News & Analysis as of

Retaliation Appeals Title VII

Poyner Spruill LLP

Why Comparator Analysis Matters: A Key Fourth Circuit Ruling

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Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 generally prohibits covered employers from taking adverse actions against employees on the basis of race, sex, and other protected categories. Employee discipline is often the subject...more

Harris Beach Murtha PLLC

How Courts are Applying the “Some Harm” Standard Since Muldrow

More than a year has passed since the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in its April 2024 decision in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Missouri, 601 U.S. 346, 144 S. Ct. 967, 218 L. Ed. 2d 322 (2024) that employees need only...more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb – May Employment Appellate Roundup

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Fourth Circuit Dismisses White Employee’s Race, Gender, and Retaliation Claims - Barnhill v. Pamela Bondi, __ F.4th __ (4th Cir. May 15, 2025) involved claims by a white Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration...more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb – April Employment Appellate Roundup - May 2025

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Fifth Circuit Affirms Judgment for Employer on Title IX and Title VII Retaliation Claims - In Lewis v. Board of Supervisors of LSU, __ F.4th __ (5th Cir. Apr. 8, 2025), a former employee of a university football department...more

Perkins Coie

Employers See Wins in Title VII Suits Over DEI Trainings

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Key Takeaways - - Employers have recently prevailed in several cases across the country in which plaintiffs attacked diversity training and other DEI-related initiatives in the workplace. Decisions have indicated that many...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

Third Circuit Finds “Modicum” of Control Insufficient to Create Employment Relationship

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In order to state a claim for discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), a plaintiff must first demonstrate that he or she had an employment relationship with the defendant.  Although various...more

Holland & Hart - Employers' Lawyers

A Shoddy Investigation Is Not Retaliatory

When an employee complains of discrimination or harassment, companies often investigate the matter. Doing so allows a company to address alleged improper behavior and it may allow the company to avoid potential liability –...more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb – March 2025 Employment Appellate Roundup

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Fourth Circuit Stays Injunction Barring Enforcement of DEI Executive Orders On March 14, 2025, the Fourth Circuit issued an order in National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education v. Donald Trump, No. 25-1189...more

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Another Arbitration Agreement Bites the Dust!

The California Court of Appeal dealt another blow to arbitration, just months after we reported the last such decision here. This time, the Court ruled that the federal Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and...more

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

Tenth Circuit Clarifies When the Door for Individual Liability Under the FMLA Is Opened

On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in Walkingstick Dixon v. Oklahoma Regional University System Board of Regents that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) permits actions against...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Get with the Pronoun: Eleventh Circuit Rules Pervasive Misgendering Is Harassment

If an employer or coworker persistently uses a transgender worker’s wrong name or identified pronoun, can that constitute a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII? In Copeland v. Georgia Department of Corrections,...more

Proskauer Rose LLP

Broadway Ruling Puts Discrimination Claims In The Limelight

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Does the First Amendment right to free speech permit an employer to hire or fire an employee based on race? On its face, the proposition may seem absurd, especially as we approach the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act...more

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

Eleventh Circuit Finds That Postal Worker’s Failure to Amend EEOC Charge Spells End to Discrimination Suit

​​​​​​​On October 3, 2022, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held in Ellison v. Postmaster General, United States Postal Service that a plaintiff bringing a claim for retaliation failed to exhaust...more

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

Fifth Circuit Relied on ‘Next to No Evidence’ of Animus in Discrimination Suit

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

Smith Debnam Narron Drake Saintsing & Myers,...

Multiple Avenues Exist for Proving Same-Sex Harassment Claims

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, which presides over federal district courts in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, recently joined several other circuit courts in determining that plaintiffs who allege same-sex...more

Miller Canfield

6th Circuit Clarifies Opposition Clause of Title VII - Performance of Regular Job Duties as Protected Activity

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Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibits retaliation against employees because they either oppose discriminatory actions (the "Opposition Clause") or because of their participation in an investigation, proceeding, or...more

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

Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals: Texas Law Prohibits Sexual Orientation Discrimination

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

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

Texas Discrimination Laws Protect Intention to Become Pregnant, State Court Rules

The Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA) prohibits discrimination in employment based on sex. The state law defines “sex discrimination” to include “discrimination because of or on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth,...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fourth Circuit Says Law Firm Equity Partner Is Not an Employee for Title VII Purposes

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects employees from discrimination based on a range of protected classifications. However, Title VII only applies to employment relationships and cannot be used by contractors,...more

ArentFox Schiff

Investigations Newsletter: First Circuit Upholds Whistleblower Retaliation Verdict (hold for Monet)

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False Claims Act Legal Developments - First Circuit Upholds Whistleblower Retaliation Verdict - On December 9, 2020, the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held as a matter of first impression that “the...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fifth Circuit Says Third Party Cannot Sue for Retaliation Under Title VII

In its 2011 North American Stainless decision, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed that an engaged man could sue for retaliation under Title VII after he was fired around the time his fiancée filed a discrimination claim against...more

Hinshaw & Culbertson - Employment Law...

Eleventh Circuit Rejects Retaliation Claim Because HR Manager's Conduct was "Unreasonable" and Not Protected Under Title VII

In Gogel v. Kia Motors Mfg. of Ga., the Eleventh Circuit examined Title VII's opposition clause and the extent to which "oppositional conduct" can be considered so unreasonable that it loses Title VII protection. In this...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

5th Circuit Says No, Employer Not Liable for Religious Discrimination, Retaliation, or First Amendment Violations in Employee...

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Seyfarth Synopsis: Vaccinations have been widely debated over the past few years, leaving employers unclear about their obligations to accommodate employees whose religious beliefs conflict with them. Recently the U.S. Court...more

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

Eleventh Circuit Holds Alleged ‘Unsavory and Unpleasant’ Behavior Not Legally ‘Pervasive’ for Purposes of Title VII Harassment...

In Allen v. Ambu-Stat, LLC, No. 18-10640 (January 16, 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed a Georgia district court’s dismissal of a former employee’s sexual harassment claim and delivered a...more

ArentFox Schiff

Second Circuit Holds Evidence of Equal Work for Unequal Pay Not Required for Title VII Compensation Claims

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The Second Circuit has held that employees who allege they were underpaid on the basis of their sex, in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, are not required to first establish an Equal Pay Act claim but rather...more

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