If you live in Kentucky and are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding, you should be aware of new protections that may apply to you and your employer. Last month Kentucky passed the Pregnant Workers Act with bipartisan support, making it the 25th state to pass specific legislation to protect pregnant employees. Federal laws […]

The qui tam provision of the False Claims Act allows private whistleblowers, known as relators, to file suit on behalf of the United States for fraud perpetrated against the federal government. There is certainly an upside to being a whistleblower because, under the False Claims Act, the whistleblower receives a percentage of any recovery that […]

Deutsche Bank is in the news again, this time for false and misleading sales practices. At the heart of a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was a quid pro quo relationship in which Deutsche Bank offered only those funds whose sponsors agreed to kick-back a portion of their management fees to […]

Americans are growing older. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the current median age for an American is 38, and it is expected to rise to 40 by 2030.[1] In other words, by 2030 the number of Americans who are 40 and above will equal the number of Americans who are younger than 40. At […]

When it comes to workplace discrimination, your rights often depend on the state where you work.  That’s because states can pass laws that offer even stronger protections for employees than federal law.  Last year, New Jersey did just that when it passed what may be the broadest pay equity law in the nation, the Diane […]

In honor of Equal Pay Day, four women currently engaged in a gender discrimination lawsuit against the national labor and employment firm Ogletree Deakins opened up about the struggles and rewards of challenging pay discrimination, and the impact of women breaking the silence. As changemakers seeking to reform the entrenched legal industry, plaintiffs Dawn Knepper, […]

Every few months, social media is set ablaze with reports of an African-American employee, usually a woman, told by her boss to change her hair or face disciplinary action or termination. For example, in January, Brittany Noble, a black female news anchor in Jackson, Mississippi, alleged that she was fired for wearing her natural hair […]

The devil is in the details. In this case, the details are pay data collected by the United States government in an attempt to quantify, if possible, gender or racial discrepancies in pay. With this in mind, during the Obama administration, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) decided to improve the quality of the pay […]

The Federal Fair Housing Act, along with many state and local laws, prohibits gender discrimination in housing, including sexual harassment. It is illegal for landlords, property managers, real estate agents, and maintenance staff to demand sexual favors in exchange for access to housing or repairs. They also cannot create a hostile environment for tenants based […]

If you work for a consultant, vendor, accountant, or other third party that you suspect may be helping another company to defraud the government, you may have a viable whistleblower case. The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to prosecute third parties that help companies doing business with the government to commit […]