Articles and Blogs

On April 17, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued an important decision under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”) which clarifies the harm necessary to make a claim of discrimination actionable when the claim rests on a job transfer. Title VII provides, in part, that it is unlawful... READ MORE

In August 2023, the full Fifth Circuit joined the Sixth and D.C. Circuits in broadening the kinds of employment actions capable of supporting a Title VII claim. Traditionally in the Fifth Circuit as elsewhere, Title VII actions have been limited to “ultimate employment decisions”, typically involving hiring or firing. In Hamilton v. Dallas County,... READ MORE

On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Groff v. DeJoy. The Court’s ruling “clarified” the “undue hardship” standard that an employer must establish to deny a religious accommodation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (“Title VII”). Before this decision, the undue hardship standard provided that an employer could... READ MORE

Recently, the EEOC updated its COVID-19 employment practices guidance (Section K, specifically) to include information on how employers can approach the newly released COVID-19 vaccines under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”). As we previously discussed here (“EEOC Provides COVID-19 Guidance Via Webinar (Part... READ MORE

Last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit[1] in Demkovich v. St. Andrew the Apostle Parish[2] declined to establish a blanket rule extending the “ministerial exception” beyond tangible employment decisions to claims of a hostile work environment asserted by ministerial employees. The court observed that while the First Amendment protected religious... READ MORE

On Monday, June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court resolved three cases addressing whether discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Court determined that they are. It, therefore, reversed the Eleventh Circuit’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County and remanded... READ MORE

A federal district court in Nashville, TN has entered a summary judgment dismissal of a former Human Resources Director’s discrimination and retaliation claims. The case is significant because it explores the line between offensive social conduct that does not violate Title VII and adverse employment action that does. Discrimination Marie Hasting’s lawsuit asserted that... READ MORE

In an unanimous decision authored by Justice Ginsburg, the U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that Title VII’s charge-filing precondition is not a jurisdictional requirement but instead a mandatory claim-processing rule, which may be forfeited if the party asserting the rule waits too long to raise an objection.[1] This decision emphasizes the importance of timely... READ MORE

The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will rehear a once-dismissed Title VII sexual orientation case, possibly signaling that the Seventh Circuit will change course and read Title VII as prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination. Background Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin; the prohibitions apply to... READ MORE

On August 23, 2016, eight plaintiffs jointly sued the federal Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) disputing the definition of the term “sex” in recent HHS regulations implementing the Affordable Care Act’s (“ACA”) non-discrimination provisions. A link to the Complaint is here.  The HHS regulations, which, among other things, protect patients who receive... READ MORE