Companies increasingly are turning to artificial intelligence tools to ease the recruitment and hiring process. Some attorneys claim that while these tools seem helpful, they’re just as biased as the people who design them. Employers could be exposed to claims of discrimination as a result.
Lawyers Step Up: Management firms have stepped up efforts to combat these biases by forming practice groups or informing themselves on potential issues. Cases alleging discrimination as a result of these tools haven’t made their way to court yet, but workers have filed charges with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Regulatory Inaction: Lawmakers have done very little to regulate potentially biased AI tools, instead waiting for the EEOC to establish rules. The federal civil rights agency said it hasn’t revisited the issue since a 2016 meeting on the topic. Paige Smith and Jaclyn Diaz have the story.
TOP STORIES
Trump to Tap Scalia for Labor Secretary Post, Following Acosta Exit
President Donald Trump plans to nominate business attorney Eugene Scalia to fill the recently opened Labor Secretary role, the president announced.
Kagan Says She Didn’t ‘Pull Punches’ in Gerrymandering Dissent
Justice Elena Kagan said she didn’t pull any punches in her dissent to the Supreme Court’s decision to not police partisan gerrymandering, and hopes a future court might revisit the issue.
Stevens to Lie in Repose at Supreme Court
Late former Justice John Paul Stevens will lie in repose at the U.S. Supreme Court on July 22. The Supreme Court said Stevens’ casket will rest on the Lincoln Catafalque in the Great Hall.
Trump District Court Pick Confirmed, Others Clear Committee
The Senate confirmed another of President Donald Trump’s district court nominees with Democratic support while four others were cleared by the Judiciary Committee.
PRACTITIONER INSIGHTS
INSIGHT: The Supreme Court Flouts the Service of Non-Christian Soldiers and Offends Devout Christians
Monica Miller, senior counsel at the American Humanist Association, represented the plaintiffs in the U.S. Supreme Court case involving a Latin cross war memorial in Bladensburg, Md. She explains the high court’s ruling does more damage to Christianity than it does to religious minorities.
INSIGHT: SCOTUS Fax Decision Offers Little Clarity on Deference, Even Less on TCPA
The Supreme Court’s remand of an unsolicited fax case does nothing to relieve confusion about the Hobbs Act or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Drinker Biddle‘s Michael P. Daly says the result is of little use to businesses, but can be used by defendants in enforcement actions against them.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Legal Profession
Linklaters Lands Blockchain Luminary Joshua Ashley Klayman
Linklaters has grabbed prominent blockchain lawyer and consultant Joshua Ashley Klayman to serve as its U.S. head of fintech, and as head of its blockchain and digital assets practice group.
60-Day Suspension for Md. Lawyer Who Misled Bar Counsel
A Maryland immigration lawyer was given a 60-day suspension by a state appeals court for lying to bar counsel but stopped short of imposing the counsel’s recommendation of an indefinite suspension.
Wachtell to Clients: Compliance Still Matters Under Trump
Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz issued a memo to clients warning they should continue to strive for effective white-collar compliance despite a slowdown in white-collar enforcement under President Donald Trump.
Florida Bar Wins Dismissal of Federal Suit Over Lawyer Subpoena
An attorney’s civil rights challenge to a Florida Bar subpoena for his trust account records was dismissed by a federal court.
Case Alert
‘Dumped’ Patients Win Right to Sue States Under Nursing Home Law
Medicaid-eligible nursing home residents have a right to sue states that fail to provide them with a fair process for appealing patient “dumping” by the facilities, the Ninth Circuit said.
Prisoner Needn’t Prepay Fees to Appeal Third Strike Ruling
Indigent prisoner Therl Taylor may appeal the dismissal of his civil rights claims without paying filing fees, despite a rule that seeks to limit frivolous prisoner lawsuits, an appeals court ruled.
New Yorker Kicked Out of Med School Gets New Shot at Bias Claims
A New York man who alleges he was kicked out of medical school because of his mental health, and his sexual orientation, will get another chance to prove his claims.
