Deborah Widiss
@deborahwidiss.bsky.social
Law prof at Indiana U Maurer Law (@iumaurerlaw.bsky.social). Research & teach about employment discrimination law, family law, work/family policy, and statutory interpretation. https://law.indiana.edu/about/people/details/widiss-deborah.html
New laws give workers dealing with menopause symptoms the support they need. I'm glad to have been able to contribute to this article highlighting recent developments. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
Working while menopausal
Employees in hormone flux want accommodations—and some states are granting them.
motherjones.com
Prof. @deborahwidiss.bsky.social spoke with @bloomberglaw.com about a new Sixth Circuit ruling interpreting the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (#EFAA).
All-In #MeToo Law Ruling Could Prove Durable in Absence of Split
Fixing on legislators’ word choice when they wrote the law, a US appeals court last week became the first to say workers bringing sexual harassment claims can keep their entire lawsuit out of arbitrat...
news.bloomberglaw.com
Prof. @deborahwidiss.bsky.social spoke with @wfiuwtiunews.bsky.social for a story on a lawsuit challenging Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and whether it might protect some residents from the state's near-total abortion ban.
Could religious freedom law protect some Hoosiers from Indiana’s abortion ban?
A lawsuit over the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Indiana’s near-total abortion ban is moving forward.
ipm.org
Complying With Trump Administration’s Attack on DEI Could Get Employers Into Legal Trouble msmagazine.com/2025/09/12/t...
Complying With Trump Administration’s Attack on DEI Could Get Employers Into Legal Trouble
Trump’s anti-DEI agenda is pushing companies to gut programs that actually help them comply with longstanding anti-discrimination laws.
msmagazine.com
Sharing an article (co-written with Stephanie Bornstein, Rachel Arnow-Richman, and Tristin Green) explaining why and how companies should continue programs designed to promote workplace diversity, notwithstanding the Trump administration's attacks on DEI. theconversation.com/complying-wi...
Complying with Trump administration’s attack on DEI could get employers into legal trouble
There are many legal ways for employers to advance their commitment to equal opportunity without discriminating against anyone.
theconversation.com
.@forbes.com featured new efforts by Prof. @deborahwidiss.bsky.social and fellow co-creators of The Legal DEI Project, who are helping employers make informed decisions in designing and defending legal DEI initiatives across the country. www.forbes.com/sites/michel...
3 Resources To Help Companies Design And Defend Legal DEI Programs
Most business leaders still view diversity, equity and inclusion as a business necessity. Legal experts offer advice for designing and defending lawful DEI initiatives.
forbes.com
The Regulatory Review cites work from Prof. @deborahwidiss.bsky.social on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act After Dobbs. www.theregreview.org/2025/07/08/w...
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act After Dobbs | The Regulatory Review
Recent legislation could protect pregnant workers who choose to have an abortion.
theregreview.org
Glad to have been able to contribute to a Forbes article on risks that may flow from abandoning all DEI efforts -- and what businesses can still do to promote workplace diversity. www.forbes.com/sites/michel...
3 Resources To Help Companies Design And Defend Legal DEI Programs
Most business leaders still view diversity, equity and inclusion as a business necessity. Legal experts offer advice for designing and defending lawful DEI initiatives.
forbes.com
Glad to be able to write an op-ed with @katieeyer.bsky.social & @sandrasperino.bsky.social on why it's time to retire the judge-made rules used to dismiss employment discrimination cases: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
Antidiscrimination Advocates Should Welcome Thomas’s Overture
Opinion: Three antidiscrimination scholars say they find themselves agreeing with Justice Thomas’s concurrence in the Ames decision: It’s time to retire the McDonnell Douglas test.
news.bloomberglaw.com
Featuring comments from Prof. @deborahwidiss.bsky.social
Bloomberg Law@bloomberglaw.com · last yr.A Louisiana federal judge’s decision to vacate parts of EEOC pregnancy accommodation rules illustrates a narrowed view of agencies’ abilities to regulate on abortion after the US Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to access it.
Prof. @deborahwidiss.bsky.social spoke with @bloomberglaw.com for:
TikTok Brings #MeToo Arbitration Opt-Out Back to Appellate Level
TikTok‘s appellate fight to send a female executive’s discrimination lawsuit to arbitration gives another federal circuit the chance to decide whether allegations of “sexual” misconduct are required t...
news.bloomberglaw.com
I’m looking forward to this conversation - and learning from my great co-panelists!
Indiana University Maurer School of Law@iumaurerlaw.bsky.social · last yr.We're excited to host the 3rd discussion in the B10 Law Schools' "Rule of Law in 2025" series tomorrow. Join @valenabeety.bsky.social, @katieeyer.bsky.social, @deborahwidiss.bsky.social, and @ohiostatelaw.bsky.social's Marc Spindelman for "Rearticulation of Sex and Gender." go.unl.edu/ruleoflaw
My new article, The Sexual Harassment Silo (forthcoming, Penn. L. Rev.), analyzes dozens of new laws passed to respond to #MeToo, including a federal ban on #forcedarbitration, and their importance in the current--much changed--political environment. Full draft here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Prof. @deborahwidiss.bsky.social has an op-ed out today in Ms. Magazine on a Texas lawsuit challenging the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
A Challenge to the Health of Pregnant Workers—and the Health of Our Constitutional Democracy
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act enjoyed broad bipartisan support, easily passed the House, and was favorably reported out of committee in the Senate. It did not take long, however, for attacks to en...
msmagazine.com
Pleased to share my new article, "The Solicitor General, Consistency, and Credibility," co-authored with Margaret Lemos. We argue the SG sometimes has good reason to change position, but also such flips may be critiqued as wrongheaded on the substance. Available here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
