Discrimination

  • July 16, 2024

    Marathon Beats Ex-Worker's Gender Discrimination Case

    A Colorado federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a former Marathon Petroleum human resources supervisor who claimed she was forced out for inappropriate behavior while male coworkers got a free pass, finding that the supervisor's conduct was worse than the male colleague who she claimed received preferential treatment.

  • July 16, 2024

    Retailer Stood By While Clerk Harassed Women, EEOC Says

    Superstore chain Fred Meyer Stores Inc. failed to stop a male sales clerk from repeatedly harassing, leering at and stalking women he worked with despite numerous complaints, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court in Washington state Tuesday.

  • July 16, 2024

    7th Circ. Backs Manufacturer Win In Worker's Retaliation Suit

    The Seventh Circuit declined Tuesday to reinstate a lawsuit from a Black worker accusing a manufacturing company of firing him in retaliation for complaining about race discrimination with his union, saying there's no error in the lower court's decision despite it relying on his former plant manager's flubbed testimony.

  • July 16, 2024

    Ex-NBA Ref Must Show Psychologist Comms In COVID-19 Suit

    A former NBA referee must turn over records between his psychologist and his counsel to demonstrate whether the league's COVID-19 vaccination policies had the debilitating effect on his psyche that he claims in a lawsuit, a New York federal judge has ruled.

  • July 16, 2024

    Dollar General Strikes $295K Deal To End EEOC Age Bias Suit

    Dollar General has agreed to hand over $295,000 to close a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission age bias suit alleging a regional manager told older district managers he wanted to replace them with younger employees, according to an Oklahoma federal court filing Tuesday.

  • July 16, 2024

    Ex-County Exec Wants Firm Kicked Off NJ Discrimination Suit

    A former New Jersey county health director who claims his termination was retaliatory wants the firm representing the county disqualified, arguing Testa Heck Testa & White PA is conflicted due to interactions he had with two of the firm's attorneys before and during his termination meeting.

  • July 16, 2024

    EEOC Backs Ex-Uber Driver's Bid To Revive Race Bias Suit

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Ninth Circuit to reconsider a former Uber driver's lawsuit claiming the ride-hailing giant's rating system is racially biased, arguing that a panel's June ruling flew in the face of federal civil rights law and U.S. Supreme Court precedent.

  • July 16, 2024

    Fisher Phillips Adds Employment Ace In Dallas From Ogletree

    Fisher Phillips announced Tuesday that it has upped the headcount at its new Dallas location with a partner who came aboard from Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC.

  • July 16, 2024

    The 2024 Diversity Snapshot: What You Need To Know

    Law firms' ongoing initiatives to address diversity challenges have driven another year of progress, with the representation of minority attorneys continuing to improve across the board, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. Here's our data dive into minority representation at law firms in 2023.

  • July 16, 2024

    These Firms Have The Most Diverse Equity Partnerships

    Law360’s law firm survey shows that firms' efforts to diversify their equity partner ranks are lagging. But some have embraced a broader talent pool at the equity partner level. Here are the ones that stood out.

  • July 16, 2024

    Health System Strikes Deal To End EEOC Race Bias Suit

    A Michigan healthcare system has agreed to pay a Black home health aid $30,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging she was immediately fired in contradiction with system policy after a white worker accused her of starting a verbal conflict.

  • July 16, 2024

    9th Circ. Backs Printing Co.'s Win In Black Worker's Bias Suit

    The Ninth Circuit refused to reinstate a Black sales worker's lawsuit alleging that a printing company caused his performance to plummet by reassigning him to locations with lower revenues, saying he failed to show the firm was motivated by racial animus when it reorganized its sales department.

  • July 15, 2024

    Male Writer Pans CBS' Free Speech Defense In Bias Suit

    A straight white male worker who claims CBS discriminated against him by repeatedly choosing to hire more diverse candidates for writer roles urged a California federal judge to reject CBS Studios Inc.'s bid to ax the case Monday, arguing that the First Amendment "doesn't per se" shield entertainment corporations like CBS from liability.

