Sometimes promotions move quietly through the ranks.No job posting, no formal applications, just a quiet internal decision. A recent Ninth Circuit decision reminds employers that even those informal moves can create risk under the age-discrimination laws. TL;DR: Three longtime employees in their 50s sued after their company quietly promoted a…
Sometimes the timing writes the headline for you. On October 31, a federal court in New Jersey decided a harassment case that involved an unforgettable Halloween costume and a reminder that bad taste is not always a legal violation. TL;DR: An employee alleged sexual harassment after a doctor made…
Did you know there’s a loophole in employment law big enough to fit an entire casino? That’s not an exaggeration. In one recent case, an employee said she was pushed out after giving birth. She sued under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The court never even reached the merits because…
The Supreme Court recently made it easier for employees to prove discrimination, lowering the bar from “serious harm” to “some harm.” That change came from a 2024 sex discrimination case, but its reasoning can influence other Title VII claims too. A new decision from the federal court in the Eastern…
A recent federal case shows how a workplace investigation can flip fast—from harassment complaint to defamation claim. The employer followed the playbook and won. The accuser did not. TL;DR: A federal court in Ohio threw out a former Chief Legal Officer’s race discrimination, retaliation, and contract claims after he was…
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…