New and expanded theories of discrimination. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Posts Tagged ‘Discrimination’
Tidbits
Friday, January 22nd, 2010Top Ten Developments in Employment Law for HR Professionals in Virginia — #2
Tuesday, January 19th, 2010The top ten developments in employment law for HR professionals in Virginia for 2009 continues, in no particular order. Number 2: Supreme Court holds that ADEA claims are not governed by the Title VII mixed motive standard and imposes a higher burden of proof on ADEA claims. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.EEOC Issues 2009 Enforcement and Litigation Statistics
Friday, January 8th, 2010The EEOC has issued its 2009 enforcement and litigation statistics here. Total charges were down from 2008, 95,402 to 93,277. Largest percentage increases in charges were in disability and retaliation. Lawsuits filed down from 325 to 314. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Fourth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment In Failure To Promote Case
Thursday, December 31st, 2009In an unpublished opinion (Wesley v. Arlington County), the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the employer in a failure to promote case brought by a firefighter. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.New EEOC Enforcement Activity Against Use Of Credit History And Criminal Background In Hiring
Thursday, December 10th, 2009Workplace Prof Blog notes here that the EEOC has filed a class action suit against an employer in Dallas for the use of credit history and criminal background as selection crieria in the hiring process. The EEOC has long argued that such crieria have a disparate impact on minority groups, but apparently have increased enforcement activity in this area recently. This is a good reminder that the hiring process is a critical area to monitor for practices that potentially have a disparate impact on minority or other protected applicants — particularly hot button areas such as credit history and criminal background.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Richmond Jury Awards $3.5 Million In Race Discrimination And Malicious Prosecution Case
Friday, December 4th, 2009Earlier in the week, a Richmond federal court jury awarded a former employee of a trucking terminal $3.5 million on claims of race discrimination and malicious prosecution against the employer and several individual defendants. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.4th Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment In Age Case
Thursday, November 19th, 2009In an unpublished opinion, the Fourth Circuit reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for the defendant employer on a discrimination claim brought under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”). The case is Inman v. Klockner Pentaplast of America, Inc. More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) Effective November 21
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) goes into effect November 21, 2009. The Manpower Employment Blawg has a post about GINA here. Our previous posts on GINA are here and here.
UPDATE: The New York Times has a story here.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.New Discrimination Laws A Priority For Administration
Friday, November 6th, 2009According to representatives of the Justice Department, the “Employment Non-Discrimination Act” (which bars employment discrimination based on a person’s “actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity”) is a top legislative priority for the Obama Administration. The BLT has the story here.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Sexual Orientation Discrimination Update
Wednesday, September 2nd, 2009The WSJ Law Blog has a post today here on a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit that recognized a claim by an effeminate homosexual man for “gender stereotyping” discrimination. The court of appeals reversed the lower court’s decision dismissing the suit, which had been brought by an effeminate, homosexual man alleging that he was discriminated against because he did not conform to a typical male stereotype. As another employment lawyer notes in the post, Congress may open the door to sexual orientation discrimination claims under Title VII in the near future, rendering this type of legal gymnastics unnecessary in order to pursue a sexual orientation discrimination claim.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.No Mixed Motive Cases Under ADEA Says U.S. Supreme Court
Thursday, June 18th, 2009The U.S. Supreme Court held today in Gross v. FBL Financial Services, Inc. that a plaintiff in a case brought under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) cannot use the “mixed motive” proof standard to prove their claim. A sampling of today’s blog comments are here, here and here. (We will update the post with additional blog posts or articles of interest.) More after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Tidbits
Monday, March 16th, 2009The Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports here that as the economy falls, age discrimination claims go up. Jottings By An Employer’s Lawyer has a short post on the topic here. The EEOC issued a press release about the record number of EEOC charges in 2008. 2009 should be a banner year at the EEOC. More tidbits after the break.
Contributed by Eric A. Welter.Best venue for discrimination suits?
Thursday, February 26th, 2009A recent study suggests (again) that the state court systems are a better venue for employment discrimination lawsuits for plaintiffs. The study is here. (Hat tip to Wage Law.) The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article on the topic here, and the WSJ Blog also had a post here (with the catchy title “Do Federal Judges Discriminate Against Discrimination Claims?”). We have a prior post on the topic here.
There are many different opinions offered as to why federal court appears to be a less hospitable venue for employment discrimination plaintiffs. The flip side is that there are many “judicial hellholes” for employers in state courts around the country. Those who bemoan the lack of success of plaintiffs in federal court should be patient — the legislative agenda in Congress promises to open up the floodgates for new and expanded causes of action in employment law in federal court.
Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Signed Into Law
Thursday, January 29th, 2009President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 into law today. The story is here. Bill tracking is here. The text of the bill can be found here. More after the break.
UPDATE (2.11.2009): What Ledbetter Has Wrought (Jottings By An Employer’s Lawyer).
Record Number of EEOC Charges Filed in 2008
Monday, November 24th, 2008According to the EEOC’s Fiscal Year 2008 Performance and Accountability Report (here), private sector charges rose 15.2% over last year — a total of 95,402 charges. Total monetary benefits recovered were less in 2008 than the prior year. (The summary of this data is on page 6 of the report.)
Page 10 of the report summarizes four cases involving allegations of “systemic” discrimination that were resolved in FY2008.
(Hat tip to the Manpower Employment Law Blawg.)
