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Discrimination

  • August 06, 2025

    WilmerHale Beats Fired Associate's Racial Bias Claims

    A Manhattan judge Wednesday threw out a former WilmerHale senior associate's lawsuit alleging he was unfairly evaluated and eventually fired because he is Black, finding that the complaint doesn't plausibly allege discriminatory comments were made about his race or that employees of other races were treated better.

  • August 06, 2025

    UC Policy Found Discriminatory Based On Immigration Status

    A California state appeals court has ruled that the University of California's employment policy against hiring unauthorized immigrant students who lack federal work permits is "facially discriminatory," and that the university system couldn't lean on a risk of federal enforcement for justification.

  • August 06, 2025

    Accounting Firm Must Face Ex-Credit Union CEO's Firing Suit

    The largest accounting firm in Connecticut, Whittlesey PC, must face the former CEO of Sound Federal Credit Union's claim that he was fired for following the firm's advice on when to calendar gains from a $1.2 million property sale, a Connecticut trial court judge has ruled.

  • August 06, 2025

    Judge Questions USDA's Climate Grant Cuts

    A D.C. federal judge grilled an attorney for the federal government over why the U.S. Department of Agriculture's climate-focused grants for farmers and food nonprofits were rescinded en masse when they seemingly aligned with the program, but also told recipients that she won't be "rearranging" the agency's priorities.

  • August 06, 2025

    Detroit Tigers Settle Ex-Vice President's Age, Race Bias Suit

    The Detroit Tigers settled an age and race bias lawsuit brought by one of its former vice presidents in Michigan federal court Wednesday, closing the door on more than two years of pointed litigation.

  • August 06, 2025

    Waste Co. Can't Knock Out EEOC Hiring Bias Suit

    A Missouri federal judge declined to toss a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming a waste management company refused to hire a woman for a driver position out of gender bias, ruling a jury needs to decide whether a manager's discouraging comments amounted to prejudice.

  • August 06, 2025

    EEOC, Chevy Dealer Ink Deal In ADA Suit Over Service Dog

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has brokered a $30,000 settlement with a Maryland Chevrolet dealership that the agency accused of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying a Navy veteran's request to bring his service dog to work, forcing him to leave his job.

  • August 06, 2025

    7th Circ. Adopts Flexible Standard For Collective Actions

    The Seventh Circuit in a discrimination case against Eli Lilly & Co. laid out a new standard for certifying collective actions, joining the Fifth and Sixth circuits in departing from a two-step analysis courts had used for decades but taking a more middle-of-the-road approach.

  • August 06, 2025

    6th Circ. Won't Restore Auto Worker's $2.3M Age Bias Win

    The Sixth Circuit refused to reinstate a $2.3 million jury award in favor of a former manufacturing employee who claimed he was let go because he was in his 60s, agreeing with a lower court that evidence presented at trial didn't support his age bias claims.

  • August 06, 2025

    Animal Hospital To Pay $20K To End EEOC Retaliation Probe

    A California animal hospital will pay $20,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigation into allegations that it illegally fired a worker because he asked to be exempted from a mandatory training seminar that cut against his religious beliefs.

  • August 06, 2025

    7th Circ. Revives Ex-Teacher's Suit Over Trans Student Names

    A split Seventh Circuit panel reinstated a religious bias suit from a Christian teacher who alleged that a school district unlawfully required him to refer to transgender students by their preferred names, with a dissent warning that the ruling created a "perilous precedent" for employers.

  • August 06, 2025

    Flint Will Pay $225K To End Ex-Fire Chief's Firing Suit

    The city of Flint has reached a $225,000 settlement with a former fire chief who has alleged he was fired for refusing to claw back his public recommendation to terminate firefighters for their alleged racist misconduct at a house fire, and the city council is poised to review the agreement at its August meeting.

  • August 06, 2025

    Amazon IT Unit Accused Of Ousting 'Old, White, Bald Guys'

    A 61-year-old Massachusetts man who worked in information technology sales for Amazon Web Services says he was wrongfully terminated last year as part of an alleged companywide campaign to push out older workers.

  • August 06, 2025

    LA Seeks To Nix Attys In Ex-Cop's Military Leave Bias Suit

    Attorneys for a former Los Angeles Police Department lieutenant improperly obtained and tried to use a privileged email between a city attorney and a current LAPD lieutenant in a military bias suit, the city said, urging a California federal court to disqualify them from the case.

