LITIGATION TRENDS 2025 | 45 T O C E M P E S G A N T I I P C A P R O W C S P O R T C O N T A C T I N T A P P P A T C C L S E C Key Developments in Workplace Protections New Title VII Standard. On April 17, 2024, the Supreme Court held in Muldrow v. City of St. Louis, Missouri that an employee seeking to challenge a job transfer under Title VII must demonstrate some harm effectuated by the transfer with respect to an identifiable term or condition of employment, but the employee need not show significant harm. In Muldrow, a police officer alleged sex discrimination under Title VII suit based on various circumstances, including her transfer to a lateral position (which subjected her to a loss of some tangential benefits) and her replacement by a male officer. Resolving a circuit split, the Supreme Court held that the plaintiff did not have to show that she suffered significant harm or satisfy another heightened bar, as the First, Second, Fourth, Seventh, Eighth, Tenth and Eleventh Circuits required. Instead, the officer only needed to show some injury with respect to her employment terms or conditions. Accordingly, the bar to recovery under Title VII has been lowered for plaintiffs in some Circuits. New DEI Executive Order. On January 21, 2025, the White House promulgated an Executive Order titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.” The Executive Order seeks to encourage private sector companies to “end illegal DEI discrimination and preferences.” The Executive Order orders the Attorney General, within 120 days of the Order, to submit a report of recommendations for enforcing Federal civil-rights laws and encouraging the private sector to “end illegal discrimination and preferences.” The report is to feature several subsections, including key sectors of concern, strategies to discourage DEI initiatives, and more. Notably, this report would outline potential civil compliance investigations with respect to large corporations, bar and medical associations, and certain higher education institutions. Legal challenges to the Executive Order followed. On February 21, 2025, Employment John Barry Head New York john.barry@weil.com 44 | Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP
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