Discrimination
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April 04, 2025
HHS Drops 11th Circ. Fight Over ACA Trans Rule Freeze
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agreed to drop its bid to overturn an order blocking it from enforcing regulations that extend the Affordable Care Act's anti-discrimination provisions to transgender individuals against Florida organizations, according to filings with the Eleventh Circuit.
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April 04, 2025
NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Weighs OK Of Disputed Settlement
This week, the Second Circuit will consider whether to reverse a Connecticut federal judge's decision giving final approval to a class and collective action settlement between a home health care company and workers based on a memorandum of understanding that the company claims is unenforceable.
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April 04, 2025
Texas Goodwill Inks $75K Deal In EEOC Disability Bias Suit
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a Texas federal court Friday that a Goodwill operation has agreed to pay $75,000 to end the agency's suit alleging the organization illegally declined to hire a deaf applicant for a retail role because "hearing and speaking" were job requirements.
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April 04, 2025
New Calif. Bills To Watch On Pay And Leave
California’s Legislature is considering bills that seek to update the state’s equal pay laws, bar employers from using so called stay-or-pay contracts and harmonize the meaning of family across paid leave laws. Here, Law360 explores these three bills that will drive discussion on workers’ rights.
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April 04, 2025
LA County Inks Historic $4B Juvenile Sex Abuse Settlement
Los Angeles County announced Friday that it's reached a $4 billion tentative settlement to resolve nearly 7,000 claims of sexual abuse at juvenile detention facilities and foster homes, a historic deal described by some as the largest-ever payout of its kind.
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April 04, 2025
Houston Housing Authority Hit With Sex Harassment Suit
A female former Houston Housing Authority Corp. employee has alleged in Texas federal court that she was sexually harassed, dealt with sexist remarks, got demoted and was retaliated against by her supervisor when she worked there.
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April 04, 2025
2nd Circ. Judge Rips NYC Bias Training As 'Incredibly Racist'
A Second Circuit judge appeared incredulous Friday at New York City's defense of implicit bias trainings that its education department mandated employees complete in 2018, stating during a case hearing that the seminars were "incredibly racist" and could constitute unlawful harassment.
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April 04, 2025
DOL Adds To Args Against Injunction On Trump DEI Mandates
The U.S. Department of Labor this week urged an Illinois federal judge to reconsider his analysis of a provision in President Donald Trump's recent executive orders directing federal agencies to terminate "equity-related" grants and to limit the scope of any forthcoming preliminary injunction to the Chicago-based trade group that filed suit challenging them.
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April 04, 2025
Liberty University Can Appeal Trans Bias Case Ruling
A Virginia federal judge has allowed Liberty University Inc. to immediately appeal the non-dismissal of a discrimination suit by a transgender woman fired for transitioning, ruling that it's an open question whether religious exemptions to Title VII apply when a firing is "plausibly as sex-based as it was religion-based."
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April 04, 2025
Trucking Co. Ends Calif. Agency's Conviction Bias Probe
An Iowa-based transportation and logistics company agreed to pay $100,000 to end a California Civil Rights Department investigation into allegations that it unlawfully pulled a job offer because of an applicant's criminal history, according to the state agency.
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April 04, 2025
Calif. Forecast: AB 5 Trucking Challenge Back At 9th Circ.
In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for oral arguments at the Ninth Circuit in a challenge to California's independent contractor classification law by trucking industry groups and two drivers, a case that previously went before the appeals court. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.
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April 04, 2025
Trump Gets Supreme Court Win In Teacher Grants Case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday axed a Massachusetts federal judge's order requiring the Trump administration to reinstate $250 million in teacher training grants for eight states, giving President Donald Trump his first high court win amid what he claims is a flood of unlawful court orders restraining the executive branch's power.
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April 04, 2025
Female Public Defenders Settle Bias Case With Pa. County
A proposed class of unionized female public defenders on Friday settled civil rights claims against Delaware County, Pennsylvania, nearly three years after suing their employer for alleged "systemic, enduring and continuing wage disparity" between male and female attorneys in suburban Philadelphia.
