News

Beginning in early 2026, Pennsylvania workers have a new set of employment protections. One new law applies state-wide, while several other laws apply in major population hubs, such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas told the Washington Post that the EEOC is ready to focus on stamping out discrimination resulting from diversity, equity and inclusion programs and anti-American bias. She also intends to streamline the agency’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations and revise harassment guidelines that protect transgender workers.

The Supreme Court recently concluded that if an employee was treated differently because of a protected characteristic, this was enough to warrant a jury trial in a discrimination case. Now, a federal appeals court has refused to extend that reasoning to a hostile work environment claim.

The new year is here, and with it, the big HR headaches of the first quarter of 2026 are coming into focus. Here are some of the crucial issues we will be covering as the Trump administration enters its second full year.

Agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are investigating fewer disparate-impact claims and scaling back lawsuits. That’s causing a backlash among state anti-discrimination agencies, which believe the disparate-impact liability theory is an important anti-discrimination tool. One state, New Jersey, has now taken action to preserve the ability to bring such lawsuits.

When deciding whether discipline was biased, courts often seek to compare workers who have the same supervisor, not just those who have the same job. That’s because discrimination is often manifested by individual acts, not a systemic, organization-wide problem. That makes it important to track discipline by supervisor.

Some managers continue to hold outdated views on pregnancy and the capacity for a woman to work while awaiting the birth of her child. Being vocal about these views—and especially acting on them—is almost certain to provoke a lawsuit.

In an unprecedented move, EEOC chair Andrea Lucas has taken to social media site X to solicit current or former employees to file complaints against their employers.

In what is believed to be the largest jury verdict ever for age discrimination, insurer Liberty Mutual was slammed with a $103 million verdict for firing an older worker returning from medical leave and replacing her with a 20-something new hire.

The EEOC has recently made it clear that an enforcement priority going forward is protecting American workers from discrimination in favor of foreign workers. The agency updated its webpage portal for national-origin discrimination and provided a one-page information sheet directed at American workers who think they may have experienced national-origin discrimination.