News & Analysis as of

Equal Protection › Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

The Equal Protection Clause is a section of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution that provides that "no state shall...deny to any citizen within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the... more +
The Equal Protection Clause is a section of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution that provides that "no state shall...deny to any citizen within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Essentially, the Equal Protection Clause provides that the government must treat an individual the same way that it treats other individuals in the same circumstances. The 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause applies only to state governments, but the requirements of the clause apply to the federal government through the Due Process Clause of the 5th Amendment. less -
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

New DOJ Guidance Identifies Unlawful DEI Practices That Could Result in Revocation of Federal Funding

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

On July 29, 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released new guidance to all federal agencies clarifying what types of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices and policies would be considered illegal...more

Polsinelli

Supreme Court Rejects Heightened Evidentiary Requirement for Majority Groups in Title VII Cases

Polsinelli on

What You Need to Know: Equal Protection Under Title VII: On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Title VII’s protections apply equally to all individuals, regardless of whether they are in a...more

Ballard Spahr LLP

Texas Judge Strikes EEOC Guidance Protecting Transgender Employees

Ballard Spahr LLP on

A federal judge in Texas issued a decision on May 15, 2025, striking down portions of the EEOC’s Enforcement Guidance on protections against employment discrimination based on gender identity and/or sexual orientation....more

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

New Executive Order Seeks to Eliminate Disparate-Impact Liability

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP on

On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) titled Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.  This EO seeks to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in various contexts, arguing that...more

Frantz Ward LLP

Trump Attempts to Eliminate Disparate Impact Theory via Recent Executive Order

Frantz Ward LLP on

The disparate impact theory has long been used to argue that an employer’s facially neutral policy has a detrimental effect on a protected class of individuals. An often cited example is the use of an arrest to reject an...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

New Executive Order Directs Federal Agencies to Deprioritize Disparate Impact: What Employers Need to Know Now

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order entitled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy.” The Order declares a sweeping new federal policy: “It is the policy of the United States to eliminate...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

Ballard Spahr LLP

Federal Court Refuses to Lift Preliminary Injunction Blocking DEI Executive Orders, While EEOC, USDOE, and State AGs Address DEI...

Ballard Spahr LLP on

Last week brought further developments related to the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail what it views as illegal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives....more

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

Supreme Court of the United States Poised to Clarify Standard in Discrimination Claims

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease 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 could alter the legal landscape for employment discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil...more

Whiteford

Employment Law Update: Supreme Court Hears Argument on Reverse Discrimination Claim with Implications for DEI

Whiteford on

Just as employers are reconsidering their approach to DEI and the myriad of potential risks such policies could present under current administration enforcement priorities, the Supreme Court recently heard arguments in a case...more

Berkshire

Trump Administration Sued A Second Time Over DEI-Related Executive Orders

Berkshire on

The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) and Lambda Legal has filed a federal lawsuit in the District of Columbia alleging that several of President Trump’s executive orders regarding “DEI” violate the Free Speech and Equal Protection...more

Whiteford

Employment Law Update: What Employers and Educational Institutions Need to Know about the Attorney General’s February 5th Memo on...

Whiteford on

On February 5, 2025, the U.S. Attorney General (“AG”) Pam Bondi issued a memorandum to all Justice Department employees titled “Ending Illegal DEI and DEIA Discrimination and Preferences,” outlining the Department of...more

Allen Matkins

Does Chicago's Municipal Code Make Everyone A Minority?

Allen Matkins on

Recent posts have discussed a registration statement filed Bally's Chicago, Inc. for an offering that would impose a stockholder qualification based on race, gender and ethnic status.  This qualification requirement is...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

Attorney General Issues Memo Stating that Illegal DEI and DEIA Programs in Private Sector Will Be Prosecuted

CDF Labor Law LLP on

The day after her nomination was confirmed last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a memorandum to all Department of Justice employees on Wednesday, February 5th, stating that the USDOJ’s Civil Rights Division will begin...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

What to Know About the War Being Waged Against DEI

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on

Can you still have DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs? How about affirmative action plans? The Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard garnered national attention in holding...more

Paul Hastings LLP

The Defending Women Executive Order Presents Potential Clash Between Federal and State Antidiscrimination Law

Paul Hastings LLP on

On January 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” (Defending Women EO). The Defending Women...more

Latham & Watkins LLP

Key Insights on Executive Order Directing Scrutiny of Private-Sector DEI Efforts

Latham & Watkins LLP on

On January 21, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the Order) directing federal agencies to enforce federal civil rights laws to...more

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP

The Trump Transformation – Major Shifts in EEOC and Employment Law

Kelley Drye & Warren LLP on

Less than 24 hours after assuming the presidency, Donald Trump announced significant changes in the leadership and focus of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”), as well as other policy changes which will...more

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP

2024 Employment Year-End Roundup

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP on

INTRODUCTION - The year 2024 brought significant developments to a wide range of employment law areas, from anti-discrimination and retaliation law to labor issues. Federal courts across the country expanded the rights of...more

Rumberger | Kirk

Should Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Policies Vanish After Landmark Supreme Court Ruling?

Rumberger | Kirk on

Last June, the United States Supreme Court held in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President & Fellows of Harvard Coll that affirmative action policies at universities violate the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Religious Institutions Update: January 2024

Holland & Knight LLP on

Failure to Extend Extracurricular Opportunities to Parochial School Students Violates Free Exercise In Religious Rights Foundation of Pa. v. State College Area Sch. Dist., No. 23-CV-01144, 2023 WL 8359957 (M.D. Pa. Dec. 1,...more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Caution Advised: Use of DEI Performance Goals in Incentive Compensation

Foley & Lardner LLP on

Recent court decisions have ruled that certain race-based college admissions programs violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. While these decisions do not apply directly to...more

Rumberger | Kirk

How HR Can Navigate The Post-Affirmative Action Landscape

Rumberger | Kirk on

From campus to corporate - Highlights: The Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling may influence workplace diversity efforts significantly. Title VII implications from the Equal Protection Clause interpretation...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Corporate DEI Policies Face Scrutiny Following SCOTUS Affirmative Action Decision

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP on

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-based affirmative action in higher education in June 2023, effectively foreclosing the consideration of race in and of itself in that context. Although the Court’s decision was...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Implications of U.S. Supreme Court Decision Overturning Affirmative Action Precedent in Higher Education

Proskauer Rose LLP on

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College that race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard College and the University of North Carolina...more

45 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 2
Next »

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
Sign up Log in
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide