On August 8, 2025, in Bivens v. Zep, Inc., the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that employer liability for nonemployee harassment requires proof of the employer’s intent, a departure from the...more
On July 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), through the Attorney General (AG), issued new guidance directed to all federal agencies, and applicable to federal fund recipients, that diversity, equity, and inclusion...more
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas recently issued a ruling vacating the “gender-identity related portions” of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) 2024 Guidance interpreting Title...more
6/9/2025
/ Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Gender Identity ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Texas ,
Title VII
Real World Impact: The United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in a sex discrimination case as it sided with a straight woman on the standard to be used in pleading disparate treatment on the basis of her...more
On April 23, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy, which follows a string of prior EOs aimed at removing DEI programs, which we covered here and here....more
4/25/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Disparate Impact ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Review ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Title VII ,
Trump Administration
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday issued a joint press release announcing new “technical assistance documents” identifying specific Diversity, Equity and...more
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
3/20/2025
/ Affirmative Action ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Compliance ,
Discrimination ,
Diversity ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
Law Practice Management ,
Title VII
On March 14, 2025, a three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, issued an order granting the Trump Administration’s motion to stay enforcement of the District Court’s nationwide preliminary injunction on two...more
On February 21, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland issued a nationwide preliminary injunction halting the enforcement of three key provisions of President Trump’s Executive Orders intended to...more
2/26/2025
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Due Process ,
Educational Institutions ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Executive Orders ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
First Amendment ,
Free Speech ,
Government Agencies ,
Preliminary Injunctions ,
Trump Administration
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
Within days of his second inauguration, President Trump issued a number of Executive Orders. While the impact of his Executive Orders will be seen with time, many employers may be left wondering how the Executive Orders...more