Employment

  • October 23, 2024

    Feds, Huawei Ask To Delay 'Complex' Trade Secret Theft Trial

    Washington federal prosecutors and Huawei have both asked to delay until 2026 a trial in a case accusing the company of stealing T-Mobile's trade secrets, noting the complexity of the case and difficulties the attorneys for the Chinese chipmaker have had communicating with witnesses.

  • October 23, 2024

    Ameriprise, Ex-Worker Duo To Arbitrate Stolen Docs Claims

    Financial services company Ameriprise will arbitrate claims that a father-son pair of ex-employees took confidential records "in the dark of the night" on their way out the door to work for a competitor, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has determined.

  • October 23, 2024

    Fla. Law Firm Gets Win In Trial Over Pregnancy Bias

    A Florida federal judge on Wednesday granted a judgment in favor of a law firm accused of firing its former human resources manager because she was pregnant, agreeing that the evidence presented at trial wasn't sufficient to prove a discrimination claim.

  • October 23, 2024

    Hibachi Restaurant Reaches $500K Wage Deal With Workers

    A New Jersey hibachi restaurant struck a $500,000 settlement with five former servers to resolve their lawsuit alleging the company did not pay them any wages and deducted money from their tips, which was their only source of income, according to a filing in federal court.

  • October 23, 2024

    No Xenophobia Taint In Fired Prof's Jury Trial, Panel Says

    An Ohio state appellate court has upheld a jury's finding that a Cincinnati medical center did not violate employment law when it fired a tenured associate professor, rejecting the professor's argument that the medical center attempted to stoke "xenophobic bias" in the jury by mentioning his Chinese heritage during trial.

  • October 23, 2024

    Full 9th Circ. Passes On SF Nurses' Salary Basis Case

    The full Ninth Circuit said Wednesday it won't reconsider a panel's ruling that it wasn't clear whether a group of San Francisco city nurses in two consolidated cases were paid on a salary basis and could therefore be considered overtime-exempt.

  • October 23, 2024

    Combs, Feds At Odds Over Gag Order Amid Press Blitz

    Attorneys for Sean "Diddy" Combs told a Manhattan federal judge on Wednesday that they are unable to agree with prosecutors about who should be barred from talking to the press about the hip-hop mogul's sex-trafficking and racketeering case.

  • October 23, 2024

    Amazon Must Face Drivers' Tip Suit Despite FTC Settlement

    A Washington federal judge largely refused Wednesday to toss a proposed class action accusing Amazon of violating Evergreen State laws by withholding portions of drivers' tips, saying the claims are still valid despite the Federal Trade Commission reaching a nearly $62 million deal with the company over the same alleged conduct.

  • October 23, 2024

    NYC Lawmakers Propose Giving Workers Sick Time For Pets

    Two New York City Council members introduced a bill Wednesday that would let workers use sick leave to care for pets and service animals, a novel move that one lawmaker said is meant to promote the health benefits of animal ownership.

  • October 23, 2024

    Ex-VA Worker Must Repay Sex Harassment Award, Judge Says

    A former U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs worker must return a $90,000 award she won in internal proceedings accusing a supervisor of sexual harassment, a Mississippi federal judge ruled, saying she must pay back the money because she lost a subsequent court case over the same allegations.

  • October 23, 2024

    Penn State To Pay $1.25M To Resolve FCA Cybersecurity Suit

    Pennsylvania State University will pay $1.25 million to settle a False Claims Act suit accusing it of failing to comply with cybersecurity requirements for defense and NASA contracts, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

  • October 23, 2024

    Fired Norton Rose Worker Ends Suit Over COVID Vax Mandate

    A Texas federal judge on Wednesday signed off on a former Norton Rose Fulbright IT worker's agreement to drop his lawsuit, which accused the firm of discriminating against the ex-employee when it fired him after he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine because he didn't feel peace with the Holy Spirit about being inoculated.

  • October 23, 2024

    United Worker Fired Over Online Pics Gets Bias Suit Revived

    A California appeals court revived a United Airlines flight attendant's sex bias suit claiming she was unlawfully fired for appearing in uniform on a social media page advertising her OnlyFans account, crediting her argument that male flight attendants didn't face the same consequences for similar behavior.

  • October 23, 2024

    Trial Consulting Firm Says Ex-Worker Stole Trade Secrets

    Jury analysis firm Jury-X has accused a former employee of taking off with its trade secrets and exploiting a "backdoor" she put in the company's data tables to start her own competing juror selection services business that also copied her old employer's appearance online.

  • October 23, 2024

    Law Firm Accuses Ex-Paralegal Of 'Sabotage' In Bears Case

    An Illinois law firm has accused one of its former paralegals of attempting to stiff the firm for work it did settling his discrimination suit against the Chicago Bears, alleging that the erstwhile employee declined to file key paperwork and deleted critical files.

  • October 23, 2024

    5th Circ. Upholds Workers' Win In Health Co. Wage Suit

    A group of workers for an at-home healthcare company are employees, not independent contractors, a Fifth Circuit panel ruled, affirming a Louisiana federal court decision in three consolidated cases claiming the company cheated workers out of overtime.

  • October 23, 2024

    Chemical Co. GC Fires Back At Pregnancy Bias Claims In NJ

    Arxada and its general counsel struck back at a former in-house attorney's claims in a New Jersey state court lawsuit that the specialty chemicals company unlawfully dismissed her in the days after she talked about taking leave to recover from a miscarriage.

  • October 23, 2024

    Harvard Enabling 'Outrageous' Antisemitism, Court Told

    Harvard University is intentionally protecting students and faculty accused of antisemitism and an assault on a Jewish student last year, "hoping this whole thing goes away," a lawyer for two student groups said during a hearing Wednesday on the Ivy League school's bid to end a second civil rights lawsuit.

