News & Analysis as of

Employment Discrimination Employer Liability Issues Civil Rights Act

Vedder Price

Sixth Circuit Splits with EEOC and Other Circuits as to Employer Liability for Harassment by Non-Employees Under Title VII

Vedder Price on

In Bivens v. Zep, Inc., No. 24-2109 (6th Cir. Aug. 8, 2025), the Sixth Circuit split with the EEOC and most U.S. Courts of Appeals as to when an employer may be liable under Title VII for harassment by a non-agent (e.g.,...more

Dickinson Wright

Sixth Circuit Raises Bar for Employer Liability for Customer Harassment of Employees

Dickinson Wright on

In Bivens v. ZEP, Inc., the Sixth Circuit held that an employer is not liable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (Title VII), for harassment by a customer unless the employer intended the harassment...more

Fisher Phillips

Another Employer Faces AI Hiring Bias Lawsuit: 10 Actions You Can Take to Prevent AI Litigation

Fisher Phillips on

An unsuccessful job applicant is suing Sirius XM Radio in federal court, claiming the company’s AI-powered hiring tool discriminated against him based on his race. Filed on August 4 in the Eastern District of Michigan, the...more

Jaburg Wilk

When Is a Company Your Employer? Understanding the Integrated Enterprise Doctrine Under Title VII

Jaburg Wilk on

Filing a charge of employment discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) can be confusing when determining who the employer is. That’s especially true in a complex corporate environment, where...more

Benesch

Sixth Circuit Raises Standard for Employer Liability in Customer Harassment Cases

Benesch on

When is an employer liable for the harassment of an employee by a non-employee? The Sixth Circuit answered this question on Friday in Bivens v. Zep, Inc., holding that Title VII imposes liability for customer (or other...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Clarifying Standards for “Reverse” Discrimination, Coupled with Other Recent Changes (see Muldrow), could have Real Implications...

Did the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Serv., 145 S.Ct. 1540 (2025), decided in June of this year, make it easier for employees to bring discrimination lawsuits against their employers? The...more

Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

What Employers Need to Know After Supreme Court’s Reverse Discrimination Decision

On June 5, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, 145 S. Ct. 1540 (2025), making clear that an employee-plaintiff who is a member of a majority group cannot be held...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

DOJ Releases DEI Guidance

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

Attorney General Pam Bondi issued guidance dated July 29, 2025, to all federal agencies and recipients of federal funding, reiterating the Trump Administration’s January directive that all programs, policies, and activities —...more

Conn Maciel Carey LLP

Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services: What the Supreme Court’s Unanimous Ruling Means for Employers and DEI Policies

Conn Maciel Carey LLP on

Reshaping the litigation landscape for workplace discrimination claims, last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Ames v. Ohio Dept. of Youth Servs., 145 S. Ct. 1540 (June 5, 2025), that plaintiffs bringing so-called...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Reverse Discrimination Lawsuits Are So Back

Ballard Spahr LLP on

On June 5, 2025, a unanimous Supreme Court eliminated the requirement for a higher evidentiary standard for majority plaintiffs (white, male, heterosexual, etc.) who claim discrimination under Title VII (also known as reverse...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Water Cooler Talk: ‘Late Night’ Shows DEI Is More Than Optics

Troutman Pepper Locke on

The 2019 film “Late Night,” written by and starring Mindy Kaling, tells the story of a late-night talk show host, Katherine Newbury, played by Emma Thompson, whose all-male, all-white writing staff scrambles to add a female...more

Berkshire

Private Plaintiff Attorneys Step Up in Title VII Disparate Impact Cases

Berkshire on

After the White House announced that it would “deprioritize” disparate impact cases, many employers may have mistakenly concluded that disparate impact liability was no longer a concern under Title VII. However, recent...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Supreme Court Strikes Down Sixth Circuit Rule Heightening Discrimination Standard for Members of Majority Groups

Troutman Pepper Locke on

A recent Supreme Court decision clarified that discrimination claims brought by members of majority groups in so-called “reverse discrimination” cases cannot be subject to a heightened evidentiary burden. In Ames v. Ohio...more

Venable LLP

The Supreme Court Says Employers Can Be Liable for Discriminating Against Majority Groups

Venable LLP on

Earlier this month, in a long-awaited ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with a straight white woman who claimed to have lost out on two positions to LGBT candidates and was also demoted in favor of them. ...more

Quarles & Brady LLP

Supreme Court Clarifies Standard for Reverse Discrimination Suits Under Title VII

Quarles & Brady LLP on

In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the Supreme Court last Thursday held that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) imposes no additional requirements on majority-group...more

Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani

SCOTUS Unanimously Rejects Heightened Burden for Majority-Group Discrimination Claims

On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of petitioner, Marlean Ames, a heterosexual woman, who commenced a reverse discrimination case against her former employer, the Ohio Department of Youth...more

Husch Blackwell LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Unanimously Rejects Heightened Standard for "Reverse Discrimination" Claims

Husch Blackwell LLP on

On June 5, 2025, in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected the “background circumstances” test previously applied by several federal circuits in “reverse discrimination” cases....more

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

DOJ Civil Rights Fraud Initiative Signals Expansive Enforcement Threat for Employers Receiving Federal Funds

On May 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) launched its Civil Rights Fraud Initiative. This is a coordinated enforcement effort aimed at using the False Claims Act (FCA) to investigate and, where appropriate,...more

Venable LLP

New Trump Executive Order Dismantles Disparate Impact Liability

Venable LLP on

On April 23, President Trump issued an executive order, "Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy" (EO), intending to abolish a longstanding liability theory for workplace discrimination claims. Emphasizing the need...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

PIP This: The Expansion of Actionable Adverse Employment Decisions in the Wake of Muldrow v. City of St. Louis

Over the course of the last year, employers have faced increased claims from employees testing what constitutes an actionable adverse action under the anti-discrimination provision of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964...more

Hinckley Allen

Trump’s Latest Executive Order Addressing Discrimination Claims: What Does This Mean for Disparate Impact Liability?

Hinckley Allen on

On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued his executive order, Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy (“EO”).  The EO’s stated purpose is “to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the...more

Lathrop GPM

Federal Agencies Issue Guidance Identifying DEI Policies and Practices That May Be Unlawful

Lathrop GPM on

Last month, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) issued guidance that aims to educate the public about conduct and programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Navigating DEI in a Shifting Legal Landscape

Troutman Pepper Locke on

Workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs face more scrutiny than ever in light of President Trump’s recent executive orders regarding DEI policies and programs across the public and private sectors, recent...more

McGlinchey Stafford

Podcast: Sexual Misconduct and Safer Seas: What Merchant Mariners Need to Know [More with McGlinchey, Ep. 78]

McGlinchey Stafford on

In this installment of the More with McGlinchey Podcast, labor and employment attorney Susan Desmond and maritime attorney Marcelle Mouledoux discuss the Safer Seas Act and Title VII requirements for the marine industry. They...more

Fisher Phillips

AI Screening Systems Face Fresh Scrutiny: 6 Key Takeaways From Claims Filed Against Hiring Technology Company

Fisher Phillips on

A Deaf, Indigenous woman claims an employer’s use of a popular automated video interview platform unfairly blocked her promotion due to AI-driven biases related to her disability and race. The ACLU filed charges on March 19...more

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