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Employment
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December 17, 2024
Groundskeeper's Race Bias Suit Should Be Axed, Court Told
A Georgia chiropractic university has urged a federal judge not to adopt a recommendation by a magistrate judge to deny its bid to defeat a former groundkeeper's suit alleging he was fired because he repeatedly complained about his supervisor's treatment of Black workers.
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December 17, 2024
Judge Cuts Upper Deck's Disney Card Game Suit
A Washington federal judge has pared down a toy company's suit accusing a competitor of improperly luring away a former contractor and infringing copyrighted material in making a Disney-branded game, partially letting claims involving unfair competition and fraudulent misrepresentations proceed while dismissing others.
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December 17, 2024
Canadian Gets 2 Years For Stealing Secrets Tesla Bought
A New York federal judge on Monday sentenced a Canadian businessman to two years in prison after he pled guilty to charges he helped his Chinese business partner use trade secrets from his former employer that was acquired by Tesla in 2019.
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December 17, 2024
Worker Claims Merger Can't Nix Pa. Medical Pot Protection
An engineering company unlawfully fired a Pennsylvania worker after he tested positive for cannabis usage, even though the employer knew about the worker's medical marijuana prescription, according to a lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania state court.
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December 17, 2024
DC Circ. Nixes Challenge To Union Vote At Transformer Co.
An electrical transformer manufacturer can't overturn the National Labor Relations Board's certification of a union with claims that agency officials botched the representation vote, the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday, saying the company's allegations about the length of the voting period lack merit.
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December 17, 2024
Los Angeles Can't Dodge Ex-Cop's Military Leave Bias Suit
A California federal judge declined to toss a former cop's suit claiming Los Angeles didn't grant equal sick and vacation time to service members and declined to promote him because he served in the National Guard, ruling he backed up his claims with enough detail to dodge dismissal.
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December 17, 2024
4th Circ. Undoes Classes Of Bojangles Managers In Wage Suit
A Fourth Circuit panel untangled two classes of over 5,000 shift managers accusing fried chicken restaurant chain Bojangles of owing workers pay for off-the-clock work, ruling Tuesday that a lower court's overly broad approach was fatal to keeping the certification in place.
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December 17, 2024
Stanford Profs Say Roche's Trade Secret Claims Time-Barred
Stanford University's trustees and three of its professors have asked a California federal court to dismiss trade secret theft claims bought by subsidiaries of F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, arguing that the allegations are time-barred because the companies were on notice of the purported misappropriation for over three years before filing suit.
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December 17, 2024
Starbucks Baristas Authorize Strike Amid First Contract Talks
Unionized Starbucks baristas have voted to authorize a strike at the coffee giant, Workers United announced Tuesday, as the parties went back to the negotiating table with outstanding issues for first contracts related to wages, benefits and settling unfair labor practice claims.
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December 17, 2024
Feds Intervene In $200M FCA Case Against CVS
The federal government has intervened in a whistleblower case accusing CVS and its subsidiaries of pocketing more than $200 million in overpayments, in order to defend the constitutionality of the False Claims Act's whistleblower provisions.
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December 17, 2024
X Can't Seal Corporate Info In $500M Severance Dispute
A California federal judge refused Tuesday to allow X Corp. and Elon Musk to file under seal the company's corporate disclosure statement in a dispute over X's failure to adequately pay severance to former workers, saying there's no evidence that disclosing this information would harm the company.
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December 17, 2024
Grubhub To Pay $25M To End FTC Suit Over Deceptive Tactics
The Federal Trade Commission and the Illinois attorney general teamed up Tuesday to announce a settlement that requires Grubhub Inc. to pay $25 million to resolve claims that the food-delivery service charged customers hidden junk fees, listed restaurants on its app without their permission and misled drivers about how much money they could make.
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December 17, 2024
DHS Unveils H-1B Overhaul As Biden Admin Winds Down
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday unveiled its highly anticipated overhaul of the H-1B visa program for foreign specialty workers, codifying deference to prior approvals and tightening eligibility standards for the kinds of occupations that qualify.
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December 17, 2024
Biden Admin Finalizes Revamp Of Seasonal Visa Programs
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday finalized changes to the program for foreign seasonal workers that will bolster worker protections, penalize employers who impose prohibited fees and make it easier for workers to change employers.
