Redfin has agreed to pay $9.25 million to settle federal lawsuits that claim U.S. homeowners were saddled with artificially inflated broker commissions when they sold their home as a result of longstanding real-estate industry practices.

Redfin was a co-defendant in the lawsuit, which alleged anticompetitive practices forced home sellers to pay fees to buyers' agents.

Redfin agreed to pay $9 million to settle claims brought by home sellers against the discount brokerage and listings platform

A month before what could have been an embarrassing trial, the city has agreed to a $5.8 million settlement in a lawsuit alleging Black employees at the Chicago Department of Water Management were subjected to years of racist and sexist slurs,

The settlement covers 12 current and former Water Department workers who claimed they were subjected to a "hostile and abusive work environment."

A dozen Black employees said they were subjected to racist comments from managers and shorted on overtime and promotions. "The racism lasted for decades and affected countless Black employees, which raises the question of why the city's uppermost leaders failed to act,

Houston Controller Chris Hollins faced fierce criticism from firefighters union president Marty Lancton, after estimating that equalizing past pay for Houston firefighters with their peers in other major Texas cities would cost about half of the $650 million backpay currently under consideration.

Chris Hollins stressed that the firefighters were long overdue for a raise and that the settlement would make their pay competitive with that of their counterparts in other large Texas cities. But Houston’s firefighters’ union accused him of playing politics.