On June 3, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit granted a preliminary injunction prohibiting a venture capital fund from awarding grants based on race and gender. In reversal of the district court, the...more
Over the last two years, starting even before the Supreme Court’s decision regarding affirmative action in June 2023, there has been a noticeable uptick in bills introduced in state legislatures restricting inclusion, equity,...more
4/26/2024
/ Affirmative Action ,
Bias ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employee Training ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Private Right of Action ,
State Funding ,
State Legislatures
On April 17, 2024, the Supreme Court decided that employees do not need to suffer “significant” harm to state a claim of discrimination under Title VII. In so ruling, the Court rejected a level of proof as to harm that many...more
On December 6, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard arguments in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Missouri—a potentially pivotal case concerning whether Title VII requires plaintiffs to establish a...more
12/13/2023
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Muldrow v City of St Louis ,
SCOTUS ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Title VII
On October 8, 2023, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 54 (SB 54), Fair Investment Practices by Investment Advisers, which requires venture capital firms to collect and report data on the demographic...more
On October 7, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed proposed bill SB 403, which, as previously discussed, sought to ban discrimination based on caste under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Unruh Civil Rights Act, and...more
On August 24, 2023, over a year after Florida’s Individual Freedom Act (IFA) (commonly referred to as the “Stop-W.O.K.E.” law) went into effect, and about one year after a Florida federal court partially enjoined the new law,...more
8/29/2023
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Bias ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employee Training ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
First Amendment ,
Florida ,
Freedom of Expression ,
New Legislation ,
Race Discrimination ,
State Labor Laws ,
Stop Woke Act
On July 5, 2023, the California Senate voted 34-1 in favor of clarifying existing law by defining “ancestry” to include “caste” as protected within the state’s anti-discrimination statutes....more
On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admissions practices at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina, which are generally similar to how numerous other higher education...more
7/3/2023
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity ,
Educational Institutions ,
Equal Protection ,
Fourteenth Amendment ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI ,
Title VII
Executive Summary -
Widespread economic uncertainty. Evolving workforce expectations. Accelerating use of artificial intelligence (AI). A shifting patchwork of local, state and federal regulations.
Numerous headwinds...more
5/10/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Leave of Absence ,
Public Health Emergency ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
State Labor Laws ,
Telecommuting ,
Wage and Hour
On February 21, 2023, the City of Seattle, Washington became the first U.S. city – or any U.S. jurisdiction for that matter – to add caste to its list of categories protected against discrimination. As described below, this...more
In the past few years, the global trend towards prioritizing inclusion, equity, and diversity (IE&D) has inspired and challenged employers in every industry. On the one hand, there is a significant business case for IE&D...more
On October 31, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) heard oral arguments for two controversial affirmative action cases against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina (UNC). While the legal...more
11/4/2022
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
College Admissions ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Contractors ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Oral Argument ,
Race Discrimination ,
SCOTUS ,
Students ,
Students for Fair Admissions v Harvard College ,
Students for Fair Admissions v University of North Carolina ,
Title VI
Employers in today’s tight job market are constantly looking for ways to recruit and maintain top talent from a diverse slate of candidates. Doing so can be tricky, however, as there are limits to which employers, recruiters,...more
Dear Littler:
I’m an HR representative at an advertising agency based in New York City. We have a question about a religiously vocal employee. Recently she has made her opinions on homosexuality known to her entire...more
On April 1, 2022, a Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled that California Assembly Bill 979—a bill designed to increase diversity and improve the persistently low number of underrepresented groups on corporate...more
4/20/2022
/ Board of Directors ,
California ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Equal Protection ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
State Constitutions
Over the past year, employers have had to grapple with seismic social, cultural, and political developments impacting profoundly how they do business. From a worldwide pandemic severely affecting global communities, markets...more
In the midst of national conversations surrounding racial equity and social justice, Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB 979 into law on September 30, 2020. AB 979 is a first-of-its-kind legislation requiring that no later than...more
10/1/2020
/ Board of Directors ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Corporate Governance ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Foreign Corporations ,
Gender Equity ,
Governor Newsom ,
Minorities ,
New Legislation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Race Discrimination ,
Sex Discrimination ,
State and Local Government ,
Woman Board Members
For the past several decades, West Virginia has not fared particularly well when employers were faced with tough decisions regarding whether to close or open new facilities in the state. One of the factors that undoubtedly...more
6/10/2015
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Business Development ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Prevailing Wages ,
Public Improvement Projects ,
Punitive Damages ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Revised Uniform Arbitration Act ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wrongful Termination