Articles

Labor secretary defends merging anti-discrimination agencies

Cutting and merging two agencies that investigate workplace discrimination won't reduce the government's enforcement power, Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta said Wednesday. But Democrats pointed to what they say is President Donald Trump's broader effort to roll back decades of civil rights protections.

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Title VII sexual orientation cases bubbling in federal courts

As the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana continues with its first case allowing a Title VII claim on the basis of sexual orientation, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals is preparing for an en banc rehearing to consider whether Title VII prohibitions include sexual orientation discrimination.

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ACLU, solicitor general argue to justices over DCS caseloads

Opposing counsel and the justices of the Indiana Supreme Court were agreed on one issue during oral arguments Thursday in a case involving the Department of Child Services – family case managers are the “backbone” of the work DCS does for Hoosier children.

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Appeal: Commercial court, without notice, idled worker

One of the first appeals from an Indiana Commercial Court alleges the specialized docket touted as a speedier, more efficient means of resolving complex business disputes operated in secret to keep a glass-industry engineer out of a job in his profession for a year.

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Justices weigh whether negligent hiring claim allowed against Pizza Hut

In its first oral arguments as a temporarily four-person bench, the Indiana Supreme Court considered Thursday whether the plaintiff in a wrongful death case can bring employment-based claims against an employer if the employer has admitted the employee involved in the death was acting in the scope of their employment.

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Holcomb’s executive order expected to ‘ban the box’ in state job applications

A bill prohibiting communities from enacting their own ban the box ordinances stirred divisions in the Indiana Legislature with supporters arguing for employers’ rights and opponents citing the need for individuals to have equal opportunities for jobs. However, when Gov. Eric Holcomb announced his intention to sign Senate Enrolled Act 312, he brought some rare unity between the two sides. Along with enacting the new law, the governor also said he would sign an executive order that will essentially ban the box for state agencies.

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COA to hear oral arguments in Bloomington this week

The Indiana Court of Appeals is headed to Bloomington this week to hear oral arguments in a case involving a question of duty of care to a construction worker injured while working on an Indiana University construction project.

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Supreme Court to hear whistleblower case against IDEM

A former state employee who claims she was fired for blowing the whistle on questionable payment practices in the Indiana Department of Environment Management will bring her case before the Indiana Supreme Court next week, when she will urge the justices to allow her complaint against the state agency to continue.

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Company must face fired worker’s religion discrimination claim

A company that admitted a worker should not have been fired must defend against his claims that he was discriminated against because of his religious beliefs as a Seventh-day Adventist, a federal judge ruled Wednesday. Columbus-based NTN Driveshaft Inc. denies that a human resources manager fired Jeffrey L. Jackson for unlawful or discriminatory reasons, instead […]

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Judge approves $227M in FedEx driver suit settlements

FedEx Corp. will pay more than $227 million to settle some of the long-running lawsuits brought by drivers in Indiana and 18 others states who claim they were undercompensated because the company classified them as independent contractors rather than full-time workers.

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High court may re-examine Civil Rights Act after LGBT ruling

A ruling by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago in and Indiana case reopens the question of whether the 1964 Civil Rights Act’s protections apply to LGBT workers in the same way they bar discrimination based on someone’s race, religion or national origin.

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7th Circuit: Title VII interpretation follows precedent

The employment discrimination complaint that began as a pro se filing by an Indiana math teacher has led the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals to become the first federal appellate court to find the Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides protection for LGBT workers.

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