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Civil Rights Act Employment Discrimination Discrimination

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

EEOC and DOJ Issue Joint Press Release and Technical Assistance Documents on “Unlawful DEI-Related Discrimination”

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

On March 19, 2025, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a joint press release announcing the release of two technical assistance documents designed to...more

FordHarrison

EEOC Exerts Pressure on Law Firms to Discontinue DEI

FordHarrison on

On March 17, 2025, in an unprecedented action, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), under the direction of Acting Chair Andrea R. Lucas, issued 20 extensive letters to large, prominent law firms containing...more

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

EEOC Answers Questions About What Constitutes Illegal DEI Programs

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently released two technical assistance documents to explain what constitutes illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the workplace. ...more

Offit Kurman

EEOC Investigates 20 Private Law Firms Questioning Their DEI-Related Employment Practices

Offit Kurman on

On March 17, EEOC Acting Chair Andrea Lucas sent letters to 20 large law firms requesting information about their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) related employment practices. The letters express the EEOC’s suspicions...more

Benesch

Supreme Court Appears Poised to Do Away With Additional Burdens on Reverse-Discrimination Plaintiffs

Benesch on

On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Ames v. OH Dept. of Youth Services, which questioned whether the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals correctly decided that a heterosexual plaintiff should have...more

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

Iowa Governor Signs Law Making State the First to Remove Gender Identity Protections From Civil Rights Code

On February 28, 2025, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed legislation making the state the first to remove antidiscrimination protections for gender identity from its civil rights code....more

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

Supreme Court Expresses Skepticism Over Higher Burden in Majority Discrimination Cases

The Supreme Court of the United States recently heard oral arguments in a case to determine whether employees who are part of a majority group must meet a higher standard to prove discrimination....more

Husch Blackwell LLP

Supreme Court Poised to Strike Down Reverse Discrimination Standard

Husch Blackwell LLP on

On February 26, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, a case that challenges the heightened evidentiary burden imposed on majority-group plaintiffs in Title VII...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Moving Forward: District Court Denies Religious University’s Motion to Dismiss Transgender Ex-Employee’s Title VII Suit

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia denied Liberty University’s motion to dismiss a federal lawsuit brought by a former employee who alleges that Liberty violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Supreme Court Signals it Will Reject Heightened Burden for Majority Group Plaintiffs in “Reverse Discrimination” Employment Claims

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

On February 26, 2025, the Supreme Court and all three counsel appearing before it in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, appeared to walk away in “radical agreement” — as noted by Justice Neil Gorsuch — that a...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Where Things Stand in Response to Actions Taken by President Trump

Significant attention has been given to President Trump’s actions regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and policies, but the impact of those actions on private sector employees has not been clear. On his...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Recent Executive Orders’ Impact on the EEOC

Recent executive orders have caused the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to abandon litigation and guidance on LGBTQ+ protections and other areas that were priorities during the Biden administration....more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

EEOC backtracks on transgender, pregnancy; full speed ahead against “anti-American” bias

I reported a few weeks ago that President Trump fired two Democratic Commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (former Chair Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels). He appointed Commissioner Andrea Lucas...more

FordHarrison

Pam Bondi's Memo to DOJ on DEI: What it Means for Private Employers

FordHarrison on

On February 5, 2025, newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memo to all U.S. Department of Justice Departments targeting private employers’ use of DEI initiatives.  The memo is titled “Ending Illegal DEI and...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

US Attorney General Opens Door to Criminal Prosecution of Private-Sector DEI Efforts

Latham & Watkins LLP on

Corporations, associations, foundations, and institutions of higher education should be prepared for criminal, civil, and congressional inquiries. On February 5, 2025, newly confirmed US Attorney General Pam Bondi issued...more

Rumberger | Kirk

From Hamilton To Muldrow: Preparing HR For Title VII Claims Beyond The Firing Table

Rumberger | Kirk on

“The Hamilton decision highlights the need for employers to stay up to date on legal developments. In this one decision, the Fifth Circuit opened the door for claims that just one day earlier were not actionable. Reviewing...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Analyzing President Trump’s Latest Executive Order Titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity”

On January 21, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” This Executive Order is a major pivot in federal policy regarding affirmative action...more

Butler Snow LLP

Trump and DEI: What Does a Second Term Mean for Employers?

Butler Snow LLP on

In the flurry of executive orders issued shortly after being sworn for a second term, President Donald Trump issued two executive orders and one presidential action dismantling all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)...more

Littler

President Trump Revokes 60-Year-Old Executive Order Requiring Equal Employment Opportunity in Government Contracting

Littler on

On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order titled, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The order is targeted at what the president describes as “illegal” diversity,...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

President Trump Revokes Executive Order 11246

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC on

“Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (Order) is one of President Trump’s most recent executive orders. The Order was signed on January 21, 2025. The Order revoked Executive Order EO11246...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

New Jersey Guidance on AI: Employers Must Comply With State Anti-Discrimination Standards

On January 9, 2025, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights issued guidance stating that New Jersey’s anti-discrimination law applies to artificial intelligence. Specifically, the New...more

Ward and Smith, P.A.

The DEI Stalemate: Paying the Price for the Wrong Move

Ward and Smith, P.A. on

In a unique, interactive session that was part of the firm’s annual In-House Counsel seminar, participants evaluated potential DEI outcomes by analyzing three fictional scenarios. With elements pulled from real-life cases,...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Supreme Court to Hear Reverse Discrimination Appeal

A few months ago, we published an alert noting that the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed to hear Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services. The case addresses whether plaintiffs alleging reverse discrimination under Title VII...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

New Jersey AG Platkin Announces New Guidance on AI Use

Troutman Pepper Locke on

On January 9, New Jersey Attorney General (AG) Matthew J. Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) launched a new Civil Rights and Technology Initiative aimed at addressing the potential for discrimination and bias...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Cautions Employers on Deciding Legitimacy of Workers' Religious Beliefs

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers established internal procedures to evaluate employees' requests for religious and medical-based exemptions from vaccination mandates. ...more

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