  • July 15, 2024

    Calif. Justices Nix 3 Charter Arb. Terms, Remand Severability

    The California Supreme Court held Monday that three of four challenged provisions in Charter Communications Inc.'s employee arbitration agreement are "substantively unconscionable" but remanded a worker's discrimination case back to the trial court to determine if those provisions can be severed and the agreement can still be enforced.

  • July 15, 2024

    School Counselor's FMLA Suit Should Be Tossed, Judge Says

    A Georgia school district should be allowed to escape a former counselor's lawsuit alleging she was terminated for requesting time off to care for her sick husband, a federal judge said Monday, finding she couldn't overcome the district's explanation that she'd failed to correct performance issues despite multiple opportunities.

  • July 15, 2024

    Fired NJ Cops Say ALJ's Ruling Backs Their Off-Duty Pot Use

    An administrative law judge's decision reinstating a Jersey City police officer to her job after she was fired for off-duty marijuana use provides an argument for dismissing the city's lawsuit against the state in which it argues that federal law is at odds with New Jersey law, police officers say in a letter filed Monday in federal court.

  • July 15, 2024

    New York AG Lobs New Challenge To Rec Sports Trans Ban

    New York Attorney General Letitia James and a local roller derby league each sued to strike down a newly passed law banning transgender women and girls from participating in recreational sports at facilities run by Nassau County on Monday, reviving a bitter legal fight.

  • July 15, 2024

    8th Circ. Revives Cop's Biased Transfer Suit After Muldrow

    The Eighth Circuit reinstated a St. Louis police officer's suit alleging he was reassigned to a different unit for being straight, reversing its prior decision affirming the dismissal of his suit following a U.S. Supreme Court order loosening requirements the circuit placed on Title VII discrimination claims.

  • July 15, 2024

    Furniture Chain, EEOC Strike Deal To End Vaccine Bias Suit

    Arkansas-based Hank's Furniture Inc. will pay $110,000 to end a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit claiming it unlawfully fired a manager who refused the COVID-19 vaccine because of her Christian beliefs, the agency and the retailer told a Florida federal court Monday.

  • July 15, 2024

    Seyfarth Adds 5-Atty Labor Team From Hunton In Calif., Texas

    Seyfarth Shaw LLP announced Monday that it has brought on a five-member team of labor and employment lawyers who previously practiced with Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP.

  • July 15, 2024

    NJ Legal Software Biz Hit With Disability Bias Suit

    Leap Legal Software Inc. was hit with a discrimination lawsuit in New Jersey state court Friday from a former employee alleging she was fired due to her undiagnosed and untreated Lyme disease.

  • July 15, 2024

    Machinery Co. Defends 'Right' To Ax Trans Care In Health Plan

    A turbomachinery company asked to intervene on a transgender worker's New Hampshire federal court claim that its health plan administrators violated Affordable Care Act anti-bias provisions by enforcing a gender dysphoria treatment ban in the company's health plan, arguing that the issue is intertwined with its mission.

  • July 15, 2024

    'Busy' Solo Atty Chided For Blown Deadline In Pa. Bias Case

    A Pennsylvania federal judge gave an earful to an attorney representing a Drexel University administrator suing the school for disability discrimination after the case was dismissed without prejudice over the attorney's missed deadlines.

  • July 15, 2024

    Amazon Shouldn't Have To Face Retaliation Suit, Judge Says

    Amazon Web Services shouldn't have to face a suit from a former recruiter who claims she was fired for complaining that a supervisor made disparaging comments about older people and Hispanic workers, a Texas federal judge said, finding poor performance cost her the job, not retribution.

  • July 15, 2024

    Veteran Employment Litigator Jumps From Kasowitz To Akin

    A veteran employment litigator has joined Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in New York after nearly 16 years at Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP.

