Discrimination

  • November 06, 2026

    11th Circ. Backs Navy Win In Worker's Retaliation Case

    The Eleventh Circuit declined to reinstate a lawsuit brought by a former Navy employee alleging she was terminated for reporting a breach of a settlement agreement, saying the Navy's key decision makers were unaware of her complaints and that she had committed "numerous acts of alleged insubordination" during that time.

  • November 06, 2026

    Dems' State-Level Wins May Tee Up New Paid Leave Mandates

    Democrats made significant midterm gains in state governments where Republicans held control, a power shift that experts said may result in new state-level laws on paid leave, salary transparency and artificial intelligence.

  • November 06, 2026

    Calif. Forecast: Court Weighs $17.5M Bakery Wage Deal

    In the week ahead, attorneys should watch for a hearing on a deal to resolve a wage and hour class action against Earthgrains Distribution LLC and its sole member, baked goods manufacturer Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • November 06, 2026

    5th Circ. Won't Reopen Ex-Oracle Worker's Race Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit backed software giant Oracle's defeat of a former sales representative's suit alleging she was placed on a performance improvement plan and terminated because she's Black, concluding she couldn't overcome the company's argument that substandard performance cost her the job.

  • November 06, 2026

    5th Circ. Says School District Must Face Race, Sex Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit revived a Black school administrator's suit claiming her boss fired her out of bias after stating he hoped she wasn't the "average angry Black woman," ruling her school district needed to present stronger evidence to support its position that performance issues drove her termination.

  • November 05, 2026

    Trial Court Reversal Of Default Bias Win Upheld At 5th Circ.

    The Fifth Circuit declined Thursday to undo the dismissal of a community college police officer's bias suit claiming she lost out on additional work for filing sex harassment complaints, backing a trial court's decision to toss her case even though the school never responded to it.

  • November 05, 2026

    DOL Strips Affirmative Action Mandate From Apprenticeships

    The U.S. Department of Labor unveiled its blueprint Thursday for rolling back decade-old regulations requiring apprenticeship program sponsors to meet certain affirmative action and equal employment opportunity obligations, releasing a rule the agency said would repeal "burdensome and legally questionable" demands.

  • November 05, 2026

    Maynard Nexsen Adds 9 Constangy Attys Across 3 States

    Maynard Nexsen PC said Thursday the firm has added nine labor and employment attorneys from Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLP, expanding its presence in New York, New Jersey and Missouri.

  • November 05, 2026

    Racing Against Whistleblowers Could Cost Companies

    The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud threatens to ramp up the pressure on companies to hurry internal investigations and quickly report suspected misconduct to the government before whistleblowers do, which could backfire in some cases, according to experts.

  • November 05, 2026

    Vt. Voters OK Bolstering Constitutional Anti-Bias Protections

    Vermonters voted to amend their state constitution to enshrine equal protection rights for all residents, adding an expansive list of protected characteristics that includes sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

  • November 05, 2026

    Controversial DOJ Civil Rights Division Leader Steps Down

    Harmeet K. Dhillon, a U.S. Department of Justice official who instituted dramatic changes as leader of the Civil Rights Division, has stepped down from her role.

  • November 05, 2026

    Federal Workers Seek To Halt Gender-Affirming Benefits Ban

    Two federal employees urged a D.C. federal court to block President Donald Trump's administration from eliminating coverage for gender-affirming care from their 2027 health benefits, arguing thousands of people will be harmed unless the court steps in before open enrollment ends.

  • November 05, 2026

    Ga. Atty Fights Sanctions Bid For Sharing Severance Talks

    An attorney for a woman suing the investment firm that laid her off told a Georgia federal judge Wednesday that a defense lawyer's bid to sanction him for causing "reputational harm and professional embarrassment" by publicizing comments made during confidential severance negotiations suggests the firm knew those comments amounted to illegal retaliation.

  • November 04, 2026

    Employment Cases See Sharp Spike In Q3

    Nearly 15,000 new employment lawsuits were filed in the third quarter of 2026, an increase of nearly 80% from the prior quarter, according to data from legal analytics provider Lex Machina.

  • November 04, 2026

    2nd Circ. Says Ex-EMT's Retaliation Suit Lacks Evidence

    The Second Circuit declined Wednesday to revive a former EMT's suit claiming she was transferred to a billing department role for complaining that her male colleagues harassed her, ruling she failed to overcome the ambulance company's defense that it was attempting to shield her from alleged mistreatment.

  • November 04, 2026

    Ikea 'Boys' Club' Derailed Manager's Career, Bias Suit Alleges

    An ambitious Ikea middle manager lost her shot at a promotion and eventually lost her job entirely because of the toxic "boys' club" culture of the company's leadership team, she alleged in a new discrimination suit in Washington state court.

  • November 04, 2026

    5th Circ. Backs Texas City In ADA Retaliation Suit

    The Fifth Circuit refused to reopen a former Texas municipal employee's lawsuit alleging she was fired over requested accommodations for her thyroid disease and mental health issue, finding her "vague and ambiguous" presuit bias charge couldn't support the case.

  • November 04, 2026

    6th Circ. Backs UAW, Ford Win In Discrimination Suit

    The Sixth Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a former Ford employee's lawsuit claiming that the United Auto Workers failed to properly represent him after he was wrongfully terminated, ruling that the claims he lodged against the company and the union are time barred.

  • November 04, 2026

    Google Loses Bid To Toss Jewish Ex-Worker's Bias Claims

    An Illinois federal judge rejected Google's bid to narrow a suit from a Jewish ex-worker who said his boss began harassing him after learning about his religious identity and mental health struggles, saying the events alleged in his complaint seemed too suspicious to justify cutting discrimination claims.

