Employment Discrimination Law & Litigation 2026

Employment discrimination law continues to evolve rapidly, with significant substantive, procedural, and policy shifts shaping litigation of these claims in 2026. Practitioners face new challenges in understanding and navigating these changes to effectively represent clients.

This popular, full-day event brings together leading members of the management and plaintiffs’ bars, along with experienced neutrals, to provide national perspectives on key legal developments and emerging trends. 

This year’s program will include an updated panel on significant state and federal cases, as well as discussion of the impact of the new Republican Administration on DEI initiatives and programs and the regulatory agencies charged with enforcing the anti-discrimination laws.  

We will also cover the growing role of arbitration in resolving employment discrimination disputes. In fact, an all-new panel will examine and analyze the important differences, similarities and considerations involved in litigating cases in court vs. arbitration as practitioners in 2026 must understand these issues to successfully represent clients in both venues.  

Other panels will address evolving limits on mandatory arbitration and jury waivers, as well as the expanded scope of pay equity legislation and court decisions. 

Finally, a panel will address disability discrimination, examining specifically damages arising out of disability claims and expert testimony used to prove or disprove them.

After attending this program, participants will be able to:  

• Understand trends in the law with respect to the latest developments in all types of employment discrimination litigation 

• Learn how the new Republican Administration has changed the landscape in the DEI arena for the legal profession and how issues of reverse discrimination and DEI are being addressed 

• Understand the differences between litigating claims of employment discrimination in arbitration or in court before a judge or jury 

• Learn the various approaches, and the stakes, for enforcing and avoiding agreements to arbitrate certain claims 

• Appreciate the expanding concept of pay equity as a result of legislation and court decisions and how to present theories of pay disparity and defending against such claims