Discrimination

  • September 27, 2024

    Sick Juror Goes Virtual To Keep Cognizant Trial On Track

    A California federal judge proposed an "outside the box" idea Friday after a juror in a trial considering allegations that Cognizant Technologies is biased in favor of Indian workers came down with COVID-19, allowing the juror to view the proceedings from home via video.

  • September 27, 2024

    Ex-NFL Linebacker Wants THC Suit Back In Colorado Court

    A former Denver Broncos player who sued the NFL for discrimination after he was fined more than $532,000 for using medically prescribed synthetic THC is urging a Colorado federal judge return the case to state court.

  • September 27, 2024

    GOP States Sue HHS Over Gender Dysphoria Disability Rule

    A group of 17 Republican attorneys general filed suit against the Biden administration seeking to block a rule defining gender dysphoria as a disability under federal law, arguing that Congress explicitly stated that the statutes don't protect gender identity disorders.

  • September 27, 2024

    50-Year-Old Lobs Age Bias Suit At Sporting Products Co

    A 50-year-old Amer Sports recreational gear salesman alleges the Chinese investors who purchased the company passed him up for leadership roles despite his decades of experience and excellent performance, and then fired him when he complained about age discrimination.

  • September 27, 2024

    Security Co. Yanked Job Offer Over Gender, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a healthcare security company in Texas federal court Friday, claiming the business walked back a security supervisor job offer for a well-qualified woman with a law enforcement background simply because of her gender.

  • September 27, 2024

    EEOC Hits 2 Employers With Hearing Loss Bias Suits

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed two discrimination suits Thursday accusing employers of illegally rejecting job applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing, the latest in a yearslong series of agency enforcement actions on behalf of people with auditory disabilities.

  • September 27, 2024

    Ole Miss Preserves Win In Football Player's Mental Health Suit

    The Fifth Circuit on Friday declined to reverse the dismissal of a lawsuit from a University of Mississippi football player who accused the school and its head football coach of kicking him off the team for taking a mental health break.

  • September 27, 2024

    Berkeley, Disability Commission Settle Remote Meeting Row

    The City of Berkeley, California, and three members of the city's Commission on Disability reached a deal ending claims that the city violated federal law by refusing to allow members with a disability to attend meetings remotely, according to a news release. 

  • September 27, 2024

    Chicago Tribune Journalists Say Pay Bias Suit Can Continue

    Chicago Tribune journalists told an Illinois federal court that they supported their claims that the paper and its parent Alden Global Capital paid them less because of their sex and race, urging the court to not engage in a motion to dismiss.

  • September 27, 2024

    Packaging Co. Strikes Deal To End EEOC Race Bias Suit

    A contract packing company agreed to pay $450,000 to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it hired fewer Black workers at its Memphis, Tennessee, facilities and segregated the ones it employed, according to a federal court filing.

  • September 27, 2024

    FMLA Claims Against NM Health Dept. Tossed

    A New Mexico federal judge ruled that a former human resources labor analyst's supervisor terminated him for violating the department's absence policies, dismissing the worker's claims that he was fired and retaliated against following his hospitalization for kidney disease.

  • September 27, 2024

    Dish Network Litigation Director Rejoins Jackson Lewis

    Employment firm Jackson Lewis PC is welcoming back a litigator who most recently was director of litigation with Dish Network as a principal in its Denver office, the firm announced Thursday.

  • September 27, 2024

    NY Forecast: Judge Weighs $1.3M Settlement Final Approval

    This week, a New York federal judge will consider granting final approval to a $1.3 million class action settlement resolving claims that a fast food operator violated state and federal wage and hour laws by not paying workers overtime and deducting business costs from their wages.

  • September 27, 2024

    Louisiana Bakery, EEOC Ink Deal In Pregnancy Bias Suit

    A New Orleans bakery will pay $46,500 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it fired a pastry cook just days after she started because she experienced pregnancy complications, according to a Friday court filing.

  • September 27, 2024

    Calif. Forecast: Logistics Co. Wage Deal Before Court

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for the potential initial sign-off on a $900,000 deal to end a proposed wage and hour class action against Allegiant Final Mile Inc. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • September 27, 2024

    Trans Worker Harassed Out Of Housekeeping Job, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a hotel franchisee in New York federal court, alleging it pushed out a transgender housekeeper after they complained that a manager repeatedly and intentionally misgendered them and referred to them as a "transformer."

  • September 27, 2024

    EEOC Says Staffing Co. Reneged On Settlement Payments

    A staffing firm based in Washington state violated a $276,000 agreement to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission charge alleging it barred employees from speaking Spanish, leaving nearly two-thirds of the sum unpaid, the agency told a federal court.

  • September 26, 2024

    Cognizant's Level Of Indian H-1B Workers 'Unusual,' Jury Told

    A Howard University professor testifying as an expert for a class of former Congizant Technologies employees alleging the company has a bias in favor of Indian workers told a California federal jury Thursday the fact that 99% of Cognizant's H-1B visa workers are from India is "unusual" and demonstrates a "cultural preference."

