Reversing decades of precedent that limited the scope of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, on Aug. 18, 2023, the Fifth Circuit en banc ruled in Hamilton v. Dallas County that “a plaintiff plausibly alleges a disparate-treatment claim under Title VII if she pleads discrimination in hiring, firing, compensation, or the ‘terms, conditions, or
What do a gay child-welfare advocate from Georgia, a transgender funeral home employee from Michigan, and a gay skydiving instructor from New York have in common? According to the Supreme Court of the United States, they were all discriminated against in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) when
On Feb. 26, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit handed down an en banc ruling in the case of Zarda v. Altitude Express, holding in a 10-3 decision that Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Addressing a case in which a sky diving instructor was allegedly
Given the national spotlight on pay equity, in 2016 there was a radical change in the equal pay legal landscape, as federal administrative agencies and states implemented laws and regulations to improve and enforce pay equity for individuals in protected classes (i.e., sex, race, ethnicity, gender identity, color, religion, national origin, and sexual
On June 14, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued the final rule updating the Office of Federal Contractor Compliance Program’s regulations prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex. The updated regulations prohibit federal contractors with contracts or subcontracts totaling $10,000 or more within a 12-month period (absent other exemptions) from discriminating against employees with
In certain organizations, particularly non-profit organizations, volunteers perform services for the organization. In a recent case in the Northern District of Illinois (Volling v. Antioch Rescue Squad, 1:11-cv-04920 (N.D.Ill. Dec. 4, 2012)), the court was faced with the question of whether members of a volunteer rescue squad could sue the relevant service organizations
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued its Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which goes some distance in creating potential liability for discrimination by employers for their carte blanche use of criminal record exclusions.
Continue Reading Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions: EEOC Issues Enforcement Guidance and Best Practices
In Rodgers v. White (No. 10-3916), decided on September 2nd, the Seventh Circuit reached the unusual result of allowing a plaintiff to use his supervisor as a comparator in a comparative discipline case alleging race discrimination. The result is important because the Seventh Circuit had previously indicated in several cases that supervisors are typically poor
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Recently, it seems, class action lawsuits against employers are getting bigger. Firms that in representing plaintiffs are targeting companies with class action litigations, in particular lawsuits alleging gender discrimination. These lawsuits allege gender discrimination against a few women combined with evidence designed to show a pattern of discrimination against women throughout the company to create
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that an employer may be held liable for retaliating against an employee who did not engage in any protected activity, but who has a close relationship with another employee who did engage in protected activity.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Finds that Employee Who Did Not Engage in Protected Activity Under Title VII is Still Protected by Title VII’s Anti-Retaliation Prohibition