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EEOC cracks down on background check-related job bias claims 

Published: August 13, 2010
Tags: background checks, credit checks, disparate impact, EEOC, employment discrimination

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is stepping up scrutiny of hiring policies - including the use of criminal background and credit checks - that can have a negative impact on members of minority groups.

Federal standard doesn’t apply to state retaliation suit 

Published: July 16, 2010
Tags: employment discrimination, McDonnell Douglas, retaliation

The burden-shifting framework applicable to federal employment discrimination claims does not apply to a retaliation lawsuit brought under state law, the 7th Circuit has ruled in affirming a summary judgment for the employer.

Ruling renews debate over arbitration fairness 

By Kimberly Atkins - Published: June 25, 2010
Tags: arbitration, employment discrimination, Supreme Court

WASHINGTON - A ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that the enforceability of an employment arbitration agreement was for an arbitrator to decide - even though the employee claimed the agreement was unconscionable - has drawn the ire of lawyers and lawmakers opposed to mandatory arbitration.

Employer can compel arbitration in bias suit 

Published: June 21, 2010
Tags: arbitration, employment discrimination, Supreme Court

A court may decide the enforceability of an arbitration clause within an employment contract under the Federal Arbitration Act, but a challenge to the enforceability of the agreement as a whole is for the arbitrator to decide, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

ARBITRATION 

Published: June 21, 2010
Tags: arbitration, employment discrimination, Supreme Court

Under the Federal Arbitration Act, a claim that an employment contract with an arbitration clause is unconscionable is for an arbitrator, not a court, to decide.

See “Employer can compel arbitration in bias suit”

U.S. Supreme Court. Rent-A-Center, West v. Jackson, No. 09-497.  June 21, 2010. Lawyers USA No. 993-2024.

Employer waived right to arbitration 

Published: June 16, 2010
Tags: arbitration, employment discrimination, unconscionable, waiver

An employer waived the right to rely on an arbitration agreement by proceeding with litigation for over a year, the 3rd Circuit has ruled.

Study: Most job bias plaintiffs lose or recover little 

Published: June 11, 2010
Tags: American Bar Foundation, employment discrimination

WASHINGTON - Plaintiffs bringing employment discrimination claims often receive modest settlements, if anything at all, according to a new report by the American Bar Foundation.

Title VII plaintiffs not required to exhaust remedies 

Published: June 3, 2010
Tags: EEOC, employment discrimination, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, racial discrimination, Title VII

Two race discrimination plaintiffs were not required to individually exhaust their administrative remedies because their claims were joined with another similarly situated plaintiff who had fully litigated her claim before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the D.C. Circuit has ruled in reversing a dismissal.

Disparate impact case creates more confusion 

By Kimberly Atkins - Published: May 26, 2010
Tags: disparate impact, employment discrimination, Supreme Court

Some employment attorneys say the Supreme Court’s Lewis v. Chicago opinion makes it even harder for employers to know how to test job applicants without opening themselves up to employment discrimination liability.

Plaintiff can bring bias claim without prior challenge 

Published: May 24, 2010
Tags: disparate impact, employment discrimination, statute of limitations, Supreme Court

A plaintiff who did not file a timely charge challenging the adoption of an employment practice may still assert a disparate impact claim challenging the application of that practice as long as he can make a prima facie disparate impact case, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.