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The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear several employment law cases in recent weeks as its 2026-2027 term takes shape, with several petitions rejected on Tuesday alone.
Two of the claims at issue concerned allegations of disability discrimination. In one case, Greer v. Benton School District, petitioners asked the court to decide whether Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits discrimination in federally funded programs, enables independent contractors to sue.
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The Supreme Court of Arkansas held that Section 504 did not cover such plaintiffs, and it dismissed the lawsuit of a substitute teacher who had previously won a jury verdict against a state school district.
Similarly, the court dismissed a petition from a former air marshal who challenged her reassignment by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The case, Redding v. Mullin, asked the justices to evaluate the legality of the reassignment — which followed the plaintiff's request to take disability retirement — and whether the appeals court properly evaluated her failure-to-accommodate claims.
The justices previously punted on a few cases involving other discrimination allegations. In May, the court declined to opine on whether a judge or jury should decide that intentional discrimination against a White person pursuant to a corporate diversity, equity and...
Attorneys for three friends of Nolan Xavier Wells filed six more defamation lawsuits Tuesday in federal and state court, accusing social media users of making false claims about the young men in co...