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December 17, 2024
Nevada Defeats DOJ Military Bias Suit Over Pension Credits
A Nevada federal judge tossed the U.S. Department of Justice's suit claiming Nevada and its public employees' retirement system overcharged service members for pension credits, ruling that a law protecting troops' reemployment rights doesn't let service members beef up their retirement benefits at a discounted rate.
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December 17, 2024
Ex-Reed Smith Atty Seeks To Appeal NJ Bias Damages Limit
A former Reed Smith LLP labor and employment lawyer has told the New Jersey Appellate Division that a lower court was wrong to conclude that a pay discrimination law does not apply retroactively, limiting her potential damages against the firm in a bias lawsuit.
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December 17, 2024
11th Circ. Affirms NLRB Bargain Order Against Chemical Co.
A chemical manufacturer must comply with a National Labor Relations Board decision ordering it to negotiate with a United Food and Commercial Workers affiliate, the Eleventh Circuit found, rejecting the company's claim that two ballots that could have swayed the vote outcome should have counted.
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December 17, 2024
5th Circ. Preserves Feds' ACA Trans Health Policy
The Fifth Circuit upended a Texas court decision that invalidated a federal agency interpretation of the Affordable Care Act's provision on nondiscrimination in healthcare, keeping intact federal policy that prohibits insurers from discriminating against individuals seeking treatment for gender dysphoria.
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December 17, 2024
NY AG Recovers $4M In Tips For Former Drizly Drivers
Defunct alcohol delivery service Drizly agreed to pay $4 million to more than 8,300 former delivery drivers after it failed to properly give them earned tips, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday.
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December 17, 2024
Ex-Pol Can't Shake Fraud Rap Over Jury's Racial Makeup
A Massachusetts federal judge denied a Vietnamese-American former state senator's bid to undo his conviction for unlawfully accepting unemployment assistance and filing a false tax return, rejecting claims that jury selection was tainted by "racial animus" on the part of prosecutors.
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December 17, 2024
Colo. Atty Accused Of Poaching Seeks State Justices' Take
It's time for Colorado's Supreme Court to weigh whether law firms may prohibit attorneys from soliciting co-workers to depart their firm together, a lawyer accused of soliciting BigLaw firms to poach her department from a Denver personal injury firm argued Monday, asserting the case is a matter of first impression.
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December 17, 2024
Groups Want Win In Partially Blocked Prevailing Wage Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor's final rule updating how prevailing wages are calculated under the Davis-Bacon Act should sink because it is arbitrary and capricious, a group of construction groups said, urging a Texas court to ax the rule after it partially blocked it.
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December 17, 2024
1st Circ. Revives Bias Case Against Rhode Island Vets Agency
The First Circuit breathed new life into a former Rhode Island official's employment discrimination case, ruling that the evidence could be reasonably interpreted as showing she was terminated due to her gender or sexual orientation.
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December 17, 2024
Supercuts Owner Cuts Deal To End Ex-Worker's OT Suit
The owner of nearly 400 Supercuts and other hair salons agreed to pay $15,000 to resolve a suit from a former employee accusing it of failing to account for commissions and other nondiscretionary bonuses when calculating her overtime rates, a filing in Michigan federal court said.
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December 16, 2024
Circuit-By-Circuit Guide To 2024's Most Memorable Moments
One judge said a litigant's position would cause "an effing nightmare," and another decried the legal community's silence amid "illegitimate aspersions." Public officials literally trashed one court's opinion, and fateful rulings dealt with controversial politicians, social media and decades of environmental policy. Those were just a few appellate highlights in 2024, a year teeming with memorable moments both substantive and sensational.
Expert Analysis
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Employer Lessons From Mass. 'Bonus Not Wages' Ruling
In Nunez v. Syncsort, a Massachusetts state appeals court recently held that a terminated employee’s retention bonus did not count as wages under the state’s Wage Act, illustrating the nuanced ways “wages” are defined by state statutes and courts, say attorneys at Segal McCambridge.
