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By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Jennifer Riley, and Sarah Bauman

Seyfarth Synopsis: On August 8, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification for a class of applicants who sought employment with the Cook County Department of Corrections.  The Plaintiffs argued that certain hiring examinations disparately impacted African-Americans, and …
Continue Reading Illinois Federal Court Grants Class Certification To Cook County Department Of Corrections Applicants Based On Allegedly Discriminatory Entrance Exams

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By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik

Seyfarth Synopsis:  In Savage, et al. v. The City of Springfield, Case No. 3:18-CV-30614, 2022 LEXIS 124587 (D. Mass. July 14, 2022), a federal court in Massachusetts recently denied Plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, holding that (1) Plaintiffs failed to establish that a putative class of Black and Hispanic…
Continue Reading Federal Court Extinguishes Firefighters’ Class Action Claims In Race Discrimination Lawsuit

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Alex W. Karasik, and Aaron A. Bauer

Seyfarth Synopsis:  In Easom v. US Well Servs., No. 21-20202, 2022 U.S. App. LEXIS 16556 (5th Cir. June 15, 2022), the employer defendant invoked the WARN Act’s “natural disaster” exception when it conducted mass layoffs in its Texas workforce, due to the sudden economic downturn caused …
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Finds The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Not A Natural Disaster Under The WARN Act

By Jennifer A. Riley, Andrew Scroggins, and Tyler Zmick

Seyfarth Synopsis: As we previously reported, employers generally have found success when the U.S. Supreme Court takes up questions about the arbitrability of workplace disputes. The unanimous decision in Southwest Airlines Co. v. Saxon bucks that trend, denying employers a clear victory and holding that those who load cargo …
Continue Reading The U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Industry-Based Reading Of FAA’s Transportation Worker Exemption, Reduces Visibility For Workers Challenging Arbitration Agreements

By Andrew L. Scroggins and Sarah K. Bauman

 Seyfarth Synopsis: As we previously reported here, last October the EEOC put employers on notice of an initiative to ensure that artificial intelligence (“AI”) and other technology used in hiring and employment decisions comply with federal anti-discrimination laws. Consistent with this recent initiative, on May 12, 2022, the EEOC shared guidance …
Continue Reading EEOC And DOJ Issue Important Guidance On Preventing AI- and Technology-Related Disability Discrimination

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Sarah K. Bauman

Seyfarth Synopsis: In EEOC v. BNSF Railway Co., Case No. 8:21-CV-369 (D. Neb. April 28, 2022), Judge Brian C. Buescher of the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska denied the EEOC’s request for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) to prevent alleged discriminatory conduct.  The EEOC sought an order reinstating …
Continue Reading The EEOC Overlooks Pleading Defects In Seeking TRO, Resulting In Denial By Nebraska Federal Court  

By Jennifer A. Riley, Alex W. Karasik and Tyler Z. Zmick

Seyfarth Synopsis:  In Sosa v. Onfido, Inc., No. 20-CV-4247, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74672 (N.D. Ill. Apr. 25, 2022), the Court issued the latest plaintiff-friendly decision under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), putting businesses and employers on notice that the statute can apply to photographs …
Continue Reading Picture This: Illinois Federal Court Holds That BIPA Applies To Photographs

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Jennifer A. Riley, and Alex S. Oxyer

Seyfarth Synopsis: “Objector blackmail” occurs in the class settlement approval process when a few class members object to a proposed settlement and, after the district court has overruled their objections, pursue appeals with the goal of obtaining “side” settlement payments to dismiss the appeal.  In …
Continue Reading The Seventh Circuit Provides District Courts Ammunition To Deal With “Objector Blackmail” In Proposed Class Settlements

By: Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christopher DeGroff, Matthew J. Gagnon, and Alex S. Oxyer

Seyfarth Synopsis:  On August 18, 2020, the EEOC held a public meeting to address a notice of proposed rulemaking containing potential substantive amendments to the Commission’s conciliation process. Though a copy of the notice has not yet been publicly released, the EEOC has …
Continue Reading EEOC Update: The Commission Holds Public Meeting On Proposed Amendments To Conciliation Process

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Jennifer A. Riley

Seyfarth Synopsis – Following a familiar fact pattern, after a named Plaintiff filed a putative class action in Bird, et al. v. Barr, No. 19-CV-1581 (D.D.C. July 23, 2020), she complained that the defendant employer retaliated against her for bringing suit by, among other things, threatening to terminate her employment and …
Continue Reading Federal Court Finds That It Lacks Jurisdiction To Enjoin Employer From Retaliating Against Putative Class Members