Discrimination

  • October 03, 2025

    11th Circ. Pushes Forward Fla.'s ACA Trans Health Appeal

    The Eleventh Circuit resolved a jurisdictional question that will allow Florida to continue pursuing its challenge against Biden-era policies impacting Affordable Care Act coverage for gender-affirming care.

  • October 03, 2025

    Amazon Disputes Firing Worker On Maternity Leave

    Amazon has urged an Illinois federal judge to grant it summary judgment in an ex-worker's lawsuit alleging pregnancy-based discrimination, saying she was fired only after failing to return at the end of an extended leave period and that it reminded her at least five times that she needed to provide documentation to support a longer leave.

  • October 03, 2025

    Insurer Says No Coverage For Wage Disclosure Class Actions

    A Tokio Marine unit said it has no duty to defend or indemnify restaurant franchise operators accused of violating Washington's Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, telling a Washington federal court in two separate actions that the allegations do not trigger coverage under their respective employment practices liability insurance policies.

  • October 03, 2025

    Mich. Justices Send Anti-Muslim Bias Case To Appeals Court

    Michigan's highest court has thrown out a ruling sending to arbitration an airline worker's claims he was the target of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim comments at work in light of a change in how courts in the Great Lakes State enforce employment contracts.

  • October 03, 2025

    9th Circ. Reopens Circle K Age Bias Suit Over Promotion

    The Ninth Circuit on Friday revived a lawsuit alleging that Circle K passed over three former employees for promotion because they were in their 50s, saying the trial court was wrong to fault the workers for not applying to the job when the company never advertised the opening.

  • October 03, 2025

    EEOC Can't Halt Suit Over Trans Advocacy Amid Shutdown

    A Maryland federal judge refused Friday to grant the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's bid for a stay in a suit claiming the agency violated federal law by dropping gender identity discrimination cases, despite the government's argument that the ongoing shutdown meant the case couldn't move ahead.

  • October 03, 2025

    4 Takeaways As EEOC Closes Book On Fiscal Year

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed fewer lawsuits, but attorneys say that pregnancy and religious discrimination cases emerged as clear areas of focus for the commission. Here's a look at the cases the agency added to its docket in the 2025 fiscal year.

  • October 03, 2025

    College Prez Loses Emergency Bid In Whistleblower Suit

    A New Jersey federal judge has rejected a motion from the president of Rowan College at Burlington County seeking an emergency restraining order to block potential termination, amid a whistleblower lawsuit he brought alleging retaliation after he opposed what he described as unlawful actions taken by the school's board and legal counsel.

  • October 03, 2025

    Neil Gaiman Rape Suit Belongs In NZ, Not Wisc., Judge Says

    A Wisconsin federal judge Friday dismissed a former nanny's sexual assault lawsuit against "Sandman" author Neil Gaiman, saying the suit should be heard by a court in New Zealand, where the assaults described in the complaint took place.

  • October 03, 2025

    The Roberts Court At 20: How The Chief Is Reshaping America

    Twenty years after John Roberts became the 17th chief justice of the United States, he faces a U.S. Supreme Court term that's looking transformative for the country and its institutions. How Justice Roberts and his colleagues navigate mounting distrust in the judiciary and set the boundaries of presidential authority appear increasingly likely to define his time leading the court.

  • October 03, 2025

    Temple U., Cancer Center Beat Professor's Sex Bias Suit

    A Temple University cancer researcher can't sustain her suit alleging she was denied support for a grant application because she complained about a supervisor's unwelcome advances, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled, saying one missed funding opportunity wasn't enough to show bias.

  • October 03, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: NLRB, Compressed Gas Co. Head To 9th Circ.

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for Ninth Circuit oral arguments in a California-based National Labor Relations Board matter involving a gas supplier. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in the Golden State.

  • October 03, 2025

    CORRECTION: Senate Advances Trump EEOC Pick's Nomination

    The Senate voted along party lines Friday to advance the nomination of an assistant U.S. attorney to serve on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, bringing the agency closer to a quorum and its full decision-making capacity.

  • October 03, 2025

    Mich. Defends Refugee Service Contract Choices In Bias Suit

    Two Michigan departments told a federal judge that a court order requiring the state to preserve a Christian nonprofit's refugee aid contracts while it pursues a religious liberty lawsuit against them would be both inappropriate and pointless.

  • October 03, 2025

    EEOC Pregnancy Bias Settlement Misses Mark For 3rd Time

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission failed for the third time to secure court approval of a $30,000 settlement agreement that would end a pregnancy bias case against a child advocacy organization, with a Pennsylvania federal judge saying he still wasn't satisfied.

  • October 02, 2025

    8th Circ. Won't Rehear Worker's Wrongful THC Firing Case

    The Eighth Circuit on Wednesday declined to review its decision affirming a win for Peco Foods Inc. against a worker who claims he was wrongfully fired after testing positive for THC, keeping in place a panel ruling that Arkansas' at-will employment doctrine allowed for the termination.

