A performer claimed a venue “canceled” them after backlash to a social-media post supporting Israel.They said it was discrimination. The court said it was politics. TL;DR: A federal court dismissed a discrimination case under Section 1981, a law that prohibits race discrimination in contracts. The performer claimed a Northern California…
What if a Black employee uses the N-word in the workplace, directed at no one in particular, and gets fired? Can that employee claim race discrimination under Title VII? A federal judge in Pennsylvania just called that argument “an absurdity.” TL;DR: A Black employee fired for using the N-word claimed…
The same unpaid leave that protects an employer in one case can create liability in another. TL;DR: Unpaid leave can be a lawful, reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) when an employee truly cannot work. But after the Supreme Court’s Muldrow decision lowered the bar for…
Employers often worry that if they don’t run a picture-perfect investigation, a court will second-guess their decision. The Sixth Circuit just reminded everyone that the law doesn’t demand perfection; it demands reasonableness. And one employer’s measured, fact-based approach was enough to win. TL;DR: A truss manufacturer fired a production-line employee…
When the agency that enforces the nation’s anti-discrimination laws ends up defending one of its own under Title VII, that is not just newsworthy. It is a lesson for every employer about how bias, inconsistency, and poor process can sneak into even the most compliance-minded workplaces. TL;DR: A federal judge…
When an employee voluntarily resigns to work somewhere else, it may feel like fallout from a workplace conflict. But under Title VII, it isn’t punishment or “discipline.” TL;DR: A Philadelphia school employee who objected to a COVID-19 vaccination policy claimed religious discrimination after leaving for another teaching job. The Third…
An airline services company once thought a single scheduled break was enough time for a new mom to pump breast milk. The result? A federal lawsuit that is still headed to trial, and a reminder of what today’s PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act now makes crystal clear. TL;DR: A federal…
It’s the kind of line you say when you’re thinking out loud, not realizing that your thoughts are about to become Plaintiff’s Exhibit A. TL;DR: A First Circuit panel revived a federal postal employee’s Title VII sex-discrimination claim after her supervisor, while interviewing her for a promotion, remarked that…
A recent Fourth Circuit decision shows how strong documentation can make or break a retaliation case. TL;DR: An employee claimed that her employer retaliated after she raised race concerns. The Fourth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the employer because contemporaneous records showed performance issues and leadership misalignment that began well before…
When a White Jewish university employee claimed discipline for racially charged remarks amounted to discrimination, the court disagreed. It called the case something else entirely, and in doing so, it drew an important boundary for every employer. TL;DR: A federal court just clarified a point that often gets blurred when discipline…