  • August 05, 2025

    5th Circ. Wipes Out Honeywell Win In Worker's Vaccine Fight

    The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday resurrected a former Honeywell employee's suit claiming he was fired for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine after his request for a religious exemption was denied, ruling that a jury could indeed determine that the worker faced religious discrimination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Grocery Chain Ralphs Wins $7M Employment Bias Trial

    A California jury cleared Kroger-owned Ralphs Grocery Co. of liability in a Muslim worker's $7 million bias suit after hearing that the worker simply refused to use the scheduling software to keep his Saturdays free for religious activities and that he had been suspended multiple times for insubordination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Biz Prof's Pay Based On Experience, Not Bias, 6th Circ. Told

    Michigan Technological University told the Sixth Circuit on Monday that a former accounting professor was paid less than her husband because he had more teaching experience and better evaluations, urging the court to reject her appeal challenging the dismissal of pay disparity claims and racial or gender discrimination.

  • August 05, 2025

    Teamsters Win Toss Of Member's Tom Hanks Film Hiring Row

    A Pennsylvania federal judge on Tuesday threw out age bias and retaliation claims from a longtime Teamsters member who alleged his union and two production companies conspired not to hire him for a Tom Hanks film, finding the worker failed to show he experienced an adverse employment action.

  • August 05, 2025

    Harassment Case Immunity Ruling Too Abrupt, 10th Circ. Says

    The Tenth Circuit on Tuesday largely upheld a trial court's refusal to toss a Salt Lake City firefighter's lawsuit claiming she was subjected to undue scrutiny because she's a woman, but said the lower court was too quick to say her colleagues' conduct was clearly unconstitutional.

  • August 05, 2025

    Calif. Cafe Chain Settles EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit

    A cafe chain told a California federal judge Tuesday that it has agreed to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming a manager created a sexually hostile work environment by inappropriately touching and commenting on young workers' bodies.

  • August 05, 2025

    Reporter Drops Suit Over CBS Station's Gaza Coverage

    A Palestinian Arab-American television journalist has ended his lawsuit claiming a CBS News Detroit station fired him because of his complaints that the station favored Israeli perspectives in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.

  • August 05, 2025

    Ex-Patent Examiner Fights USPTO Exclusion At High Court

    A former U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner wants the U.S. Supreme Court to review his exclusion from practicing before the agency, saying the justices should look at issues relating to a suspension he received and also federal civil rights protections.

  • August 05, 2025

    Blake Lively Wants Baldoni's Atty Sanctioned For Comments

    Actress Blake Lively has asked a Manhattan federal judge to sanction the attorney representing "It Ends With Us" co-star Justin Baldoni in her ongoing defamation case, alleging the lawyer repeatedly defied a February court order blocking extrajudicial statements likely to prejudice the case.

  • August 05, 2025

    5th Circ. Backs Logistics Co.'s Defeat Of Pregnancy Bias Suit

    The Fifth Circuit upheld a logistics company's win in a former operations manager's lawsuit claiming she was fired months before her scheduled maternity leave, ruling she couldn't overcome her ex-employer's argument that safety lapses had cost her the job.

  • August 05, 2025

    Law Profs Urge 11th Circ. To Toss Judge-Shopping Sanctions

    A group of seven law school professors is urging the Eleventh Circuit to toss a sanctions ruling against three attorneys for judge shopping, arguing that federal law does not forbid the practice and citing the "potentially chilling effect the order will have on counsel, especially those involved in pro bono representation."

Expert Analysis

  • Eye On Compliance: NY's New Freelance Protection Law

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    New York's Freelance Isn't Free Act is set to take effect later this month, meaning employers must be proactive in ensuring compliance and take steps to mitigate risks, such as updating documentation and specifying correct worker classification, says Jonathan Meer at Wilson Elser.

  • 3 Notes For Arbitration Agreements After Calif. Ruling

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    After last month's California Supreme Court decision in Ramirez v. Charter Communications invalidated several arbitration clauses in the company's employee contracts as unconscionable, companies should ensure their own arbitration agreements steer clear of three major pitfalls identified by the court, say attorneys at Cooley.

  • Eye On Compliance: New Pregnancy And Nursing Protections

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    With New York rolling out paid lactation breaks and extra leave for prenatal care, and recent federal legislative developments enhancing protection for pregnant and nursing workers, employers required to offer these complex new accommodations should take several steps to mitigate their compliance risks, says Madjeen Garcon-Bonneau at Wilson Elser.

  • How Calif. Ruling Alters Worker Arb. Agreement Enforcement

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Ramirez v. Charter Communications should caution employers that while workers’ arbitration agreements will no longer be deemed unenforceable based on their number of unconscionable provisions, they must still be fair and balanced, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor.

  • Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: July Lessons

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    In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy considers cases touching on pre- and post-conviction detainment conditions, communications with class representatives, when the American Pipe tolling doctrine stops applying to modified classes, and more.

  • How To Comply With Chicago's New Paid Leave Ordinance

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    Chicago's new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance went into effect earlier this month, so employers subject to the new rules should update leave policies, train supervisors and deliver notice as they seek compliance, say Alison Crane and Sarah Gasperini at Jackson Lewis.

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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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

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    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.