  • September 26, 2024

    Ex-LexShares CEO Says He Was Pushed Out For Being Black

    The former CEO of LexShares Inc. has lodged racial discrimination claims against the litigation finance firm and its top brass, claiming the company's board of directors discriminated against him and eventually forced him out because he was Black.

  • September 26, 2024

    Religious Nonprofit Can Keep Refugee Aid Contracts For Now

    Michigan will abandon its bid for early termination of contracts awarded to a Christian adoption and refugee agency while the organization's lawsuit, alleging the state forced it to hire non-Christians to qualify for contracts, plays out in federal court.

  • September 26, 2024

    Retaliation Forced Out Construction Forewoman, EEOC Says

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued a water infrastructure company in Tennessee federal court claiming it forced a forewoman to either take on a night shift or quit in retaliation for complaints that male colleagues called her misogynist slurs and ignored her instruction.

  • September 26, 2024

    Chicago Club Allowed Dancer Harassment, EEOC Alleges

    A Chicago strip club stood by as customers harassed and inappropriately touched female dancers while also limiting Black dancers' ability to perform, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged Thursday in a federal complaint.

  • September 26, 2024

    Ala. College Urges 11th Circ. To Grant Immunity In FMLA Suit

    The University of Alabama Board of Trustees urged the Eleventh Circuit on Thursday to reverse a lower court order allowing a former research associate's Family and Medical Leave Act complaint to proceed, arguing that it's entitled to sovereign immunity under the military caregiver provision of the law.

  • September 26, 2024

    EEOC Says Builder Denied Short Commute To Diabetic Worker

    Homebuilding company D.R. Horton refused to let a sales associate transfer to a worksite closer to where she lived after her lengthy commute started to exacerbate her diabetic neuropathy, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in a lawsuit in Maryland federal court.

  • September 26, 2024

    11th Circ. Signals Fired Coach's Claim Can't Ride On Her Team

    An 11th Circuit panel signaled Thursday that the disparate funding of men's and women's collegiate athletic programs was likely not enough to sustain a fired Georgia Tech basketball coach's Title VII claim of sex-based discrimination against the program.

Expert Analysis

  • The Key Changes In Revised FDIC Hiring Regulations

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    Attorneys at Ogletree break down the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s new rule, effective Oct. 1, that will ease restrictions on financial institutions hiring employees with criminal histories, amend the FDIC's treatment of minor offenses and clarify its stance on expunged or dismissed criminal records.

  • Employer Tips For PUMP Act Compliance As Law Turns 2

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    Enacted in December 2022, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act requires employers to provide reasonable break time and a private space for employees to express breast milk, but some companies may still be struggling with how to comply, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

  • What To Know About Ill. Employment Law Changes

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    Illinois employers should review their policies in light of a number of recent changes to state employment law, including amendments to the state’s Human Rights Act and modifications to the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

  • Mich. Whistleblower Ruling Expands Retaliation Remedies

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    The Michigan Supreme Court's recent Occupational Health and Safety Act decision in Stegall v. Resource Technology is important because it increases the potential exposure for defendants in public policy retaliation cases, providing plaintiffs with additional claims, say Aaron Burrell and Timothy Howlett at Dickinson Wright.

  • How States Are Approaching AI Workplace Discrimination

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    As legislators across the U.S. have begun addressing algorithmic discrimination in the workplace, attorneys at Reed Smith provide an overview of the status, applicability and provisions of 13 state and local bills.

  • The Risks Of Employee Political Discourse On Social Media

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    As election season enters its final stretch and employees increasingly engage in political speech on social media, employers should beware the liability risks and consider policies that negotiate the line between employees' rights and the limits on those rights, say Bradford Kelley and James McGehee at Littler.

  • 7th Circ. Rulings Offer Employee Vaccine Exemption Guidance

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    Dawn Solowey and Samantha Brooks at Seyfarth explain how two recent Seventh Circuit rulings in Passarella v. Aspirus and Bube v. Aspirus could affect litigation involving employee vaccine exemptions, and discuss employer best practices for handling accommodation requests that include both religious and secular concerns.

  • Employers Should Not Neglect Paid Military Leave Compliance

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    An August decision from the Ninth Circuit and the settlement of a long-running class action, both examining paid leave requirements under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, are part of a nationwide trend that should prompt employers to review their military leave policies to avoid potential litigation and reputational damage, says Bradford Kelley at Littler.

  • Old Employment Law Principles Can Answer New AI Concerns

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    Despite growing legal and regulatory concerns about how artificial intelligence tools may affect employment decisions and worker rights, companies should take comfort in knowing that familiar principles of employment law and established compliance regimes can still largely address these new twists on old questions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws

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    With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • How Anti-DEI Bill Could Affect Employers' Diversity Efforts

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    Sen. J.D. Vance's recently introduced Dismantle DEI Act would substantially limit employers’ ability to implement and promote workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, but there are still steps employers can take to support a diverse workforce, says Peter Ennis at Cozen O’Connor.

  • US Labor And Employment Law Holds Some Harsh Trade-Offs

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    U.S. labor and employment laws have evolved into a product of exposure-capping compromise, which merits discussion in a presidential election year when the dialogue has focused on purported protections of middle-class workers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.