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First new Wal-Mart bias suit filed after Supreme Court ruling 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: October 28, 2011

Tags: class action, employment discrimination, Supreme Court, Title VII, unequal pay, Wal-Mart

The first of what promises to be many smaller-sized job discrimination class actions against Wal-Mart in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring a single massive class has been filed in California.

Justices tussle over ADA ministerial exception 

By: Kimberly Atkins
Published: October 5, 2011

Tags: Americans with Disability Act, employment discrimination, First Amendment, ministerial exception, Supreme Court

WASHINGTON – During heated oral arguments Wednesday in a case involving religious doctrines, government interests and claims of job discrimination, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court tried to carve out just how much constitutional leeway religious organizations have to fire employees without facing a job bias claim.

Law firm may be liable for pressing settlement 

Published: September 29, 2011

Tags: duty of loyalty, employment discrimination, fiduciary duty

A law firm can be sued for breaching its duty of loyalty based on its allegedly agreeing with an employer to encourage settlement of its clients’ employment discrimination claims, the 2nd Circuit has ruled in reversing dismissal.

USERRA requires comparable earning potential 

Published: September 15, 2011

Tags: employment discrimination, Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, USERRA

A bank violated federal employment discrimination law when it failed to reinstate a financial advisor to a position with similar client accounts and commission opportunities when he returned from military service, the 2nd Circuit has ruled in affirming judgment.

Black firefighter can pursue disparate-impact claim 

Published: August 18, 2011

Tags: disparate impact, disparate treatment, employment discrimination, Ricci v. Destefano, Title VII

An African-American firefighter can proceed with a Title VII claim alleging that a promotional exam had a disparate impact on minorities – even though his employer argued that its actions were necessary to avoid disparate-treatment liability, the 2nd Circuit has ruled in reversing a dismissal.

Employee can introduce ‘me too’ evidence of harassment 

Published: August 15, 2011

Tags: employment discrimination, sexual harassment

An employment discrimination plaintiff can introduce evidence of harassment directed at other employees even though the activity happened outside the plaintiff’s presence and not while the plaintiff was employed at the company, the California Court of Appeal has ruled in reversing a jury verdict for the employer.

Plaintiff has more time to sue for retaliation under §1981 

Published: August 9, 2011

Tags: employment discrimination, retaliation, statute of limitations, §1981

A retaliation lawsuit brought under §1981 is subject to a four-year statute of limitations, not the state personal injury time-bar, the 9th Circuit has held in reversing a dismissal.

Supremes nix Wal-Mart workers’ class action bid 

Published: June 20, 2011

Tags: class action, employment discrimination, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Supreme Court, Wal-Mart

A group of more than a million sex discrimination plaintiffs cannot be certified as a class under Rule 23(a) because their claims do not depend upon a common contention capable of class-wide resolution, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

CLASS ACTIONS 

Published: June 20, 2011

Tags: class action, employment discrimination, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Supreme Court, Wal-Mart

A group of more than a million sex discrimination plaintiffs cannot be certified as a class under Rule 23(a) because their claims do not depend upon a common contention capable of class-wide resolution.

See “Supremes nix Wal-Mart workers’ class action bid”

U.S. Supreme Court. Wal-Mart Stores v.
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No summary judgment ‘exception’ in job-bias cases 

Published: June 3, 2011

Tags: employment discrimination, Title VII

Plaintiffs were not entitled to a deferential summary judgment standard with respect to claims that a city engaged in disparate-impact discrimination when it failed to hire them for firefighter positions, the en banc 8th Circuit has ruled in affirming judgment.