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Employment Litigation: Single Plaintiff Employment Discrimination Toolkit
Practical Law Toolkit 7-521-6609 (Approx. 39 pages)
Employment Litigation: Single Plaintiff Employment Discrimination Toolkit
by Practical Law Labor & Employment
| Maintained • USA (National/Federal) |
Resources to help employers and their counsel prevent and defend against single plaintiff employment discrimination claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Section 1981), the Equal Pay Act (EPA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This Toolkit includes resources addressing discovery, employer defenses, substantive legal requirements, and settlement. For state specific resources, see State Employment Litigation and Arbitration Toolkit.
Employers are often named as defendants in single plaintiff employment discrimination lawsuits, even though most employers take steps to minimize the risk of unlawful workplace discrimination. Current or former employees or rejected applicants who believe they were treated unfairly based on their membership in a protected class may commence litigation alleging violations of federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws, including:
- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex (including gender and pregnancy), religion, and national origin.
- The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits age discrimination.
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as amended by the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA), which prohibits disability discrimination.
- The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of genetic information.
- The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of past, present, or prospective military service.
- Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 (Section 1981), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and ethnicity when making and enforcing contracts.
- The Equal Pay Act, which prohibits sex-based wage discrimination against men or women performing substantially equal work in the same establishment.
- The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which provides eligible employees with rights to take unpaid, job-protected leave, and prohibits discrimination or retaliation against employees who exercise those rights.
- State and local anti-discrimination laws (see Anti-Discrimination Laws: State Q&A Tool and State Anti-Discrimination Toolkit).
Although some of the single plaintiff employment discrimination cases filed have merit, others do not. Regardless, employers must defend each case until the parties reach a judicial resolution (such as summary judgment or a verdict) or settlement. To achieve the most favorable resolution in a particular case, employers and their counsel must both develop a successful litigation strategy and understand the legal obligations under applicable anti-discrimination laws.
This Toolkit provides many resources organized by topic to help private employers and their counsel defend against single plaintiff employment discrimination lawsuits, including resources addressing litigation strategies and tactics, such as model discovery requests and objections, and resources addressing the substantive legal requirements of federal and anti-discrimination laws.
For resources specifically geared toward plaintiff's counsel, see Employment Resources for Plaintiff-Side Counsel Toolkit.
For resources geared toward public sector employers, see Federal Public Sector Employment Law Toolkit.
For recent legal developments, see 2023 Labor & Employment Law Developments Tracker.
Employment Litigation (Generally)
Pretrial and Pleadings
Motion Practice
Trial, ADR, and Settlement
Related Toolkits
For state specific resources, see State Employment Litigation and Arbitration Toolkit.