  • November 04, 2026

    Ogletree Brings On 3 Attys In Calif. Specializing In Litigation

    Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC has expanded two of its California offices with the recent additions of three attorneys who moved their practices to Los Angeles and San Diego.

  • November 04, 2026

    House Democrat Urges Labor Agencies To Preserve Records

    The top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee urged the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board and other federal agencies on Wednesday to preserve government records ahead of the next Congress, warning that officials who unlawfully destroy documents could face criminal penalties.

  • November 04, 2026

    Turner Sports, Ex-HR Director Reach Deal In Severance Suit

    A one-time Warner Bros. subsidiary has struck a deal to end a race bias suit from a former human resources director who claimed she was denied severance benefits after she quit following Discovery Inc. and WarnerMedia's 2022 merger, according to a Georgia federal court filing.

  • November 04, 2026

    Medical Transport Co. To Pay $2.2M In EEOC Beard Ban Suit

    Emergency services provider Global Medical Response will pay $2.2 million and create a new category of nonemergency jobs to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming the company's strict no-beard policy violated federal laws, according to a Colorado federal court filing.

  • November 03, 2026

    4th Circ. Keeps CIA Officers' Appeal Rights In DEI Firing Suit

    All but one of the Fourth Circuit's judges voted to deny the federal government's request for an en banc rehearing of a panel's split decision that allowed CIA officers to appeal terminations that were allegedly due to their involvement with assignments related to DEI and accessibility, according to a Tuesday order.

  • November 03, 2026

    Lockheed To Pay $29.5M Over Alleged DEI Bias Practices

    Lockheed Martin Corp. agreed to pay $29.5 million under two settlements announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that the defense contractor considered race or sex in some pay, hiring and promotion decisions while certifying compliance with federal antidiscrimination requirements

Expert Analysis

  • What Greek Tragedy Teaches About Mediating AI Disputes

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    While ancient Greek writers could not have anticipated modern arbitration, their tragic plays illustrate new and familiar questions for mediators dealing with artificial intelligence disputes, including the functional differences between adjudication and resolution, says Giuseppe De Palo at JAMS.

  • Tracking Trends In State-Level Regulatory Enforcement

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    State-level enforcement now increasingly involves antitrust, artificial intelligence and data privacy issues, and the key for organizations to reducing risk is having the ability to respond across governance, public affairs, discovery and remediation in multiple states simultaneously, say consultants at FTI Consulting.

  • Tips From Apex Ruling On Handling Workers' Public Criticism

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    A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent finding that Apex Fintech Services illegally reined in an employee’s public criticism on LinkedIn should caution employers that overbroad policies and reflexive responses may not only fail to defend the company’s reputation, but compound risks of federal labor charges, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

  • Risk Considerations As EEOC Moves To Ax Data Reports

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    While the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's recent proposal to rescind requirements for workforce demographic reporting wouldn't bar employers from collecting data, companies would have to be especially careful to gather and use such information in legally defensible ways, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • 9th Circ. Ruling Raises Bar For Arbitration Pacts Via Email

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    The Ninth Circuit's recent holding in Rickes v. Thermo Fisher that the mere delivery of an email doesn't establish an employee's assent to the arbitration agreement underscores that rollout processes should both give employees notice of the agreement and create evidence of their assent, say attorneys at Sullivan & Cromwell.

  • OpenAI Deal Highlights AI Hiring Risks In PERM Process

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    The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlement of allegations that OpenAI discriminated against U.S. applicants for positions connected to the permanent labor certification process underscores that employers providing or using artificial intelligence must align their recruitment practices with their overlapping compliance obligations, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • How Rogue AI May Shape Corporate Liability, Responsibility

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    Recent artificial intelligence cyber incidents offer a window into how companies deploying autonomous systems should document risk controls even when systems exceed their intended boundaries, as jurors may treat unexpected AI conduct as foreseeable evidence of inadequate safeguards, says Jorge Monroy at Verdict Insight Partners.

  • Meta Layoff Suit Serves As Early Test Of AI Bias Claims

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    A lawsuit in California federal court alleging that Meta's use of artificial intelligence in recent layoffs negatively affected employees on protected leave provides insight for plaintiffs about what evidence to preserve and how to build these discrimination claims, says Manny Starr at Frontier Law Center.

  • Flashpoints In Focus: Minimizing Midterm Politics At Work

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    With the upcoming midterm elections producing a steady stream of controversy, employers would benefit from planning in advance and developing guardrails to ensure that election-related rifts do not jeopardize the company's culture or results, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • Navigating Rising AI Use In Pro Se Employment Suits

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    As federal pro se employment filings climb, largely due to increased use of artificial intelligence, defense attorneys can combat AI misuse by building AI-specific protective order language, screening documents for hidden prompt injections and seeking sanctions over fabricated citations, says Ashley Prickett Cuttino at Ogletree.

  • Trending Legal Implications Of Employee Influencer Programs

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    Employee-generated content is rapidly becoming a popular marketing strategy, as illustrated by Starbucks' new TikTok program, but it raises several legal risks for employers, including wage and hour exposure, federal disclosure obligations, and intellectual property concerns, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Flashpoints In Focus: Shifting Workplace Violence Responses

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    Amid recent threats of violence against artificial intelligence company executives and Jewish-owned businesses, employers can use policies, processes and safety controls to help prevent workplace violence and abate its recognized hazards, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

  • EEOC Bias Guidance Rollback Doesn't Negate Employer Risks

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    Despite the U.S. Department of Justice recently challenging Title VII's disparate impact provisions and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rescinding affirmative action guidance, employers should resist the temptation to restructure employment practices, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.