Discrimination, Diversity

The inexorable zero. The assault on workplace DEI. And four tips for avoiding the attack.

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 10/2/2024

Inexorable. Something that cannot be moved, stopped, persuaded, or altered. In Title VII parlance, the "inexorable zero" is the complete absence of a protected group from a workforce or job classification. When accompanied...more

Diversity Matters Newsletter Summer 2024 Edition

Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires &... on 8/29/2024

“Nothing worth having comes easy.” -President Theodore Roosevelt Working towards real diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace should not be easy. In fact, it should be an uncomfortable, arduous journey where...more

The man who said "no" to DEI training, and four lessons for employers

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP on 7/12/2024

Employer's DEI mandate scores a win. A white guy refused to take his employer's mandatory "unconscious bias" training, and he was fired. He sued the employer for retaliation, his lawsuit was dismissed, and this week an...more

Implicit Bias – Awareness and Accountability

Baker Donelson on 6/27/2024

Senior Counsel Randy Patterson of the Firm's Knoxville office recently wrote an insightful article that was published in the April 2024, Volume 52, Issue 4 edition of DICTA magazine through the Knoxville Bar Association....more

History and Future of the Nation's First Ban on Gender-Affirming Care

Baker Donelson on 6/17/2024

Across the United States, there is a trend of state legislatures passing laws that restrict, or even outright prohibit, transgender minors from access to gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy,...more

Reliable Expectations May 2024 - Diversity in Fund Finance Boundary Breaker Speaker Series with Henry Tang

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP on 5/31/2024

The US Diversity in Fund Finance Committee of the Fund Finance Association held the latest event in their Boundary Breaker speaker series this week. The event, co-sponsored by Haynes Boone and Standard Chartered, was a great...more

Are Changes Coming to EDGE in Ohio?

Frantz Ward LLP on 5/10/2024

On June 29, 2023, the United States Supreme Court issued its historic decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, 600 U.S. 181 (2023). This decision upended decades of precedent and held that race-conscious...more

Littler Lightbulb: March Appellate Roundup

Littler on 4/5/2024

This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments at the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal in the last month....more

DEI Initiatives in Reverse Discrimination Claims: Circuit Courts Weigh-In

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP on 4/3/2024

A federal appeals court has affirmed a jury verdict awarding nearly $4 million in lost wages, benefits, and interest to a white male employee who based reverse discrimination allegations in part on circumstantial evidence...more

Navigating AI in the Workplace and Recruitment

Mayer Brown on 3/22/2024

In recent years, we have seen an increase in employers using artificial intelligence (AI) in the workplace, whether to assist with decision-making and staff management across the life-cycle of the employment relationship or...more

Eleventh Circuit Rules Mandatory Meeting Prohibition of Florida's "Stop W.O.K.E. Act" Restricting Workplace Diversity Training is...

Hinshaw & Culbertson - Employment Law... on 3/20/2024

Earlier this month, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed the district court's preliminary order blocking enforcement of the Individual Freedom Act's provision banning mandatory workplace trainings endorsing certain viewpoints. The...more

Probing in Procurement – Recent Decisions May Prompt Review of Supplier Diversity Programs

Littler on 3/15/2024

A Texas federal district court judge has decided that the Minority Business Development Agency’s (MBDA) policies that provide financial assistance to minority-owned businesses are unconstitutional. While the court’s decision...more

Federal Appeals Court Rules That Florida’s STOP W.O.K.E. Act is Unconstitutional

Husch Blackwell LLP on 3/13/2024

In a strongly worded and unanimous opinion, a panel of judges from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals determined that Florida’s STOP W.O.K.E. Act is unconstitutional. The court noted that Florida’s defense of the law’s...more

Supreme Court Declines to Review Magnet School Admissions Policy Which Targeted a More “Diverse” Student Body and Shaped Racial...

Saul Ewing LLP on 2/26/2024

On February 20, 2024, the United States Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari in Coalition for TJ v. Fairfax County School Board. Coalition for TJ involves an admissions policy at a prestigious public...more

DEI Under Scrutiny, Part I: Increased Challenges to DEI Programming Give Employers a Reason to Perform Risk Assessments

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on 12/1/2023

This article is the first part of Ogletree Deakins’ series, “DEI Under Scrutiny,” which examines the evolving employment law landscape for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the United States....more

FCA and PRA Publish Consultation on New Rules Relating to Diversity and Inclusion

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on 10/27/2023

Key Points - -Following a joint Discussion Paper in 2021 issued by the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the UK Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), both regulators have now issued Consultation Papers proposing new...more

Diversity Driven Derivative Suits: Culture Wars Come to the Boardroom

DarrowEverett LLP on 9/26/2023

Traditionally deployed to protect a corporation from its board’s imprudent investment or financial decision-making, in recent years shareholders have taken to bringing derivative actions on a corporation’s behalf for its...more

Achieving Diversity in Clinical Trials - Expanding Hospital Capacity to Offer Clinical Trials in the Community

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP on 9/11/2023

Executive Summary - The inclusion of racial and ethnic groups in clinical trials has been a national priority for decades, but progress toward that end has been limited. When the Covid-19 pandemic threw into stark relief...more

Venture Capital Fund Sued on Allegations of Discrimination in Grantmaking

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP on 8/24/2023

Following the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College regarding the consideration of race in undergraduate admissions, a new lawsuit has been filed...more

What do recent lawsuits in the wake of Supreme Court decisions on Affirmative Action mean for your disclosures and DEI programs?

BCLP on 8/16/2023

A flurry of recent lawsuits in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June decision on affirmative action have further muddied the waters for public companies trying to thread their way through competing interests....more

Out Leadership Ranks States for LGBTQ+ Equality and Inclusivity

Baker Donelson on 7/14/2023

For the first time since Out Leadership began publishing its State LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index (the Index) five years ago, the nation's overall average score on LGBTQ+ equality has dropped. The net negative rating for the...more

Client Alert: The Supreme Court Strikes Down Race-Conscious Admissions Programs: Key Takeaways for Higher Education and Corporate...

Jenner & Block on 7/3/2023

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) v. President & Fellows of Harvard College and SFFA v. University of North Carolina. In a 6-3 decision[1] authored by Chief Justice...more

Discrimination › Diversity