment discrimination under Title VII — an eventual ruling that has potential to reshape workplace bias claims nationwide, says Adam Grogan at Bell Law Group.

  • 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.