Discrimination

  • September 29, 2026

    UCF Administrators Seek Immunity In Prof's Firing Suit

    Administrators for the University of Central Florida told the Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday that they should be entitled to qualified immunity on retaliation claims brought by a psychology professor after he posted about the death of George Floyd on social media in 2020.

  • September 29, 2026

    EEOC Fights Union's Claim That Agency Tabled Class Actions

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked a D.C. federal judge to toss a union's claim that the agency told its in-house court to stop processing federal workers' class actions, saying the agency didn't issue such a directive and the union lacks standing to sue.

  • September 29, 2026

    Ex-Delta Flight Attendant Says Post-Arrest Firing Unlawful

    Delta Airlines Inc. violated federal law when it fired a flight attendant without conducting a full investigation after a racially charged confrontation at a Marriott hotel in Savannah landed her in jail, according to a lawsuit from the former worker.

  • September 29, 2026

    EEOC Says Firing Painter After Knee Surgery Violated ADA

    A Colorado-based heavy machinery dealer fired an employee after knee surgery rather than letting her return to work with a lifting restriction, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a new lawsuit.

  • September 28, 2026

    Trump Admin Reinstates Former Title IX Regs

    The U.S. Department of Education on Monday said it's formally repealing a vacated Biden-era rule that attempted to expand Title IX discrimination protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity and reinstating a rule the Trump administration enacted in 2020.

  • September 28, 2026

    Black Tesla Workers In Calif. Fired At Higher Rates, Judge Told

    An economics professor testified in a California state bench trial Monday over the California Civil Rights Department's claims Tesla fostered racism at its Fremont factory that he found Tesla's Black workers in California are paid 4.37% less, and involuntarily terminated at a 75% higher rate, than their white counterparts.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. Expands Reproductive Care, Abortion Access

    A series of new laws in California aim to expand access to medication abortion on community college campuses, bolster veterans' access to reproductive care including abortions, and make it easier for nursing parents to access lactation support, according to an announcement made Sunday.

  • September 28, 2026

    EEOC Telework Claim Survives In ADA Suit Against Utility

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can ask a jury to decide whether a former utility services employee was illegally denied a telework accommodation following a stroke, a Georgia federal judge ruled while also paring certain other claims from the agency's disability discrimination suit.

  • September 28, 2026

    11th Circ. Backs Sheriff In Ex-Deputy's Sex Bias Suit

    The Eleventh Circuit has affirmed a win for a Florida county sheriff in a lawsuit brought by a former deputy who claimed she was forced to resign because of her race, ruling she hadn't offered evidence from which a reasonable jury could conclude she'd endured sex discrimination.

  • September 28, 2026

    Hotel Co. Harassed And Ousted Pregnant Worker, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a hotel group in Oklahoma federal court Monday claiming the business harassed an employee after learning she was pregnant and then fired her after calling her pregnancy a liability.

  • September 28, 2026

    2nd Circ. Backs Tossing Ex-United Worker's Grievance Claim

    The Second Circuit on Monday rejected a former United Airlines employee's bid to force arbitration of a grievance over his firing after a Teamsters local declined to pursue it, ruling that the worker waived his right to pursue the grievance on his own.

  • September 28, 2026

    Newsom Signs Slate Of Bills Bolstering LGBTQ+ Protections

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a slate of bills defending against what he called the Trump administration's "all-out assault on the LGBTQ community," strengthening privacy protections, providing support to discharged service members and enhancing access to medical care.

  • September 28, 2026

    Split 7th Circ. Backs Ill. County's Win In COVID Vax Bias Suit

    The Seventh Circuit in a split decision Monday affirmed a summary judgment win for Cook County, Illinois, in a former hospital pharmacist's suit alleging she was unlawfully fired after she refused a COVID-19 vaccine, with the majority holding the county proved a religious exemption would've posed undue hardship and one dissenting judge saying the case should go to a jury.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. To Add 'Chosen' Family To Bereavement Leave Law

    California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed a bill to expand an existing law that provides workers with a week of bereavement leave if someone an employee identifies as a family member dies — even if the person is not a blood relative.

  • September 28, 2026

    Car Dealer Settles EEOC Suit Over Medical Restrictions Rule

    A Florida auto dealership chain agreed to pay $112,500 to settle U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims that it unlawfully required employees returning from medical leave to have no physical restrictions, according to documents filed in court Monday.

  • September 28, 2026

    Calif. To Require New Hate Speech Workplace Training

    California's employers will soon be required to incorporate hate speech prevention into state-mandated sexual harassment training sessions provided to workers, after legislation enacting the change received the governor's signature.

  • September 28, 2026

    EEOC Says Co. Fired Blind Worker On His First Day

    A Houston real estate development company fired a blind engineer hours after learning of his disability and requests for specific technology that would allow him to do his job, according to a new suit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

  • September 25, 2026

    McDonald's Beats Most Of Black Franchisees' Bias Claims

    An Illinois federal judge on Friday tossed all but a single claim in litigation by former McDonald's franchisees who allege the fast-food giant systematically discriminated against Black operators, while warning plaintiffs that they "pushed — if not crossed" — boundaries by filing a complaint containing "more paragraphs than the Gettysburg Address contained words."

  • September 25, 2026

    Jay-Z Accuser Recants Rape Claim In Rapper's Buzbee Fight

    A woman who accused Jay-Z of rape and sparked a yearlong legal battle between the rapper and prominent Texas plaintiffs attorney Tony Buzbee has recanted her testimony and accused Buzbee of pursuing litigation on her behalf without her knowledge and without verifying her testimony.

  • September 25, 2026

    Dems Press DOD Over Delayed Pay For Trans Troops

    A group of House Democrats is calling on the U.S. Department of Defense to ensure that transgender service members ousted from the military under the Trump administration receive their separation payment.

  • September 25, 2026

    EEOC Accuses Call Center Of Widespread Disability Bias

    A market research firm's deficient policies and training caused call center workers with disabilities to be denied accommodations and led to harassment from supervisors, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Friday in Nevada federal court.

  • September 25, 2026

    10 Bias Petitions To Watch As High Court Term Gets Started

    As the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to kick off a new term, the justices have several pending petitions in their queue that raise hot-button antidiscrimination law issues, including whether mandatory diversity training can sustain a lawsuit and if a decades-old, burden-shifting test should stay on the books. Here are 10 bids for review attorneys might want to keep an eye on.

  • September 25, 2026

    EEOC Says Mich. Logistics Co. Allowed Sexual Harassment

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a Michigan logistics company Friday, alleging that a company executive sexually harassed female employees for years and the company failed to stop his conduct, despite an earlier complaint to human resources.

  • September 25, 2026

    Mayo Clinic Strikes $50K Deal To End EEOC Vax Bias Suit

    The Mayo Clinic will pay $50,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it threatened to fire a Pentecostal Christian security guard if he didn't get vaccinated against COVID-19 despite his religious objections.

  • September 25, 2026

    Dems Revive Resolution To Boost Support For Working Moms

    Democratic lawmakers announced Friday that they have reintroduced a resolution calling for expanded paid leave, child care support and other federal policies aimed at helping mothers remain in the workforce and addressing economic disparities facing working moms.

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.