Discrimination

  • December 01, 2025

    Pa. Law Will Ban Workplace Hairstyle Bias

    A Pennsylvania bill that said employers cannot discriminate against certain hairstyles historically associated with a worker or job applicant's race, such as locs, braids and Afros, as well as religious head coverings, was signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro.

  • November 26, 2025

    Catholic School Wants To Block Mich. Civil Rights Law

    A Catholic school has asked a Michigan federal judge to rule that the state's anti-discrimination law is unconstitutional because it prevents the school from hiring teachers and instructing students in accordance with the church's views on gender and sexuality. 

  • November 26, 2025

    Air Force Ignored Supervisor's Sexist Comments, Suit Says

    The U.S. Air Force failed to intervene when a prevention analyst complained that her supervisor made derogatory comments about women and minimized LGBTQ-focused efforts while promoting "alpha male education," the former civilian employee said in a Wednesday complaint in Washington federal court.

  • November 26, 2025

    2nd Circ. Revives Bid For SSA Disability Benefits Over Anxiety

    An administrative law judge must reconsider the Social Security Administration's denial of a former security guard's disability benefits, a split Second Circuit panel found, concluding that the judge needs to back up her determination that the worker's anxiety wouldn't impede his ability to keep a job.

  • November 26, 2025

    Nurse For App-Based Health Co. Can't Revive Retaliation Suit

    A Washington appeals court refused to revive a nurse's suit claiming she was fired from an app-based medical provider for complaining that it underpaid and overworked independent contractors, ruling she failed to show her termination was because of her concerns rather than reports that she was unprofessional.

  • November 26, 2025

    5 Argument Sessions Bias Attys Should Watch In Dec.

    The Sixth and Ninth circuits will consider the scope of a 2022 law barring mandatory arbitration for sexual harassment and assault claims, and the Fourth Circuit will review whether HIV-positive prospective service members can be blocked from joining the military. ​​​​​​​Here are five oral arguments that discrimination attorneys should keep tabs on in the coming month. 

  • November 26, 2025

    6 December Argument Sessions Benefits Attys Should Watch

    Workers who say Prudential mismanaged their retirement savings will ask the Third Circuit to reinstate their class action, while a union pension fund will ask the Eighth Circuit to put General Electric back on the hook for a $230 million in pension withdrawal liability. Here's a look at six upcoming oral argument sessions benefits attorneys should have on their radar.

  • November 25, 2025

    6th Circ. Backs Theater In Ex-Manager's Sex Harassment Suit

    A former movie theater manager can't reopen her lawsuit claiming her boss' repeated requests for a date and inappropriate comments created an unlawfully toxic workplace, with the Sixth Circuit ruling Tuesday that she hadn't shown his sporadic invites created an abusive environment.

  • November 25, 2025

    Court Rejects Cherokee Entity's Push To End Bias Dispute

    A Missouri federal court judge won't reconsider an order that denied a bid by a Cherokee Nation entity to dismiss a discrimination claim lodged last year by a former employee, saying it failed to show why a second chance is warranted.

  • November 25, 2025

    Texas Woman Says Business Group CEO Assaulted Her

    The founder of a Texas business advocacy group is suing the state's largest business association and its CEO, saying he maneuvered his way to head her group and used his leverage to try to coerce her into a sexual relationship, then assaulted her.

  • November 25, 2025

    2nd Circ. Won't Reinstate Fired Telecom Worker's FMLA Suit

    The Second Circuit refused Tuesday to revive a lawsuit from an account manager who said she was fired by telecommunications company Orange Business for taking time off to care for family members with medical conditions, finding she couldn't overcome the company's explanation that she was let go for poor performance.

  • November 25, 2025

    Legal Challenge To EEOC Disparate Impact Pivot Tossed Out

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday threw out a suit from a former Amazon delivery driver who accused the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of unlawfully refusing to investigate charges premised on a disparate impact theory, finding the worker didn't have standing to bring the case. 

  • November 25, 2025

    3rd Circ. Backs Pa. City's Win In Worker's Sex Bias Suit

    The Third Circuit has declined to reinstate a former Reading, Pennsylvania, mayor's office employee's sexual discrimination claim against the city, rejecting her argument that an investigation into her after reporting alleged harassment by a male colleague was a pretext for firing her later.

