Discrimination

  • October 08, 2024

    College Admins Beat Ex-Prof's Suit Over Race-Based Study

    Cleveland State University faculty defeated a former professor's suit alleging he was unlawfully fired for publishing research asserting intelligence differences between white and Black people, with an Ohio federal judge finding he was let go for abusing access to restricted data, not his research subject.

  • October 08, 2024

    Harvard Says Ex-Coach's Pay, Retaliation Suit Falls Flat

    Harvard University has urged a Massachusetts federal judge to dismiss a former ice hockey coach's suit alleging she was paid less than her male counterparts and was forced into retirement, arguing the claims were mostly made after the statute of limitations had expired and failed to make a connection to an action taken by the school.

  • October 08, 2024

    Boarding School Strikes Deal To End COVID Race Bias Suit

    A boarding school agreed to settle a suit from an Asian American electrician who said he was fired after raising concerns that he was the victim of racism related to COVID-19, staving off a trial scheduled for November in Pennsylvania federal court.

  • October 07, 2024

    NC's Durham Inks DOJ Deal Over Racially Biased Hiring

    The city of Durham, North Carolina, agreed Monday to pay $980,000 and adjust its hiring practices to resolve U.S. Department of Justice civil rights allegations that a written test used by the city's Fire Department in evaluating potential hires unintentionally discriminates against Black candidates.

  • October 07, 2024

    Pepsi Employee Sues Over Health Plan's 'Tobacco Surcharge'

    A Pepsi employee has hauled the snack and beverage multinational into New York federal court, alleging in a proposed class action that the company unlawfully imposes a "tobacco surcharge" on employees who use tobacco products while failing to adequately notify employees that they can instead join a company wellness program.

  • October 07, 2024

    Paralegal Can't Seek Punitive Damages In Bias Trial

    A former Cordell & Cordell PC paralegal claiming she was fired over sexual harassment complaints can't ask a jury for punitive damages, a Kansas federal judge found during an ongoing trial, adopting the firm's position that she hasn't shown any willful violations.

  • October 07, 2024

    NJT Cop Can't Overturn Firing Over Positive THC Test

    A New Jersey appeals panel won't upend a decision by the New Jersey Transit Corp. police chief terminating an officer for testing positive for THC, rejecting the officer's argument that the chief wrongly deviated from an administrative law judge's determination that the test was unreliable.

  • October 07, 2024

    Grocery Co. Won't Get High Court Review Of Gender Bias Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it won't review the revival of a gender bias case brought by a woman who said she was fired from her management role in a grocery store chain after her supervisor repeatedly said that management jobs were "too stressful" for women to handle.

  • October 07, 2024

    Guard Who Said Manager Dissed His Niece Keeps $1.2M Win

    The Third Circuit backed on Monday a $1.2 million verdict for a white former jail guard who said he was fired after complaining that a supervisor called his biracial niece "a little monkey," rejecting the county's arguments that the evidence presented didn't merit the award.

  • October 07, 2024

    Mich. Says Local Courts' ADA Compliance Is Not Its Job

    A proposed class of disabled attorneys lacks standing to pursue civil rights claims against Michigan alleging courthouses were inaccessible, the state has told a federal judge, arguing it is not responsible for local facilities and is otherwise protected by sovereign immunity under state disability laws.

  • October 07, 2024

    DOL Office Taps Agency Veteran To Lead Southeast Region

    The acting director of the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs said Monday that a 16-year OFCCP veteran is now its Southeast regional director.

  • October 07, 2024

    Sheetz Gets EEOC Background Check Suit Kicked To Pa.

    Convenience store chain Sheetz persuaded a Maryland federal judge to send to Pennsylvania a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit accusing the company of conducting a criminal history screening that amounted to race bias, citing the case's ties to that state.

  • October 07, 2024

    Ball Corp. Unit Strikes Deal To End DOL Race Bias Probe

    A subsidiary of packaging company Ball Corp. will pay $309,000 after a U.S. Department of Labor probe found evidence that it favored white applicants for production technician jobs over Black workers, the DOL said Monday.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Won't Review FedEx's KO Of $366M Race Bias Verdict

    The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to review the Fifth Circuit's dramatic cut to a Black former FedEx employee's $366 million jury verdict, despite her argument that the appeals court incorrectly truncated the window for filing her race discrimination and retaliation claims.

  • October 07, 2024

    Justices Turn Down Pa. Ex-Museum Worker's Retaliation Suit

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to consider whether a former employee of the Frick Art and Historical Center in Pittsburgh had proved he was fired in retaliation for requesting accommodation for an injury.

  • October 07, 2024

    Worker's Age Bias Suit Survives IT Co.'s High Court Appeal

    The nation's top court won't take up a Virginia information technology company's appeal seeking to cast aside a former worker's age discrimination case, according to a list of cert denials issued Monday.

  • October 04, 2024

    Jury Finds Cognizant Biased Against Non-Indian Workers

    A California federal jury found Friday that Cognizant Technologies engaged in a "pattern or practice" of intentional discrimination against a class of non-South Asian and non-Indian employees who were terminated, setting the stage for a second phase that will determine damages against the IT giant.

  • October 04, 2024

    EEOC Suits Warn Employers To Take Harassment Seriously

    The EEOC's blitz of lawsuits at the end of its fiscal year included dozens of cases accusing employers of fostering environments full of harassment, highlighting an age-old priority for the commission that still catches employers flat-footed and prompts the agency to send stern warnings through its litigation docket, experts say. Here, Law360 looks at four things to know about the EEOC's latest anti-harassment enforcement push.

  • October 04, 2024

    Former X Worker's 2 Sex Bias Suits Will Go To Same Judge

    A San Francisco federal judge said Friday that a former X Corp. engineer's lawsuit claiming Elon Musk laid off more women than men after acquiring the company belonged with a similar case the worker filed in San Jose federal court — but chided both sides, saying "nobody's being terribly reasonable."