  • October 02, 2025

    University Asks Court To Shield Religious Hiring Practices

    A private Christian university has urged a Seattle federal judge to find that a Washington antidiscrimination law infringes on its First Amendment rights to only hire job candidates who share its religious views, pursuing a pretrial win in its case against the state attorney general's office.  

  • October 02, 2025

    Boston Can't Fully Nix Muslim Firefighter's Vax Bias Suit

    A Massachusetts federal judge narrowed but declined to toss a Black Muslim ex-firefighter's suit claiming the city of Boston fired him and his union didn't have his back when he refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 on religious grounds, finding he supported his claims with enough evidence of potential bias.

  • October 02, 2025

    Ohio Manufacturer To Fork Over $2M In EEOC Sex Bias Suit

    A private equity-owned manufacturer will pay $2 million to end an Ohio federal court suit by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging it refused to hire women for jobs on its production floor and fired a top human resources official who flouted that policy.

  • October 02, 2025

    American Airlines Tech Says Jury Should Decide Sex Bias Suit

    American Airlines and a transport workers union shouldn't be allowed to escape a technician's lawsuit claiming she was demoted from a crew chief position because of her sex, the worker told an Oklahoma federal court, arguing she'd done enough to send her bias case to trial.

  • October 02, 2025

    No Pay Owed To Flooring Co.'s Fired CEO, 11th Circ. Says

    The Eleventh Circuit won't revive a suit from the former CEO of flooring manufacturer Interface Inc. claiming he was bilked out of a severance package after allegedly going on a drunken tirade at a company function, ruling Thursday that the executive's appeal impermissibly tried to advance a new reading of his contract.

  • October 02, 2025

    Temple Beats Ex-Professor's Bias Suit Over Tenure Denial

    Temple University defeated a former assistant professor's lawsuit claiming he was denied tenure because he's a Chinese man with a chronic neuromuscular condition, as a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled he failed to connect that denial to his race or disability.

  • October 02, 2025

    Ill. Panel Backs Whistleblower's $3.5M Retaliation Verdict

    An Illinois appellate panel on Wednesday affirmed a $3.5 million verdict for a man who claimed he was unlawfully fired from a southern Illinois hospital system for reporting Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse, saying jurors saw evidence he and others faced retaliation when they "called attention to what they believed to be unlawful conduct." 

  • October 02, 2025

    Hegseth's New Whistleblower Memo Draws Criticism

    Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's memorandum instructing military department heads to work with the agency's inspector general to identify whistleblowers who submit multiple "frivolous" complaints has drawn the ire of a whistleblower group that says the move undermines independent oversight.

  • October 02, 2025

    Dell Accused Of Firing In-House Atty On Maternity Leave

    Dell illegally fired an attorney in the midst of her maternity leave after repeatedly denying her promotion opportunities and handing them to her male colleagues instead, the attorney told a Massachusetts federal court.

Expert Analysis

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • How To Comply With Chicago's New Paid Leave Ordinance

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    Chicago's new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance went into effect earlier this month, so employers subject to the new rules should update leave policies, train supervisors and deliver notice as they seek compliance, say Alison Crane and Sarah Gasperini at Jackson Lewis.

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

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    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • A Timeline Of Antisemitism Legislation And What It Means

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    What began as hearings in the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce has expanded to a House-wide effort to combat antisemitism and related issues, with wide-ranging implications for education, finance and nonprofit entities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Colo. Ruling Adopts 'Actual Discharge' Test For The First Time

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    After a Colorado court’s recent decision in Potts v. Gaia Children, adopting for the first time a test for evaluating an actual discharge claim, employers must diligently document the circumstances surrounding termination of employment, and exercise particular caution when texting employees, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.

  • It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

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    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

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    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

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    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • FIFA Maternity Policy Shows Need For Federal Paid Leave

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    While FIFA and other employers taking steps to provide paid parental leave should be applauded, the U.S. deserves a red card for being the only rich nation in the world that offers no such leave, says Dacey Romberg at Sanford Heisler.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

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    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Brief History Of Joint Employer Rules

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    It's important to examine the journey of the joint employer rule, because if the National Labor Relations Board's Fifth Circuit appeal is successful and the 2023 version is made law, virtually every employer who contracts for labor likely could be deemed a joint employer, say Bruno Katz and Robert Curtis at Wilson Elser.

  • Top 5 Issues For Employers To Audit Midyear

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    Six months into 2024, developments from federal courts and regulatory agencies should prompt employers to reflect on their progress regarding artificial intelligence, noncompetes, diversity initiatives, religious accommodation and more, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • Tailoring Compliance Before AI Walks The Runway

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    Fashion industry players that adopt artificial intelligence to propel their businesses forward should consider ways to minimize its perceived downsides, including potential job displacements and algorithmic biases that may harm diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, say Jeffrey Greene and Ivory Djahouri at Foley & Lardner.