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April 04, 2025
Fox Rothschild Employment Atty Joins Pierson Ferdinand
Fast-growing Pierson Ferdinand LLP has announced a labor and employment attorney with more than 40 years of experience has joined the firm from Fox Rothschild LLP as a partner based in New York and Princeton, New Jersey.
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April 04, 2025
Drexel Can't Get New Trial In Prof's Equal Pay Suit
Drexel University cannot unravel a $355,000 award for a philosophy professor after a jury found she was willfully paid less than her male colleagues out of bias, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Friday, saying the court wouldn't rethink disciplining the university for failing to provide pertinent pay data.
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April 04, 2025
More Than 500 Law Firms Sign Onto Perkins Coie Amicus
A group of 507 law firms, including Munger Tolles & Olson LLP and Covington & Burling LLP, have signed onto an amicus brief filed Friday supporting Perkins Coie LLP's challenge to President Donald Trump's executive order targeting the law firm.
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April 04, 2025
Insurance Co. Can't Nix Religious Bias Suit Over Vax Mandate
A Rhode Island federal judge declined to toss an insurance company worker's suit claiming he was illegally fired for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 for religious reasons, ruling he showed his faith was sincere enough to keep his claims in court.
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April 03, 2025
Unvaxxed Firefighters Face Skeptical 9th Circ. In Firing Appeal
A panel of Ninth Circuit judges questioned the argument made Thursday by eight Washington fire and rescue workers fired after refusing COVID-19 vaccinations, challenging their claim that COVID-19 infections did not create an undue hardship for their department.
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April 03, 2025
Ex-EEOC Officials Say Agency DEI Guidance Disregards Law
A group of Democratic former U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission officials said Thursday that recent agency guidance on diversity, equity and inclusion programs lacks clarity and threatens to stifle efforts to make workplaces fairer.
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April 03, 2025
Ex-Cop Asks 11th Circ. To Revive Bias Suit Against Fla. City
A former Opa-Locka, Florida, police officer has urged the Eleventh Circuit to revive her gender and age discrimination suit against the city over her termination after she filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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April 03, 2025
5th Circ. Upholds Shriners' Firing Of Unvaxxed Workers
The Fifth Circuit on Wednesday refused to revive a lawsuit accusing Shriners Hospitals for Children of wrongfully firing employees who refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, shooting down terminated workers' contention that the hospital, acting for the government, violated their right to refuse a vaccine through a mandatory vaccination policy.
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April 03, 2025
Ex Jushi Exec Says Pot Co. Fired Him For Whistleblowing
The former chief operating officer for Jushi Holdings Inc. is suing the cannabis company, saying he was wrongly terminated after working to ensure the company's facilities met safety and compliance standards.
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April 03, 2025
Echoing EEOC, Red State AGs Target Law Firms Over DEI
A dozen Republican state attorneys general on Thursday urged 20 law firms to fork over information the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission requested last month about their workplace diversity practices, doubling down on the acting EEOC chair's claim that those practices may be unlawful.
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April 03, 2025
Law Firm Fights Ex-Paralegal's Anonymity Bid In Bias Suit
A former paralegal at a Pennsylvania law firm made speculative and illogical arguments to take her identity away from her overtime and retaliation suit, the firm said Thursday, urging a federal court to keep her name known.
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April 03, 2025
DLA Piper Can't Escape Vax Refuser's Religious Bias Suit
An Illinois federal judge rejected DLA Piper's bid to shut down a suit accusing the firm of firing a Christian worker for shirking its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, saying it was too early to tell if the firm offered him a reasonable accommodation.

Employment Lawyers' Weekly DEI Cheat Sheet
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP and Milbank LLP became the latest firms to reach agreements with the Trump administration to stave off executive orders, and a group of Republican state attorneys general urged law firms to hand over information on their workplace diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Here, Law360 looks at notable DEI-related legal developments from the past week.

What To Know As EEOC Highlights Pitfalls Of 'Diverse Slates'
Recent guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice flagged employers’ use of so-called diverse slates — pools of job applicants that deliberately include people of diverse backgrounds — as potentially unlawful. Here are two things experts say attorneys should know.

