In Department of Education v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court issued a rare August opinion to maintain two preliminary injunctions that block the Department of Education’s new rule. That rule expands Title IX to prevent sexual-orientation and gender-identity discrimination. State coalitions brought challenges; district courts in Louisiana and Kentucky enjoined the rule during the litigation; the … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, the Sixth Circuit issued its decision in Szeinbach v. The Ohio State University. The case centered on Szeinbach’s claim that she was discriminated against while she was employed as a professor with the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy. Szeinbach alleged that she was the victim of discrimination and retaliation stemming from her … Continue Reading
A recent review of appeals of employment cases in the Sixth Circuit revealed the Court is more likely to uphold rather than overturn grants of summary judgment in favor of defendant-employers. In a solid 60% of appeals in these cases, the Circuit upheld summary judgment for the employer. The survey involved an analysis of Sixth … Continue Reading
Earlier today in its en banc decision in Lewis v. Humboldt Acquisition Corp., No. 09-6381 (PDF), the Sixth Circuit unanimously overruled the standard set forth in its 16 year-old decision in Monette v. Electronic Data Systems Corp., 990 F.3d 1173 (6th Cir. 1996), which required a plaintiff bringing a discrimination claim under the Americans with … Continue Reading
In Bobo v. United Parcel Service, Inc., the Sixth Circuit ruled that the district court erred in its management of discovery related to Walleon Bobo’s discrimination and retaliation claims brought against UPS. Bobo, an African-American supervisor for UPS and a longstanding member of the Army Reserve and a combat veteran, was terminated in May 2007 … Continue Reading
In Williams v. CSX Transportation Co., Inc. (6th Cir. 09-5564 June 28, 2011) (PDF), a splintered panel of the Sixth Circuit provided content to an undefined statutory term in an EEOC lawsuit, resuscitating a plaintiff’s allegations of a sexually-hostile work environment along the way. The plaintiff, Stephanie Williams (“Williams”), sued her employer, CSX Transportation Co. … Continue Reading
Back in March, when we reported on the Sixth Circuit’s decision in Lewis v. Humboldt Acquisition Corp, No. 09-6381 (6th Cir. Mar. 17, 2011) (PDF), we noted that Lewis was “one of those rare candidates for rehearing en banc.” Our predictive powers proved accurate yesterday when the Sixth Circuit voted for a rehearing en banc in the Lewis … Continue Reading
The Sixth Circuit yesterday declined to adopt the rule followed in a supermajority of Circuits for bringing a discrimination claim under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. See Lewis v. Humboldt Acquisition Corp, No. 09-6381 (6th Cir. Mar. 17, 2011) (PDF). In at least ten other Circuits, a plaintiff … Continue Reading
