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Reverse discrimination claims boosted by Supreme Court

by Paige Good and Harrison Kosmider, McAfee & Taft

Jun 06, 2025 · HR Alerts · California · New York · Texas · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington
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SCOTUS rejects added burden on majority-group members to prove discrimination

On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services, a case that challenged the heightened evidentiary burden imposed on majority-group employees in employment...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia

Be your own advocate: A short guide to self-promotion

Rabbi Hillel the Elder is credited with saying, “If I am not for myself, then who will be for me?” I mention this to students who are about to enter the workforce, and it applies as well to readers of our newsletter. The...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Texas

WA passes law broadening pregnancy-related accommodations

Washington state recently passed a new law expanding pregnancy and postpartum workplace accommodation obligations to employers of all sizes and requiring lactation breaks to be paid. On May 20, 2025, Governor Bob...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Why employers need a biometrics policy and what to include

More employers are using biometrics for timekeeping and security review. The biometric identifiers most frequently used by employers are face scans (“facial recognition”), fingerprints, voiceprints, and video...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

WA amends equal pay law to clarify employer requirements, liability

On May 20, 2025, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 5408 to amend the state’s Equal Pay and Opportunities Act (EPOA). SB 5408 makes significant changes to the EPOA, including clarifying the...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Decline to hire based on drug test? Best to follow your state’s laws

Q Can we deny someone employment based on their preemployment drug screen test that was positive for cannabis if cannabis is legal in our state? Likely, no. But the decision is ultimately influenced by state law...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia

Nebraska Supreme Court clarifies employment-at-will, public-policy exceptions

Nebraska, like many jurisdictions, provides employees with a common-law protection against employment termination in violation of certain public policies. Primarily, the protections allow employees to report violations...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota

Managing disability-related misconduct is a potential legal minefield

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines “disability” as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA) clarified that the ADA’s...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

DOL signals return to employer-friendly worker classification standards

Surging changes to workplace laws understandably have employers suffering from whiplash. Historically, employment laws have shifted when presidential administrations have changed. A May 1, 2025, announcement by the U.S...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · New England · Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · Rhode Island · Vermont · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Gutting ‘background circumstances’ requirement for ‘reverse discrimination’ claims

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. To establish a minimally sufficient discrimination claim under Title VII, employees...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · New York · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington

Test for classifying workers is shifting away from ‘economic reality’

In May 2025, the Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published guidance saying that it would stop enforcing a Biden-era rule—one that had rescinded a rule created during the first Trump administration...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · New York · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin · Mid-Atlantic · Delaware · Maryland · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Virginia · Midsouth · Kentucky · North Carolina · South Carolina · Tennessee · West Virginia · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Mountain West · Colorado · Idaho · Montana · New Mexico · Utah · Wyoming · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · Upper Midwest · Iowa · Minnesota · Nebraska · North Dakota · South Dakota

As summer heats up, know your responsibility to cool employees down

The beginning of summer often aligns with the beginning of the growing season for many Midwest farmers. With the rising temperatures, fruits and vegetables aren’t the only things growing this summer. Heatstroke, heat...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Great Lakes · Illinois · Indiana · Michigan · Ohio · Wisconsin

Texas Legislature takes its first steps at regulating AI

After being left for three weeks pending in committee, House Bill (HB) 149 was reconsidered by the Texas Senate and was promptly passed in days, barely making the legislative deadline. The bill is the first of its kind...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Texas

Dole Act expands USERRA applicability, protections, remedies for vets, service members

On January 2, 2025, President Joe Biden signed the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act into law, significantly affecting various programs, benefits, and services for...

Jul 01, 2025 · Employment Law Letter · Midwest · Arkansas · Kansas · Missouri · Oklahoma · Southeast · Alabama · Florida · Georgia · Louisiana · Mississippi · West · Alaska · Arizona · Hawaii · Nevada · Oregon · Washington