News & Analysis as of

Race Discrimination Corporate Counsel

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Federal court dismisses one of first post-SFFA lawsuits alleging “reverse” discrimination

Spoiler alert: DEI policy wasn't enough to establish discrimination. Five journalists who were formerly employed with Gannett Co., Inc., alleged that the media company’s diversity policies resulted in “reverse”...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

California Supreme Court Affirms Single Comment Can Constitute Harassment and Addresses Standard for Retaliation

Foley & Lardner LLP on

In a July 29, 2024, opinion, the California Supreme Court reaffirmed that a single use of a racial epithet can be severe enough to be actionable harassment under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)....more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Federal Court Permanently Blocks Florida Restrictions on Workplace Diversity Training

On July 26, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida permanently blocked Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, which restricted the types of anti-harassment and antidiscrimination training that employers can...more

Fisher Phillips

AI Workplace Screener Faces Bias Lawsuit: 5 Lessons for Employers and 5 Lessons for AI Developers

Fisher Phillips on

A California federal court just allowed a frustrated job applicant to proceed with an employment discrimination lawsuit against an AI-based vendor after more than 100 employers that use the vendor’s screening tools rejected...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Missouri sues IBM over alleged diversity quotas

State Attorney General follows through on threat. Last summer, shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. President & Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v....more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb: May Appellate Roundup

Littler on

This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments in the federal courts of appeal in the last month. Seventh Circuit Finds EEOC Failed to Prove Racial Harassment in Multi-Employee...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

10th Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms that Mandatory Diversity Training does not Constitute Unlawful Discrimination

Husch Blackwell LLP on

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, there has been in increase in litigation challenging employers’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policies and practices. In one recent...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

White Employee Fired Amidst Corporate Diversity Initiative Wins Discrimination Claim But Loses Multi-Million Dollar Punitive...

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Plaintiff, a white man, was a strong performer in his role before he was fired and replaced by three women, two of whom were racial minorities, amid a Diversity and Inclusion initiative that included a call to restructure the...more

Littler

Foreign Language Business Meetings Not Unlawful Discrimination, Court Finds

Littler on

In a recent decision, a New York federal court rejected a former employee’s claims that permitting employees to speak only Japanese in business meetings, where individuals who do not speak Japanese are present and are without...more

PilieroMazza PLLC

Federal Judge Orders Minority Business Development Agency to Serve All Business Owners Regardless of Race

PilieroMazza PLLC on

On March 5, 2024, a federal judge ordered the Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to immediately stop considering a business owner’s race or ethnicity in determining whether an applicant may...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Claims of Hostile Work Environment Happened Over Too Long a Period, Court Rules

Last week, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected claims from a university professor that she had been subjected to a series of retaliatory acts in the two- and one-half year period following her filing an Equal...more

Littler

Eleventh Circuit: McDonnell Douglas Is Not Be-All and End-All for Title VII Discrimination Claims

Littler on

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh has spoken, and employers that once relied exclusively on McDonnell Douglas might need to rethink their litigation strategy in employment-discrimination cases. On December 12,...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

A Tale of Two Cases – DEI Programs Under Scrutiny

Last month, two courts reached different conclusions about the legality of companies’ diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) programs under Section 1981. The cases display different tactics and defenses and raise questions...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Recognizes 'Equal Opportunity Harasser' Defense

We often hear claims from employees who threaten to sue their employer for creating a “hostile work environment.” When we dig into the complaints, often the employee is alleging that their manager is mean or unfair to them,...more

Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC

Second Circuit Clarifies Federal Law on Employment Retaliation Claims

In a recent decision, the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the federal appeals court covering New York and adjacent states, sought to clarify the federal law standard for evaluating retaliation claims under the principal...more

Fisher Phillips

Labor Board Signals Continued Expansion of Employee Rights: Your Questions Answered

Fisher Phillips on

A recent Advice Memo issued by the Office of the General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) provides all employers – union and non-union alike – with yet another warning that more of your employment...more

McGuireWoods LLP

What You May Not Know about The Supreme Court’s Ruling in SFFA—Insurance Coverage Implications for All Industries

McGuireWoods LLP on

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in a pair of cases brought by Students for Fair Admissions...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

MoFo’s State + Local Government Enforcement Newsletter July 2023

Morrison Foerster’s State and Local Government Task Force is pleased to provide our bimonthly newsletter summarizing some of the most important and interesting developments from state attorneys general across the country and...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Rulings Expected Soon on Supreme Court Harvard and UNC Cases That Address Race-Conscious Policies in College Admissions

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: Companies have been following with interest the Harvard and UNC cases that address affirmative action in the context of higher education. Both cases were argued before the Supreme Court on October 31, 2022...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

$137 Million Racial Harassment Verdict Against Tesla Slashed by New Jury!

An astronomical $137 million jury verdict against Tesla has again been reduced, for a second (and potentially final) time. Last Monday, following a five-day trial on damages, a federal court jury awarded Owen Diaz, a former...more

Morrison & Foerster LLP

Are Workplace Diversity Programs in Jeopardy if the Supreme Court Ends Affirmative Action in College Admissions?

With the U.S. Supreme Court seemingly poised to end affirmative action for college admission programs, many U.S. employers are wondering whether or to what extent they can continue their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...more

Proskauer - Law and the Workplace

Applicant Files Class Action Suit Over Alleged AI Tool Discrimination in Hiring

As we have previously reported (here, here and here), there are novel risks associated with employer use of AI tools in the workplace. While such tools have caught the attention of the EEOC and state and local legislatures,...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Seventh Circuit Ruling Reminds Courts Not to Draw ‘Narrow’ Comparisons in Title VII Cases

On October 26, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit handed employers another reminder of the potential benefits of consistent management. In Dunlevy v. Langfelder, the Seventh Circuit upheld the appeal...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Racial Slur From Owner's Six-Year-Old Son is Evidence of Offensive Working Environment

​​​​​​​Over the past decade, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) has substantially lowered the bar for demonstrating racial harassment in cases where a racial...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Florida’s Stop Woke Law Is Sedated - Judge Blocks Law Limiting Workplace Bias Trainings

​​​​​​​On August 18, 2022, U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker issued a preliminary injunction blocking part of Florida’s House Bill (H.B.) 7, known as the Individual Freedom Act (IFA), which prohibits employers from requiring...more

135 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 6

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide