Discrimination

  • January 27, 2026

    House Democrat Accuses EEOC Of Abandoning Mission

    A key House Democrat warned that policy shifts by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are taking the agency in the wrong direction, calling out the rescission of harassment guidance, an about-face on disparate impact enforcement and a call for white men to lodge bias claims.

  • January 27, 2026

    Reporting Duty Doesn't Nix Whistleblower Status, Court Finds

    Massachusetts' top appellate court ruled Tuesday that a former employee of a Boston community college was entitled to whistleblower protections for reporting that the college had not told the U.S. Department of Education about an alleged sexual assault, even though he shared in the reporting responsibility.

  • January 27, 2026

    Fast Food Franchisee Wraps Up EEOC Sex Harassment Suit

    A Jack in the Box franchisee will pay $50,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sexual harassment suit claiming the business stood by while a male general manager masturbated in front of female workers and groped them on the job.

  • January 26, 2026

    Ex-Citi Exec Says Rampant Misogyny Was A 'Price Too Steep'

    A former high-ranking director at Citigroup says she was "debased and humiliated" by false workplace rumors that she pursued sexual relations with a superior in order to secure a promotion, alleging in a lawsuit filed in New York federal court on Monday that persistent misogynistic culture at the investment bank forced her out of a job.

  • January 26, 2026

    Flooring Co. Can't Nix EEOC's Homophobic Harassment Suit

    An Illinois federal judge refused to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging a flooring company allowed a gay employee to endure frequent harassment that included co-workers tying him to a chair, ruling the suit had enough detail to stay in court.

  • January 26, 2026

    Teamsters Seek Exit From Ex-Worker's Bias Suit

    The International Brotherhood of Teamsters urged a D.C. federal court to dismiss a former employee's suit alleging she was subjected to a hostile work environment and forced to resign due to her age and disability, arguing that a release in a separation agreement she signed "unambiguously covers" her claims.

  • January 26, 2026

    Tampa Bay Lightning Owners Face Racial Discrimination Suit

    A Black ticketing staffer for the Tampa Bay Lightning has faced retaliation and a hostile work environment because of his race, he alleged in a federal lawsuit against the hockey team's ownership group.

  • January 26, 2026

    ​​​​​​​Fast-Food Franchisee, EEOC Ink Deal In Teen Harassment Suit

    A McDonald's franchisee in Oklahoma has agreed to pay $80,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit accusing it of failing to remove a manager who sexually harassed and threatened to rape a female teenage employee, according to an Oklahoma federal court filing.

  • January 26, 2026

    Ill. Jury Rejects Ex-CTA Worker's Vax Bias Claims

    An Illinois federal jury sided with the Chicago Transit Authority on Monday over a former employee's claim that he was illegally terminated for noncompliance with the agency's COVID-19 vaccine mandate after the agency flatly rejected his religion-based exemption request without meaningfully trying to accommodate it.

  • January 26, 2026

    NJ Court Says Security Co.'s Harassment Suit Needs 2nd Look

    A New Jersey state appeals panel ruled Monday that despite a valid arbitration pact, a worker who said security logistics company Brink's failed to take action when colleagues called her gendered slurs may still be entitled to her day in court.

  • January 26, 2026

    Foley & Lardner Can't Dodge Pro-Palestinian Atty's Bias Suit

    A Chicago federal judge on Monday denied Foley & Lardner LLP's bid for an early win against claims brought by a former summer associate who said discrimination led to the firm's decision to rescind a job offer after she publicly supported Palestinians amid Israel's war with Hamas.

  • January 26, 2026

    Federal Contractor Opexus Sued Over EEOC Data Breach

    D.C.-based government software contractor Opexus is facing a class action alleging that its negligence allowed two former employees — both of whom had been convicted for hacking previously — to copy more than 1,800 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission files onto USB drives and take the data.

  • January 26, 2026

    Ex-Calif. Judge Takes Aim At Sex Assault Charge

    A former California judge said a count of a federal indictment accusing him of sexual assault should be tossed since the alleged victim viewed him as a friend.

  • January 26, 2026

    School District Settles Suit Over Trans Student Name Policy

    An Indiana school district struck a deal to end a suit from a Christian former music teacher who said requiring him to call transgender students by their preferred names violated his religious beliefs, about six months after the Seventh Circuit revived the case.

  • January 26, 2026

    High Court Won't Review Social Security Judge's Removal

    The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review a Federal Circuit decision upholding the removal of a Georgia-based Social Security judge who was accused of on-the-job misconduct and shoddy work.

  • January 23, 2026

    Employment Lawyers' DEI Cheat Sheet

    The attorneys general of Texas and Florida each issued missives denouncing a plethora of diversity, equity and inclusion-related laws and private initiatives, and the U.S. Department of Education dropped an appeal over the invalidation of DEI-related guidance. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments in the first month of 2026.

