On August 15, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit overturned a federal district court’s decision to block the enforcement of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) against the State of Texas....more
8/21/2025
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Final Rules ,
Injunctions ,
New Legislation ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act ,
Quorum ,
Reasonable Accommodation
On August 18, 2023, in Hamilton v. Dallas County, the full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upended a longstanding precedent, significantly broadening the types of adverse employment actions that could give rise to an...more
8/23/2023
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Commission on Human Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
En Banc Review ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Precedential Opinion ,
Public Employees ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Terms and Conditions ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
Fifth Circuit precedent recognizes the “general consensus among courts” that regular, in-person work is an essential function of most jobs. Yet the continued viability of this premise has been in question, given the ability...more
7/12/2023
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appellate Courts ,
Commute Time ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Essential Functions ,
Genuine Issue of Material Fact ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Reversal ,
Split of Authority ,
Summary Judgment ,
Telecommuting ,
USPS
On August 26, 2022, Chief U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann for the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania dismissed a putative class action representing approximately 100 healthcare...more
9/2/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Religious Discrimination ,
Vaccinations ,
Virus Testing ,
Workplace Safety
In the first ruling from a federal appellate court examining COVID-19–related layoffs and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held in Easom v. US Well Services,...more
On March 24, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed a district court’s Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) dismissal for failure to state a claim on a pro se plaintiff’s hostile work environment...more
6/22/2022
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Failure To State A Claim ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Hostile Environment ,
Race Discrimination ,
Reversal ,
Slurs
On May 13, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of an employer, finding that a fired employee had failed to create a genuine dispute of material fact as to pretext. In Owens...more
6/15/2022
/ Appeals ,
Employee Evaluations ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Internal Investigations ,
National Origin Discrimination ,
Performance Improvement Plans ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retaliation ,
Termination ,
Title VII
Arbitration agreements are intended to expedite the legal process while minimizing fees and costs. In reality, former employees and their counsel often resist submitting their employment claims to arbitration, resulting in...more
7/2/2021
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Discovery ,
Discrimination ,
E-Signatures ,
Electronically Stored Information ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforceability ,
Mandamus Petitions ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Motion to Compel ,
Retaliation ,
TX Supreme Court
In Tarrant County College District v. Sims, No. 05-20-00351 (March 10, 2021), the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas held that “claim[s] of discrimination based on sexual orientation may be brought under the...more
As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes more readily available, employers are considering mandatory vaccination for their employees and in particular, how to respond to employee requests for accommodation, whether on the basis of...more
1/28/2021
/ Appeals ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Commission on Human Rights ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Insubordination Policy ,
Religious Accommodation ,
Termination ,
Vaccinations