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Opinion
Judicial Committee Best Venue For Litigation Funding Rules
The Advisory Committee on Civil Rules' recent decision to consider developing a rule for litigation funding disclosure is a welcome development, ensuring that the result will be the product of a thorough, inclusive and deliberative process that appropriately balances all interests, says Stewart Ackerly at Statera Capital.
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Employment Verification Poses Unique Risks For Staffing Cos.
All employers face employee verification issues, but a survey of recent settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section suggests that staffing companies' unique circumstances raise the chances they will be investigated and face substantial fines, says Eileen Scofield at Alston & Bird.
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The Strategic Advantages Of Appointing A Law Firm CEO
The impact on law firms of the recent CrowdStrike outage underscores that the business of law is no longer merely about providing supplemental support for legal practice — and helps explain why some law firms are appointing dedicated, full-time CEOs to navigate the challenges of the modern legal landscape, says Jennifer Johnson at Calibrate Strategies.
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Series
After Chevron: The Future Of OSHA Enforcement Litigation
The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion in Loper Bright provides a blueprint for overruling the judicial obligation to defer to an agency's interpretation of its own regulations established by Auer, an outcome that would profoundly change the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s litigation and rulemaking landscape, say attorneys at Ogletree.
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Inside FTC's Decision To Exit Key Merger Review Labor Memo
Despite the Federal Trade Commission's recent withdrawal from a multiagency memorandum of understanding to step up enforcement of labor issues in merger investigations, the antitrust agencies aren't likely to give up their labor market focus, say attorneys at Stinson.
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Insights From Calif. Public Labor Board's Strike Rights Ruling
The California Public Employment Relations Board's recent rejection of a school district's claim that public employees have no right to conduct unfair labor practice strikes signals its interest in fortifying this central labor right — and warns employers to approach potentially protected behavior with caution, say attorneys at Atkinson Andelson.
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7 Tips To Help Your Witness Be A Cross-Exam Heavyweight
Because jurors tend to pay a little more attention to cross-examination, attorneys should train their witnesses to strike a balance — making it tough for opposing counsel to make their side’s case, without coming across as difficult to the jury, says Ken Broda-Bahm at Persuasion Strategies.
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Series
Beekeeping Makes Me A Better Lawyer
The practice of patent law and beekeeping are not typically associated, but taking care of honeybees has enriched my legal practice by highlighting the importance of hands-on experience, continuous learning, mentorship and more, says David Longo at Oblon McClelland.
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Navigating The Last Leg Of The Worker Retention Tax Credit
Whether a business has applied for the pandemic-era employee retention tax credit, received a denial letter or is still considering making a claim before the April 15 deadline, it should examine recent developments significantly affecting the program before planning next steps, say attorneys at Nixon Peabody.
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Amazon Holiday Pay Case Underscores Overtime Challenges
The recent Hamilton v. Amazon.com Services LLC decision in the Colorado Supreme Court underscores why employers must always consult applicable state law and regulations — in addition to federal law — when determining how to properly pay employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek, says James Looby at Vedder Price.
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Insurance Considerations For Cos. That May Face Strikes
The recent surge in major work stoppages in the U.S. highlights the growing importance of strike preparedness for businesses, which includes understanding strike insurance coverage options, say Chris D’Amour and Brooke Duncan at Adams and Reese.
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Opinion
It's Time To Sound The Alarm About Lost Labor Rights
In the Fifth Circuit, recent rulings from judges appointed by former President Donald Trump have dismantled workers’ core labor rights, a troubling trend that we cannot risk extending under another Trump administration, say Sharon Block and Raj Nayak at the Center for Labor and a Just Economy.
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What To Know About New Employment Laws In Fla.
Florida employers should familiarize themselves with recent state laws, and also federal legislation, on retirement benefits, teen labor and heat exposure, with special attention to prohibitions against minors performing dangerous tasks, as outlined in the Fair Labor Standards Act, say Katie Molloy and Cayla Page at Greenberg Traurig.
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Election Unlikely To Overhaul Antitrust Enforcers' Labor Focus
Although the outcome of the presidential election may alter the course of antitrust enforcement in certain areas of the economy, scrutiny of labor markets by the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice is likely to remain largely unaffected — with one notable exception, say Jared Nagley and Joy Siu at Sheppard Mullin.