  • January 23, 2026

    2nd Circ. Judges Appear At Odds On Arbitration Ban's Reach

    Two Second Circuit judges expressed oftentimes conflicting interpretations of the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act during a case hearing Friday, engaging in a lengthy debate hinged on what claims the arbitration shield can keep in court.

  • January 23, 2026

    NJ Teachers Union Accused Of Racial Pay Disparity

    A Black longtime employee of the New Jersey Education Association has been paid less than her colleagues because of her race, she told a state court.

  • January 23, 2026

    DOJ Alumni Back Maurene Comey In Effort To Keep Suit Alive

    U.S. Department of Justice alumni and a group that includes attorneys, law professors and former judges have filed briefs supporting former Manhattan federal prosecutor Maurene Comey's call for a New York federal court to reject the DOJ's bid to dismiss a suit over her firing.

  • January 23, 2026

    Calif. Forecast: Court Weighs BlackBerry Discrimination Suit

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for a summary judgment hearing in a former BlackBerry Corp. executive's discrimination and harassment suit. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • January 23, 2026

    Safeway, Union Local Must Face Pro Se Bias Suit

    Safeway and a United Food and Commercial Workers local must face an ex-cashier's claims that discrimination played into the store's hostile treatment of him and the union failed to adequately fight for him, with an Oregon federal judge preserving most of the pro se litigant's suit.

  • January 23, 2026

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Weighs Reviving SEIU Fund Bias Suit

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider whether to revive a discrimination suit a former worker for a Service Employees International Union benefit fund brought claiming the fund fired him after refusing to accommodate a disability that prevented him from driving for long periods of time.

  • January 23, 2026

    EEOC Leaders Tighten Grip On Power To Sue Employers

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has updated its internal processes to further consolidate in its political leadership the ability to haul employers into court by tightening its top lawyer's ability to file routine cases from an approximately 5-year-old framework.

  • January 23, 2026

    7th Circ. OKs Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund Bias Suit Win

    The Seventh Circuit on Wednesday affirmed the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund's win in a former accountant's lawsuit claiming he was fired because he is a Black man in his 60s, holding that the lower court didn't err in finding that poor job performance led to his termination.

  • January 22, 2026

    6th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Detroit Worker's Race Bias Suit

    The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday refused to reinstate a discrimination suit alleging the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department fired a Black female accountant because of her race, finding her performance reviews reflected continuous issues like missing work deadlines or making errors that took weeks to fix.

Expert Analysis

  • Cos. Should Focus On State AI Laws Despite New DOL Site

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    Because a new U.S. Department of Labor-sponsored website about the disability discrimination risks of AI hiring tools mostly echoes old guidance, employers should focus on complying with the state and local AI workplace laws springing up where Congress and federal regulators have yet to act, say attorneys at Littler.

  • How The Tide Of EEOC Litigation Rolled Back In FY 2024

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    An analysis of the location, timing and underlying claims asserted in U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-initiated cases during fiscal year 2024 shows that the commission saw a substantial decrease in litigation activity after a surge last year, but employers should not drop their guard, say Christopher DeGroff and Andrew Scroggins at Seyfarth.

  • The Key Changes In Revised FDIC Hiring Regulations

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    Attorneys at Ogletree break down the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rule, effective Oct. 1, that will ease restrictions on financial institutions hiring employees with criminal histories, amend the FDIC's treatment of minor offenses and clarify its stance on expunged or dismissed criminal records.

  • Employer Tips For PUMP Act Compliance As Law Turns 2

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    Enacted in December 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for employees to express breast milk, but some companies may still be struggling with how to comply, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Know About Ill. Employment Law Changes

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    Illinois employers should review their policies in light of a number of recent changes to state employment law, including amendments to the state’s Human Rights Act and modifications to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination

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    As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.

  • The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media

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    As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.

  • 7th Circ. Rulings Offer Employee Vaccine Exemption Guidance

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    Dawn Solowey and Samantha Brooks at Seyfarth explain how two recent Seventh Circuit rulings in Passarella v. Aspirus and Bube v. Aspirus could affect litigation involving employee vaccine exemptions, and discuss employer best practices for handling accommodation requests that include both religious and secular concerns.

  • Employers Should Not Neglect Paid Military Leave Compliance

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    An August decision from the Ninth Circuit and the settlement of a long-running class action, both examining paid leave requirements under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, are part of a nationwide trend that should prompt employers to review their military leave policies to avoid potential litigation and reputational damage, says Bradford Kelley at Littler.

  • Old Employment Law Principles Can Answer New AI Concerns

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    Despite growing legal and regulatory concerns about how artificial intelligence tools may affect employment decisions and worker rights, companies should take comfort in knowing that familiar principles of employment law and established compliance regimes can still largely address these new twists on old questions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws

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    With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.