  • November 25, 2025

    SEIU Says Fired Worker Missed Deadline In Bias Suit

    A Service Employees International Union unit is seeking a quick exit from an ex-employee's suit alleging that the union failed to represent her after a Philadelphia hospital fired her while she was on medical leave, telling a Pennsylvania federal court that the worker's case is time-barred.

  • November 25, 2025

    MSG Seeks To Boot Atty From Ex-Exec's Bias, Retaliation Suit

    A Reavis Page Jump LLP attorney representing a former Madison Square Garden security executive in a discrimination suit is too enmeshed in the facts of the case, MSG said, urging a New York federal court to kick the lawyer and firm off the suit if it's not outright dismissed.

  • November 25, 2025

    Texas Law Firm, Atty Reach Tentative Deal In Age Bias Suit

    An attorney who sued a Houston-based law firm alleging she was fired in retaliation for having complained about age discrimination has reached "a tentative agreement" to resolve the matter, according to a filing in Illinois federal court.

  • November 25, 2025

    Littler Names New Co-Chair Of Women's Leadership Group

    The longtime co-chair of Littler Mendelson's PC's drugs and alcohol practice group has been named co-chair of the firm's Women's Leadership Initiative, succeeding a partner who is retiring after close to 32 years at the firm.

  • November 25, 2025

    NJ Hospital Fired Doc In Bid 'To Get Younger,' Suit Says

    A New Jersey physician who worked in the neonatal intensive care unit at Hackensack University Medical Center was fired because of his age, according to a complaint filed this week in New Jersey state court.

  • November 25, 2025

    Ogletree Deakins Welcomes Saber Law Employment Atty In SF

    Labor and employment firm Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC is expanding its West Coast team, bringing in a Saber Law Group employment litigator as a shareholder in its San Francisco office.

  • November 24, 2025

    Feds' Claim Against Judge Weighing Trans Troops Ban Tossed

    The D.C. Circuit's chief judge tossed the U.S. Department of Justice's misconduct complaint against the federal judge overseeing litigation challenging the Trump administration's ban on transgender troops serving in the military, saying judicial misconduct proceedings are not the appropriate avenue to address concerns about a judge's impartiality.

  • November 24, 2025

    Prep School Firings Called Payback For Alleging Favoritism

    Two longtime members of the athletic department staff at The Lawrenceville School, a private preparatory academy, are alleging in New Jersey state court that they were fired in retaliation for raising concerns over an alleged relationship between the school's athletic director, who is a former NFL player, and another staff member.

  • November 24, 2025

    Mich. Christian Health Group Claims Right To Deny Trans Care

    A Christian health system urged a federal court to permanently prohibit Michigan from enforcing a state civil rights law barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, arguing the statute unconstitutionally hampers its ability to make faith-based hiring and policy decisions.

  • November 24, 2025

    Ex-McDonald's Executive Takes Race Bias Suit To 7th Circ.

    A Black former security executive for McDonald's is appealing the fast food giant's win over his lawsuit claiming he was fired for confronting the company's CEO about racial disparities, he told an Illinois federal court Monday.

  • November 24, 2025

    6th Circ. Says Rehabilitation Act Doesn't Cover Retaliation

    The Sixth Circuit declined to reinstate a former Michigan Department of Corrections officer's suit claiming he lost his job for requesting lighter duties after a hip injury, ruling a law prohibiting disability bias in federally funded programs doesn't prohibit retaliation.

  • November 24, 2025

    Muldrow Gets Embassy Officer New Trial On Bias Claims

    An Asian American security officer got another shot at convincing a jury that the U.S. State Department denied her an assignment out of race and gender bias, after a D.C. federal judge ruled that her claims should be reevaluated in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's Muldrow decision.

Expert Analysis

  • Pa. Ruling Highlights Challenges Of Employer Arb. Appeals

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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
    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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

    Author Photo

    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.

  • Eye On Compliance: ADA Accommodations For Obesity

    Author Photo

    As the classification of "obesity" as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act continues to evolve, employers should note federal district and state court deviations from U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines, which have deemed obesity to be a qualifying impairment, no matter the cause, says Lauren Stadler at Wilson Elser.