Logitech May Convince 9th Cir. to Ban Alsup’s Class ‘Gag Rule’
A federal judge’s standing order barring class settlement talks before class certification “appears to be inconsistent” with the rule governing class actions, a Ninth Circuit judge said at oral argument.
Lincoln National Benefit Spat Sows Discord Among 6th Cir. Judges
Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. properly moved a disability insurance lawsuit to federal court by pointing out that the plan participant could win more than $75,000 if his lawsuit was successful, the Sixth Circuit ruled.
Brandishing Gun Not Physical Restraint for Sentencing Purposes
A robbery defendant didn’t physically restrain his victims by waving a gun at them and telling them not to move, the Seventh Circuit said.
Alabama City’s Red Light Camera Scheme Is Constitutional
An Alabama city’s camera scheme under which drivers are subject to a civil fine for running a red light doesn’t violate due process, the Eleventh Circuit said.
Chevron, BP to Argue Climate Change Appeals Before Same Panel
Chevron Corp., BP PLC, and other fossil fuel companies will get a chance to argue before a single panel of Ninth Circuit judges that several climate change suits should be litigated in federal court.
Merck Defeats Claims Over Alleged Gardasil Contamination
The National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act’s exhaustion requirement bars a couple’s lawsuit against Merck & Co. alleging its Gardasil vaccine injured their daughter, a federal court said.
No ADA Relief for Student With Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity
A student with a sensitivity to the electromagnetic fields emitted by the Wi-Fi in his school isn’t entitled to any damages under the Americans with Disabilities Act on his claim the school retaliated against him for complaining, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said.
16 States Urge Sixth Circuit to Uphold Kentucky Abortion Law
Kentucky’s restrictions on the most commonly used method for second-trimester abortions is valid and enforceable, a group of anti-abortion state attorneys general told a federal appeals court.
Also in the News
Trump Talked to Cohen as Lawyer Buried Affairs, U.S. Says
In the days after Donald Trump’s campaign was rocked by the disclosure of lewd remarks he made about women on an “Access Hollywood” tape, his aides frantically worked to contain potentially damaging disclosures about two women who claimed to have affairs with him.
Cohen Prosecutors Probed Others, Had Trump Phone Records
Federal prosecutors who probed whether hush money paid to a porn star during Donald Trump’s presidential run were campaign-finance violations also examined whether anyone besides Michael Cohen gave false testimony, lied to investigators or otherwise obstructed justice.
WORKFLOWS
Paul Hastings grabbed a three-partner private equity team from Hogan Lovells, led by the London private equity leader, Ed Harris; Leanne Moezi also joined in London, and Adam Brown is joining the Washington office | Linklaters announced that Joshua Ashley Klayman has joined the firm as U.S. head of fintech and head of blockchain and digital assets in New York; Klayman was founder and CEO of boutique law firm Klayman LLC | Holland & Knight has hired its first director of diversity and inclusion, Yusuf Z. Zakir, who will reside in Los Angeles; Zakir previously managed diversity recruiting and engagement at Latham & Watkins | Akin Gump said Lucas Charleston has joined the firm as a partner in its corporate practice in New York from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan | Goodwin added Céline Domenget Morin as a partner, extending its financial restructuring practice to Paris | Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan said Patrick King has joined the firm as a partner in Houston from Kirkland & Ellis LLP | Womble Bond Dickinson continues to build its Boston-based life sciences intellectual property team with the addition of science adviser Pallavi Banerjee, Ph.D. | Greenberg Traurig added Timothy Long as a Labor & Employment Practice shareholder in the firm’s Sacramento and Los Angeles offices from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP | Baker McKenzie has appointed David Cambria as chief services officer to reflect the continuing expansion and development of the firm’s services function.
Correction: Yesterday’s Workflows incorrectly reported Evan Krauss’s position prior to joining Eisner. He was a founding partner of Gray Krauss Sandler Des Rochers LLP.
Learn more about Bloomberg Law or Log In to keep reading:
See Breaking News in Context
Bloomberg Law provides trusted coverage of current events enhanced with legal analysis.
Already a subscriber?
Log in to keep reading or access research tools and resources.