Compliance Stuff

"Reverse discrimination," ADA, religion, and nationwide injunctions. The 2024-25 term of the U.S. Supreme Court is over. Two decisions at the end of the term directly addressed employment law issues, and two others will have an indirect impact on employers. Here is what you need to know: No. 1: Expect more “reverse discrimination” claims.  In  Ames v. Ohio Dep’t of Youth Services , a straight woman alleged that she was passed over for a promotion and then demoted , in both cases because she was not gay. Colin Finnegan of our Kansas City Office has more details about the Court’s decision  here . Before the SCOTUS decision was issued, a number of circuits were requiring plaintiffs in Title VII “reverse discrimination” cases to prove more than plaintiffs in “traditional discrimination” cases. Specifically, the “reverse discrimination” plaintiff had to show, in addition to the usual, that there were background circumstances indicating that the defendant was the “unusual emplo...

Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are facing scrutiny across the country, causing some employers to scale down their DEI initiatives or drop them altogether. As companies face pressure and increasing legal challenges, you may wonder how to approach workplace inclusivity – or if you should do so at all. But despite the current climate, DEI programs have clear benefits for businesses and their workforces, and many reports show that most corporate leaders plan to continue or even grow their DEI efforts. We’ll explain how these programs are being challenged and give you five takeaways for maintaining an effective and legal DEI program. What’s Going On? A growing number of large U.S. companies have announced cuts to their existing DEI efforts in response to public backlash and a new wave of lawsuits claiming that corporate DEI programs are discriminatory and can create a hostile work environment. For example,  Lowe’s decided in August  to pare down its DEI policies by com...