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Summary Judgment Appeals Employment Discrimination

Proskauer - California Employment Law

Supreme Court Invalidates Heightened Evidentiary Standard For Majority-Group Plaintiffs

Ames v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth Servs., 605 U.S. ___, 145 S. Ct. 1540 (2025) - Marlean Ames, a heterosexual woman, alleged under Title VII that she had been denied a management promotion and demoted based on her sexual...more

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

Connecticut Appellate Court Upholds Employer’s Right to Require In-Office Work

The Connecticut Appellate Court recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of a law firm employer, holding that a legal assistant’s request to work entirely remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic was not a reasonable...more

McGlinchey Stafford

SCOTUS Ames Decision: Everyone’s in a “Protected Class”

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In employment law, we traditionally think of discrimination as applying to minority groups: African Americans, women, homosexuals, or other legally protected groups. In analyzing discrimination claims, one of the first...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Justice Thomas continues to ask litigants to challenge McDonnell Douglas standard

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court majority declined to review a decision affirming summary judgment for an employer in a discrimination case. Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, dissented, noting that he...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Supreme Court Rejects Heightened Prima Facie “Background Circumstances” Test for Majority Group Plaintiffs

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In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court vacated the dismissal of a heterosexual woman’s Title VII claims, concluding that she was improperly subjected to a heightened prima facie standard that required her to show...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

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 - Law and the Workplace

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Argument in Reverse Sex Discrimination Case

On February 26, 2025, the United States Supreme Court entertained oral argument in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, a case that centered on whether a plaintiff who is a member of a majority group must meet a higher...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

Tenth Circuit Decision Highlights Importance of Fitness For Duty Assessments Under ADA

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The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) places certain limitations on an employer’s ability to ask questions regarding an employee’s medical conditions. One important exception concerns “fitness for duty assessments.” Once...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

A sneak peek at what a religious accommodation trial might look like for a guy who can't work Sundays

After the case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, on January 30 a federal district court denied dueling motions for summary judgment filed by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, the U.S. Postal Service, and former Postal...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Tenth Circuit Weighs in on Reductions in Force: Takeaways for Employers

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The Tenth Circuit affirmed summary judgment in favor of Spirit AeroSystems in a discrimination case related to a 2013 reduction-in-force (RIF). The plaintiffs had alleged that the company targeted older workers in a...more

ArentFox Schiff

Wawrzenski v. United Airlines, Inc.: Key Takeaways for Employers Navigating Workplace Policies

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Employers wanting to create a more equitable and legally compliant workplace while also reducing their risk of litigation may want to pay particular attention to the California Court of Appeal’s recent decision in Wawrzenski....more

Genova Burns LLC

Patience is a Virtue: NJ Appellate Division Affirms Settlement of Discipline Bars Recovery Under the NJLAD

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On May 1, 2023, in Onukogu v. New Jersey State Judiciary, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s grant of summary judgement in favor of the employer, affirming the dismissal of the...more

Littler

New Opinion Allowing Plaintiff to Present His Class Action Willful FCRA Claims to a Jury Reinforces Need to Remain Vigilant About...

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The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that governs employment-related background checks.  Most lawsuits asserting federal claims proceed in federal court. The FCRA is atypical in that FCRA claims can proceed...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Ninth Circuit Agrees That Paramour Preference Does Not Violate Title VII

In a new opinion from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Maner v. Dignity Health, the plaintiff was a male design engineer who was laid off due to performance and budget cut issues. He alleged that he had been discriminated...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

Genova Burns LLC

NJ Appellate Narrows the Road in Auto Dealership’s Sexual Harassment Case

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On May 18, 2021, in McBride v. Atlantic Chrysler Jeep, the New Jersey Appellate Division revived a Sales Consultant’s hostile work environment case against a car dealership after the Law Division previously dismissed it in...more

McAfee & Taft

Court applies Bostock’s “because of… sex” ruling to Title IX case

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This past June, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County expanded the protections of Title VII, which prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee or applicant “because of … sex,” to...more

Robins Kaplan LLP

California Appeals Court Opines on Interplay Between Employment Discrimination Claims and Anti-SLAPP Laws

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A California appellate court last week issued a decision in Wilson v. CNN, applying and interpreting the scope of last year’s Supreme Court ruling in the same case, which had itself resolved a circuit split in the state as to...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Appellate Court Considers the Illinois “Employee Credit Privacy Act”

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Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 3, 2019, the Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed summary judgment in favor of a public utility company that considered credit checks for individuals applying for a customer service...more

Carlton Fields

The Game of Forfeiture: Fumbling the Ball and How the Court May Recover It

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In the spirit of the upcoming Super Bowl, it is important to keep in mind certain rules of play regarding forfeiture of arguments in federal courts of appeals. The Tenth Circuit reiterated two such rules in recent opinions....more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Good Reasons Sometimes Win: 5th Circuit Cites “Unprofessional Behavior” of Plaintiff in Dismissing ADEA Claim

Add this case to your “Be Sure to Document Your Non-Discriminatory Reasons” file. An employee doing bad things lost on summary judgment in an employment discrimination action, even though she alleged that the company did not...more

Butler Snow LLP

Chicken Fingers and Cat's Paws: 6th Circuit Reinstates Fired Employee's USERRA Claims

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Under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), employers are prohibited from taking adverse employment actions against employees because they are servicemembers or are obligated to...more

Butler Snow LLP

TN Appeals Court Reinstates Hostile Work Environment and Whistleblower Claims

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An individual may file a claim under Tennessee’s “whistleblower statute”—the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA)—if she was fired solely for reporting or refusing to participate in illegal activity. Similar to federal law,...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Fifth Circuit Affirms: Res Judicata Bars FCA Retaliation Suit

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Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit considered an appeal from the Eastern District of Louisiana, which dismissed appellants’ FCA retaliation claims based on res judicata. Res judicata, or “claim...more

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