3rd Circ. Says CVS Sex Bias Arbitration Fight Needs 2nd Look
The Third Circuit on Wednesday rejected a former CVS worker's argument that a 2022 federal law shielded her sex harassment case from mandatory arbitration, but it revived her suit to give the trial court a chance to explore whether the arbitration pact at issue was valid.
Expert Analysis
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NWSL's $5M Player Abuse Deal Shifts Standard For Employers
The National Women's Soccer League's recent $5 million settlement addressing players' abuse allegations sends a powerful message to leagues, entertainment entities and employers everywhere that employee safety, accountability and transparency are no longer optional, say attorneys at Michelman & Robinson.
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Navigating The Use Of AI Tools In Workplace Investigations
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Artificial intelligence tools can be used in workplace investigations to analyze evidence and conduct interviews, among other things, but employers should be aware of the legal and practical risks, including data privacy concerns and the potential for violating antidiscrimination laws, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.
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How Justices Rule On Straight Bias May Shift Worker Suits
Following oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, in which a heterosexual woman sued her employer for sexual orientation discrimination, the forthcoming decision may create a perfect storm for employers amid recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, say attorneys at Proskauer.
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Employer Tips To Navigate Cultural Flashpoints Investigations
As companies are increasingly flooded with complaints of employees violating policies related to polarizing social, cultural or political issues, employers should beware the distinct concerns and increased risk in flashpoints investigations compared to routine workplace probes, say attorneys at Seyfarth.
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A Path Forward For Employers, Regardless Of DEI Stance
Whether a company views the Trump administration's executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs as a win or a loss, the change rearranges the employment hazards companies face, but not the non-DEI and nondiscriminatory economic incentive to seek the best workers, says Daniel S. Levy at Advanced Analytical Consulting Group.
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Bias Suit Shows WNBA Growing Pains On Court And In Court
A newly filed disability discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against the Los Angeles Sparks is the latest in a series of employment discrimination disputes filed by WNBA professionals, highlighting teams' obligation to meet elevated workplace expectations and the league's role in facilitating an inclusive work environment, say attorneys at Michelman & Robinson.
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2 Areas Of Labor Law That May Change Under Trump
Based on President Donald Trump's recent moves, employers should expect to see significant changes in the direction of law coming out of the National Labor Relations Board, particularly in two areas where the Trump administration will seek to roll back the Biden NLRB's changes, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O’Connor.
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Justices' Revival Ruling In Bias Suit Exceeds Procedural Issue
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling in Waetzig v. Halliburton allowed the plaintiff in an age discrimination lawsuit to move to reopen his case after arbitration, but the seemingly straightforward decision on a procedural issue raises complex questions for employment law practitioners, says Christopher Sakauye at Dykema.
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Water Cooler Talk: 'Late Night' Shows DEI Is More Than Optics
Amid the shifting legal landscape for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Troutman's Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter chat with their firm's DEI committee chair, Nicole Edmonds, about how the 2019 film "Late Night" reflects the challenges and rewards of fostering meaningful inclusion.
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9 Considerations For Orgs Using AI Meeting Assistants
When deciding to use artificial intelligence meeting assistants, organizations must create and implement a written corporate policy that establishes the do's and don'ts for these assistants, taking into account individualized business operations, industry standards and legal and regulatory requirements, say attorneys at Faegre Drinker.
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What's At Stake In High Court Transgender Care Suit
The outcome of U.S. v. Skrmetti will have critical implications for the rights of transgender youth and their access to gender-affirming care, and will likely affect other areas of law and policy involving transgender individuals, including education, employment, healthcare and civil rights, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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Determining What 'I Don't Feel Safe' Means In The Workplace
When an employee tells an employer "I don't feel safe," the phrase can have different meanings, so employment lawyers must adequately investigate to identify which meaning applies — and a cursory review and dismissal of the situation may not be a sufficient defense in case of future legal proceedings, says Karen Elliott at FordHarrison.
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How EEOC Enforcement Priorities May Change Under Trump
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has already been rocked by the Trump administration's dramatic changes in personnel and policy, which calls into question how the agency may shift its direction from the priorities set forth in its five-year strategic enforcement plan in 2023, say attorneys at Seyfarth.