A pharmaceutical company’s compliance officer claimed she spent years flagging what she believed were Anti-Kickback Statute violations. What followed, according to her complaint: bogus HR investigations, a forced apology, a retaliatory performance review, a final warning memo, interference with her medical leave while she was undergoing cancer treatment, and ultimately
Sometimes the facts supporting a religious accommodation denial are so strong that skipping the accommodation process doesn’t sink you. This healthcare employer found that out — and the 9th Circuit’s reasoning tells you exactly why. TL;DR: A regional healthcare system operating eight hospitals denied religious exemptions from its vaccination policy.
According to the EEOC, an employee complained about six months of sexual harassment. Her employer allegedly did nothing. So she went to court, got a protective order against the harasser, handed a copy to HR, and was fired the next day. The harasser kept his job. TL;DR: A paper products
The EEO-1 filing requirement has existed since 1966. It may not exist much longer. TL;DR: On May 14, 2026, the EEOC submitted a proposal to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to rescind the EEO-1 reporting requirement, along with several other workforce demographic reporting obligations. Nothing has changed yet
The 2024 overtime rule is officially gone from the federal rulebook. Courts killed it a year and a half ago; the DOL just got around to the paperwork. TL;DR: Federal courts in Texas vacated the Biden administration’s 2024 overtime rule, which would have pushed the standard FLSA white collar salary
The court called it “repugnant and racially hostile.” It still wasn’t enough. A recent appellate decision affirming summary judgment for the employer on a hostile work environment claim is a useful reminder of how high the severe-or-pervasive bar actually is. TL;DR: A Black employee alleged a racially hostile work environment
The bar for a hostile work environment claim is “extremely high.” A White correctional officer just found out how high. TL;DR: The Tenth Circuit affirmed the dismissal with prejudice of a White correctional officer’s Title VII and Section 1981 hostile work environment claim, holding that a single DEI training and
One pilot called in sick with the flu and went skiing. He also called in with a knee injury and flew military jets the same day. The other pilot claimed he was too sick to fly and then flew jets for the military instead. The Eleventh Circuit says the airline
Fail any one of the three prongs of New Jersey’s ABC test, and the worker is your employee. The Department of Labor adopted new independent contractor rules on May 5, making that standard official in binding regulation, and employers have until October 1 to get their contractor relationships in order.
A school district police officer posted a prayer on Facebook criticizing his supervisors. He was fired. His lawsuit raised constitutional claims, a retaliation claim, and a religious discrimination claim. The Fifth Circuit affirmed dismissal on all of them, and the reasons why are a useful lesson for any employer. TL;DR:
When does a religious exemption request stop being religious? A federal appeals court just answered that question in a way that eight of its own judges found alarming. TL;DR: The Ninth Circuit denied rehearing en banc in a Title VII religious accommodation case, leaving in place a panel decision that
A 19-year employee couldn’t reach his FMLA administrator. The phone system hung up on callers at 5 p.m. An HR rep told him not to worry. Then he was fired for dishonest FMLA reporting. TL;DR: A Wisconsin federal court denied summary judgment to the employer on both FMLA interference and
A warehouse worker started her job seven months pregnant. Thirteen weeks after delivering, she was fired. One sentence from the HR rep is why this case is going to trial. TL;DR: A federal court in Illinois granted summary judgment to the employer on a warehouse worker’s Title VII claims and
An employee who says “I’m not disabled” can’t turn around and sue for failure to accommodate a disability. The Sixth Circuit just confirmed that’s true even when the employer is the one who raised the disability question in the first place. TL;DR: An employee with a history of transient ischemic
According to the EEOC, a waste management company hadn’t hired a female garbage truck driver in years, and its interviews showed why: a manager told one qualified female applicant to think carefully, talk to her husband, and let him know if she still wanted the job. She did. The company
A blind customer care advocate asked for screen reading software. According to the EEOC, his employer tested two products, decided the software wasn’t compatible, turned down a free offer from a state agency to help, and terminated him. That sequence cost $270,000. This week is EEOC Settlement Week on The