A recent U.S. legal dispute is challenging the boundaries between civil rights protections and religious freedom, causing much debate amongst legal professionals. The case stems from the Supreme Court case Groff v. Dejoy, which sets a new standard for religious accommodations in the workplace. A Christian music teacher, John Kluge, refused to refer to students…
On July 24, 2023, the California Office of Administrative Law endorsed alterations made by the California Civil Rights Council (CCRC) to the regulations associated with California’s Fair Chance Act. The latter prohibits employers with a workforce of at least five from asking prospective employees about their conviction history until a job offer has been extended….
On August 3, 2023, the US Department of Labor (DOL) introduced a significant final rule, “Pre-enforcement Notice and Conciliation Procedures”, designed to update the procedures employed by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). The new rule revolves around the issuance of pre-enforcement notices, and effectively rolls back the changes made to employment discrimination…
The legal counsel representing students and their families in a class-action lawsuit against the Fairfax County schools and the Virginia Department of Education (DOE) are gearing up to appeal a district court’s dismissal. The dismissal is based on a new precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court. Concurrently, these representatives are calling for an investigation…
In an environment where the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, legal considerations around religious accommodations at workplaces are becoming increasingly important. Several cases have emerged where employees have objected to COVID-19 vaccination on the grounds of their religious beliefs. As laid out in Title VII of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 (\“Title VII”),…
Internationally renowned law firm, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, announced on Tuesday, August 8, 2023, that it is initiating a specialized team directed towards scrutinizing how its clientele manages aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion. This prominent move towards advancing social justice on the legal scene substantiates the growing importance of advocating for civil rights…
Former Minneapolis Police Officer Tou Thao has been sentenced to 57 months in prison for aiding and abetting manslaughter in the death of George Floyd in 2020. Thao is reported to have stated at his hearing that he “did not intend on doing any malice or anything like that, or try to hurt anyone” during…
The Fourth Circuit has made a pivotal alteration in its milieu on attorney’s fees for injunction wins, negating an old rule which previously impeded litigants from pursuing these fees unless they had been awarded a final judgment. In a recent ruling, the court decided that litigants in unique circumstances can be deemed a “prevailing party”…
Precision Anesthesia Billing, LLC (PAB) has recently announced a substantial data breach, impacting around 209,000 individuals. This instance contributes to a growing number of high-profile data breaches in recent years, increasingly targeting corporations in sensitive industries. As reported in JD Supra, PAB discovered that an unauthorized party had gained access to confidential patient information provided…
The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a Mississippi constitutional provision dating back to the 1890 Jim Crow era. The provision, known as Section 241, permanently disenfranchised individuals convicted of certain felonies. Judge James Dennis, writing for the majority, maintained that the 1890 Mississippi Constitution was clear in its intention to “ensure the…
Former US President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to four criminal charges connected with alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election. On Thursday, he appeared with his private counsel before Federal Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhyaya in a federal courthouse in Washington D.C. to declare his plea. The charges against the former president were unveiled…
In the 19th Century, a man named Homer Plessy, who was seven-eighths White and one-eighth Black, was once pejoratively referred to as an “octoroon”. Plessy grew up during the age of Reconstruction in New Orleans, a time when people of color were granted expanded civic and political rights. However, this era of relative racial progress…
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered a ruling in a pair of cases brought by Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) that could have significant implications for all industries. The Court struck down the race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, setting a new precedent…