class action

Implicit Bias, Disparate Impact, and Class Actions: Iowa District Court Rules in Favor of the State, but Employers Should Remain Wary.

By Patrick Smith on April 20, 2012

Posted in Iowa Appellate Courts, Litigation and Trials, Race Discrimination, Title VII

Earlier this week Iowa District Court Judge Robert Blink granted judgment for the State of Iowa in a high profile class action race discrimination lawsuit. (Pippen v. State of Iowa, link here). The plaintiffs alleged that 37 departments in the State’s executive branch maintained hiring and promotion practices that had an adverse …

Wal-Mart v. Dukes May Bar Class Action Race Discrimination Suit Against the State of Iowa

By Patrick Smith on August 15, 2011

Posted in Litigation and Trials, Race Discrimination, U.S. Supreme Court

Wal-Mart v. Dukes, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in June, could derail a class action race discrimination case against the State of Iowa that has been pending since 2007 (See our posts here and here on the Wal-Mart case). The Iowa case involves 32 named plaintiffs who claim the State maintained hiring …