  • October 04, 2024

    Prof. Claims Fox Chase, Temple U. Failed To Deter Harassment

    A cancer research professor has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against Temple University Health System's Fox Chase Cancer Center, claiming in Pennsylvania federal court it failed to act on her complaints of being harassed by the eventual director, who she said went on to influence "numerous decisions" that hurt her career.

  • October 04, 2024

    USDA Updates Regulation Without Labor Compliance Portion

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture filed a final rule Friday tweaking an acquisition regulation after nearly 30 years since a previous overhaul, but the rule doesn't include a proposal that would have required federal contractors to certify compliance with federal and state labor laws.

  • October 04, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: O'Reilly $4M COVID Screening Deal At Court

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for potential final approval of a deal to resolve a class action alleging O'Reilly Auto Enterprises failed to pay for time workers spent in COVID-19 screenings. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • October 04, 2024

    Healthcare Co. Inks Deal In DOL Equal Pay Investigation

    A healthcare diagnostics company has agreed to pay nearly $60,000 to the U.S. Department of Labor to end an agency probe over concerns that a New Jersey manufacturing facility undercompensated female employees compared to their male colleagues.

  • October 04, 2024

    NY Bakery To Pay $30K To End Wage, Retaliation Suit

    A New York bakery will pay $30,000 to end a proposed collective action alleging it failed to pay workers full and timely wages and fired an employee for taking time off to recover from diagnosed vertigo, according to court papers filed Friday.

  • October 04, 2024

    NY Forecast: Judge Mulls ConEd's Bid To Toss Atty's Bias Suit

    This week, a New York federal judge will consider whether to toss a former ConEd attorney's lawsuit claiming she was discriminated against on the basis of her age and gender.

Expert Analysis

  • Employer Best Practices For Pay Transparency Compliance

    Excerpt from Practical Guidance
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    With conflicting pay transparency and disclosure laws appearing across the country, employers must carefully develop different strategies for discussing compensation with employees, applicants, and off-site workers, disclosing salaries in job ads, and staying abreast of new state and local compliance requirements, says Joy Rosenquist at Littler Mendelson.

  • Congress Must Level The Employer Arbitration Playing Field

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    Federal courts have largely eviscerated state bans on arbitration of employment claims through Federal Arbitration Act preemption holdings, and they are also limiting the impact of the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, so Congress needs to step in and amend both laws, says Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.

  • What 11th Circ. Revival Of Deaf Employee's Bias Suit Portends

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    The Eleventh Circuit's recent Beasley v. O'Reilly Auto Parts decision, which created a circuit split involving the issue of linking accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act to essential job functions, is a curiosity about the court's analysis at least and a potential game changer for employer duties at most, says John Doran at Sherman & Howard.

  • What To Watch As Justices Take Up Title VII Job Transfer Case

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    With its recent decision to hear Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether an involuntary job transfer can count as employment discrimination under Title VII — an eventual ruling that has potential to reshape workplace bias claims nationwide, says Adam Grogan at Bell Law Group.

  • Parsing EEOC Guidance On Accommodating Low Vision

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    Employers need to examine recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance on provisions for employees who are blind or partially sighted, particularly on the consequences of terminating an employee with blindness or low vision without meeting obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, says Amy Epstein Gluck at FisherBroyles.

  • 5 Tips For Employers Handling Generative AI Privacy Risks

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    Employers should carefully consider the privacy implications of using generative artificial intelligence tools, and employ steps to mitigate the risks, such as de-identifying data, providing notice and identifying data flows, say Zoe Argento and Amy Kabaria at Littler.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'The Bear' Serves Up Advice For Managers

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper chat with Ernst & Young’s Laura Yehuda about Hulu's "The Bear" and the best practices managers can glean from the show's portrayal of workplace challenges, including those faced by young, female managers.

  • Recalling USWNT's Legal PR Playbook Amid World Cup Bid

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    As the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team strives to take home another World Cup trophy, their 2022 pay equity settlement with the U.S. Soccer Federation serves as a good reminder that winning in the court of public opinion can be more powerful than a victory inside the courtroom, says Hector Valle at Vianovo.

  • Mass. Age Bias Ruling Holds Employer Liability Lessons

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    The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s recent ruling in Adams v. Schneider Electric — upholding a laid-off employee’s age discrimination claim — is an important reminder that employers may face liability even if a decision maker unknowingly applies a discriminatory corporate strategy, say attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale.

  • Regulating AI: Litigation Questions And State Efforts To Watch

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    In view of the developing legal and regulatory framework for artificial intelligence systems in the U.S., including state legislation and early federal litigation, there are practical takeaways as we look toward the future, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Regulating AI: An Overview Of Federal Efforts

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    The U.S. has been carefully managing a national policy and regulatory ecosystem toward artificial intelligence, but as AI technology continues to expand into our everyday lives, so too has its risks and the need for regulation, says Jennifer Maisel at Rothwell Figg.

  • Justices' Job Transfer Review Should Hold To Title VII Text

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    The U.S. Supreme Court's upcoming decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis should hold that a job transfer can be an adverse employment action, and the analysis should be based on the straightforward language of Title VII rather than judicial activism, say Lynne Bernabei and Alan Kabat at Bernabei & Kabat.

  • Employer Tips For Fighting Back Against Explosive Verdicts

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    Massive jury verdicts are a product of our time, driven in part by reptile tactics, but employers can build a strategic defense to mitigate the risk of a runaway jury, and develop tools to seek judicial relief in the event of an adverse outcome, say Dawn Solowey and Lynn Kappelman at Seyfarth.