T. Scott Kelly

2 weeks ago | jdsupra.com | T. Scott Kelly |Zachary Zagger

On May 20, 2025, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) opened the platform for employers to submit EEO-1 reports. In doing so, EEOC Acting Director Andrea Lucas warned employers not to use the data to take employment actions and reinforced earlier technical assistance that diversity, equity, or inclusion (DEI) practices that result in different treatment based on race, sex, or another protected characteristic can be unlawful discrimination.

2 weeks ago | mondaq.com | T. Scott Kelly |Zachary Zagger

Quick HitsThe EEOC has opened the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 reportingperiod, emphasizing that employers must not use the reporteddemographic data to justify discriminatory employment practicesbased on race, sex, or other protected characteristics. EEOC Acting Director Andrea Lucas warned employers that thereis no "diversity exception" to Title VII of the CivilRights Act, even if the data suggests employer policies may have adisparate impact on certain groups.

2 weeks ago | mondaq.com | Simone Francis |T. Scott Kelly |Nonnie L. Shivers

In this installment of our Workplace Strategies Watercooler2025 podcast series, three key members of our Diversity,Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Compliance Practice Group—SimoneFrancis (St. Thomas/New York), Scott Kelly (Birmingham), and NonnieShivers (Phoenix)—address the status of DEI initiatives asthey face unprecedented scrutiny.

2 weeks ago | natlawreview.com | Amjad I. Hussain |Paweł Piotrowski |Simone Francis |T. Scott Kelly

CAFC affirms that applying generic machine learning to industry-specific problems is not enough for patent eligibility under §101, reinforcing the importance of how innovations are framed in patent applications — especially in emerging tech like AI.

2 weeks ago | ogletree.com | T. Scott Kelly |Zachary Zagger

Quick HitsThe EEOC has opened the 2024 EEO-1 Component 1 reporting period, emphasizing that employers must not use the reported demographic data to justify discriminatory employment practices based on race, sex, or other protected characteristics. EEOC Acting Director Andrea Lucas warned employers that there is no “diversity exception” to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, even if the data suggests employer policies may have a disparate impact on certain groups.