More languages for Indiana driver’s manual in lawsuit deal
The Indiana driver’s manual will be translated into four more languages in order to settle a federal lawsuit.
Discrimination
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Rent-to-own housing lawsuit settlement comes at a cost
Although the legal battle with rent-to-own housing company Casas Baratas Aqui ended with what the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana calls a “groundbreaking resolution that will have national impact,” the bitterness and damage invoked by the defendants’ counterclaims continues to rankle both sides in the litigation.
Hamilton County judge rules for 4 Indiana cities in RFRA lawsuit
Four Indiana cities sued for enacting anti-discrimination ordinances that opponents alleged violated religious rights laws have won summary judgment in a lawsuit challenging Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
IU says it can’t fire professor for ‘bigoted’ remarks
A professor at Indiana University who defended “racist, sexist, and homophobic” comments that he posted on his social media accounts will keep his job because his views are protected under the First Amendment, university officials announced after they were bombarded with demands to fire him.
AG Hill once again moves to dismiss accusers’ civil case
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is reviving his efforts to have a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against him and the state dismissed, also filing motions this month asking a federal judge to stay all discovery.
Financial services companies unsuccessful in blocking fair housing lawsuit
A lawsuit alleging financial services companies discriminated against minority neighborhoods in 30 cities across the country, including Gary and Indianapolis, has been allowed to move forward in federal court.
Osborne: Landlords may be liable for tenant-on-tenant harassment
Some attorneys may be familiar with and can competently advise their clients regarding the federal and state causes of action for hostile work environment. However, there is a similar, lesser-known cause of action for discrimination in the housing context known as “hostile housing environment” that warrants attention in light of a fairly recent opinion by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals clarifying its scope.
Fired INDOT employee loses appeal claiming political firing
A former Indiana Department of Transportation supervisor who claimed his firing was motivated in part by his defense of a Democratic employee and a letter to the editor that the supervisor’s mother wrote criticizing former Gov. Mike Pence’s immigration policies failed to prove he was discriminated against, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
Fired Indianapolis Catholic school counselor files lawsuit
A former guidance counselor at an Indianapolis Catholic high school who was fired for being in a same-sex marriage is suing the school and the archdiocese — the second such lawsuit filed by an employee who was fired for the same reason.
McKinney alumnae forge friendships spanning 40 years
A group of women law student trailblazers who entered the profession in the late 1970s never let their bond of friendship fade. At a recent 40th annual reunion,one asked her former IU McKinney classmates, “Can anyone here imagine being where you are today without the others?” They responded in unison, “no.”
Civil rights activist discusses Brown v. Board predecessor for Hispanic Heritage month
When 8-year-old Sylvia Mendez tried to register for an all-white school in California in the 1940s, she was denied admission because of her Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage. Mendez, now a civil rights activist, shared her story and the lawsuit that changed her life during a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration Oct. 11.
Ex-employee accuses Lafayette Mercedes-Benz dealership of discrimination
A black former sales manager at a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Lafayette is suing the business, saying he was fired in retaliation for complaining about the owner’s repeated use of racist language and his boasts about overcharging African-American customers.
Officer who resigned amid racial bias claims hired in Jeffersonville
A white Kentucky police officer who resigned amid allegations of racial bias has now been hired as an officer at a department in southern Indiana.
US Supreme Court takes up cases about LGBT employment rights
The US Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in two of the term’s most closely watched cases over whether federal civil rights law protects LGBT people from job discrimination.
Title VII questions at U.S. Supreme Court echo Indiana case
The issue that arose in Indiana from the employment discrimination case against Ivy Tech will go before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday as the nine justices will be asked whether Title VII protections extend to sexual orientation and gender identity.
AG Hill’s top advisers must turn over communications in discipline case
Efforts by top officials of the Indiana Office of the Attorney General to place under protective order communications between them and Attorney General Curtis Hill about the sexual misconduct allegations against Hill have been defeated with the denial of their motion to quash and motion for protective order.
Indiana BMV puts nonbinary gender option for IDs on hold
The Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is putting on hold a policy allowing nonbinary gender designations on driver’s licenses while state officials develop new formal regulations for gender changes on state-issued IDs.
Judge hearing suit over Indiana’s religious objections law
Conservative religious groups are arguing their constitutional rights were violated by limits that were placed on Indiana’s contentious religious objections law signed in 2015 by then-Gov. Mike Pence.
Desegregation advocate to mark Hispanic Heritage Month
A woman who fought to desegregate California public schools when she was 9 years old will discuss the lawsuit that altered the course of her life next week during a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration hosted by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana and the Indiana State Bar Association’s Latino Affairs Committee.
Dallas officer who fatally shot neighbor faces sentencing
The same jury that convicted a white Dallas police officer of murder in the fatal shooting of her black neighbor returns to court Wednesday to consider her sentence — a penalty that could be anywhere from five years to life in prison.