Expert Analysis

  • Big Business May Come To Rue The Post-Administrative State

    Author Photo

    Many have framed the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning Chevron deference and extending the window to challenge regulations as big wins for big business, but sand in the gears of agency rulemaking may be a double-edged sword, creating prolonged uncertainty that impedes businesses’ ability to plan for the future, says Todd Baker at Columbia University.

  • A Timeline Of Antisemitism Legislation And What It Means

    Author Photo

    What began as hearings in the House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce has expanded to a House-wide effort to combat antisemitism and related issues, with wide-ranging implications for education, finance and nonprofit entities, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Colo. Ruling Adopts 'Actual Discharge' Test For The First Time

    Author Photo

    After a Colorado court’s recent decision in Potts v. Gaia Children, adopting for the first time a test for evaluating an actual discharge claim, employers must diligently document the circumstances surrounding termination of employment, and exercise particular caution when texting employees, says Michael Laszlo at Clark Hill.

  • It's Time For Nationwide Race-Based Hair Protections

    Author Photo

    While 24 states have passed laws that prohibit race-based hair discrimination, this type of bias persists in workplaces and schools, so a robust federal law is necessary to ensure widespread protection, says Samone Ijoma and Erica Roberts at Sanford Heisler.

  • After Chevron: EEOC Status Quo Will Likely Continue

    Author Photo

    As the legal landscape adjusts to the end of Chevron deference, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rulemaking authority isn’t likely to shift as much as some other employment-related agencies, says Paige Lyle at FordHarrison.

  • After Chevron: Various Paths For Labor And Employment Law

    Author Photo

    Labor and employment law leans heavily on federal agency guidance, so the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to toss out Chevron deference will ripple through this area, with future workplace policies possibly taking shape through strategic litigation, informal guidance, state-level regulation and more, says Alexander MacDonald at Littler.

  • FIFA Maternity Policy Shows Need For Federal Paid Leave

    Author Photo

    While FIFA and other employers taking steps to provide paid parental leave should be applauded, the U.S. deserves a red card for being the only rich nation in the world that offers no such leave, says Dacey Romberg at Sanford Heisler.

  • What 2 Rulings On Standing Mean For DEI Litigation

    Author Photo

    Recent federal court decisions in the Fearless Fund and Hello Alice cases shed new light on the ongoing wave of challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, with opposite conclusions on whether the plaintiffs had standing to sue, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Eye On Compliance: A Brief History Of Joint Employer Rules

    Author Photo

    It's important to examine the journey of the joint employer rule, because if the National Labor Relations Board's Fifth Circuit appeal is successful and the 2023 version is made law, virtually every employer who contracts for labor likely could be deemed a joint employer, say Bruno Katz and Robert Curtis at Wilson Elser.

  • Top 5 Issues For Employers To Audit Midyear

    Author Photo

    Six months into 2024, developments from federal courts and regulatory agencies should prompt employers to reflect on their progress regarding artificial intelligence, noncompetes, diversity initiatives, religious accommodation and more, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.

  • Tailoring Compliance Before AI Walks The Runway

    Author Photo

    Fashion industry players that adopt artificial intelligence to propel their businesses forward should consider ways to minimize its perceived downsides, including potential job displacements and algorithmic biases that may harm diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, say Jeffrey Greene and Ivory Djahouri at Foley & Lardner.

  • Where Anti-Discrimination Law Stands 4 Years After Bostock

    Author Photo

    On the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Bostock ruling, Evan Parness and Abby Rickeman at Covington take stock of how the decision, which held that Title VII protects employees from discrimination because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, has affected anti-discrimination law at the state and federal levels.

  • Politics In The Workplace: What Employers Need To Know

    Author Photo

    As the 2024 election approaches and protests continue across the country, employers should be aware of employees' rights — and limits on those rights — related to political speech and activities in the workplace, and be prepared to act proactively to prevent issues before they arise, say attorneys at Littler.