  • October 23, 2024

    Harvey Weinstein Must Face All NY Charges At Retrial

    A New York state judge on Wednesday denied Harvey Weinstein a separate trial for his new sexual assault charge, ruling that he must face that allegation alongside his original indictment at a retrial that is now expected to begin in early 2025.

  • October 23, 2024

    Mercedes, Staffing Firm Failed To Pay OT, Ex-Worker Says

    Mercedes-Benz and a staffing agency failed to pay a former employee at all for the hours she worked over 40 per week, let alone at the federally mandated time-and-a-half rate, she said in a suit filed in Georgia federal court.

  • October 22, 2024

    UFC Fighters Win Initial OK On $375M Wage Suppression Deal

    A Nevada federal judge on Tuesday gave his blessing to a $375 million settlement resolving a group of former UFC fighters' claims that the organization for years underpaid match participants, the fighters' counsel confirmed.

  • October 22, 2024

    Connecticut GOP Challenges Ex-Aide's Bias Suit Timeline

    A former press secretary for Republican lawmakers in the Connecticut House of Representatives failed to prevent or correct alleged workplace harassment that included cursing by waiting a year to report a key incident cited in her complaint, state House Republicans argued in an answer to the ex-spokesperson's discrimination lawsuit.

  • October 22, 2024

    Calif. Panel Says Panera Must Face PAGA Claims

    A California state appeals court on Monday reversed a state trial court's ruling compelling a Panera restaurant employee to arbitrate Private Attorneys General Act claims against the bakery and café chain, saying an arbitration agreement the worker had entered explicitly excluded PAGA claims.

  • October 22, 2024

    Ex-Worker Says DOJ Retaliated Over Accommodation Request

    A former human resources officer in the Southern District of Texas lodged a retaliation suit against the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday, claiming she had to wait 100 days for her post-traumatic stress disorder-related accommodation request to be approved.

  • October 22, 2024

    Supervisor Could've Prevented Electrician's Death, Widow Says

    The widow of a man who was electrocuted told a Texas appeals court during oral arguments Tuesday that it wouldn't matter if there was a supervisor looking over the deceased man's shoulder, claiming the question never came up because there wasn't a qualified supervisor on site.

Expert Analysis

  • Old Employment Law Principles Can Answer New AI Concerns

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    Despite growing legal and regulatory concerns about how artificial intelligence tools may affect employment decisions and worker rights, companies should take comfort in knowing that familiar principles of employment law and established compliance regimes can still largely address these new twists on old questions, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • Navigating New Enforcement Scrutiny Of 'AI Washing'

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    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent lawsuit against Joonko Diversity, its first public AI-focused enforcement action against a private company, underscores the importance of applying the same internal legal and compliance rigor to AI-related claims as other market-facing statements, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

  • Pa. Health Employers Must Prep For Noncompete Restrictions

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    Newly enacted legislation in Pennsylvania prohibits certain noncompete covenants for healthcare practitioners in the state beginning next year, creating compliance challenges that both employers and employees should be aware of, say attorneys at Buchanan Ingersoll.

  • Avoiding Corporate Political Activity Pitfalls This Election Year

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    As Election Day approaches, corporate counsel should be mindful of the complicated rules around companies engaging in political activities, including super PAC contributions, pay-to-play prohibitions and foreign agent restrictions, say attorneys at Covington.

  • Employer Arbitration Lessons From Calif. Consumer Ruling

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    Although a California state appeals court’s recent arbitration ruling in Mahram v. Kroger involved a consumer transaction, the finding that the arbitration agreement at issue did not apply to a third-party beneficiary could influence how employment arbitration agreements are interpreted, says Sander van der Heide at CDF Labor Law.

  • Why Attorneys Should Consider Community Leadership Roles

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    Volunteering and nonprofit board service are complementary to, but distinct from, traditional pro bono work, and taking on these community leadership roles can produce dividends for lawyers, their firms and the nonprofit causes they support, says Katie Beacham at Kilpatrick.

  • How NJ Temp Equal Pay Survived A Constitutional Challenge

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    The Third Circuit recently gave the New Jersey Temporary Workers' Bill of Rights a new lease on life by systematically dismantling multiple theories of the act's unconstitutionality brought by staffing agencies hoping to delay their new equal pay and benefits obligations, say attorneys at Duane Morris.

  • Firms Must Offer A Trifecta Of Services In Post-Chevron World

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    After the U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision overturning Chevron deference, law firms will need to integrate litigation, lobbying and communications functions to keep up with the ramifications of the ruling and provide adequate counsel quickly, says Neil Hare at Dentons.

  • 5 Tips To Succeed In A Master Of Laws Program And Beyond

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    As lawyers and recent law school graduates begin their Master of Laws coursework across the country, they should keep a few pointers in mind to get the most out of their programs and kick-start successful careers in their practice areas, says Kelley Miller at Reed Smith.

  • NYC Wage Info Bill Highlights Rise In Pay Transparency Laws

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    With New York City the latest to mull requiring companies to annually report employee wage data, national employers should consider adapting their compliance practices to comply with increasingly common pay transparency and disclosure obligations at state and local levels, says Kelly Cardin at Littler Mendelson.

  • When Trauma Colors Testimony: How To Help Witnesses

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    As stress-related mental health issues continue to rise, trial attorneys must become familiar with a few key trauma-informed strategies to help witnesses get back on track — leaning in to the counselor aspect of their vocations, say Ava Hernández and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

  • Series

    Being An Opera Singer Made Me A Better Lawyer

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    My journey from the stage to the courtroom has shown that the skills I honed as an opera singer – punctuality, memorization, creativity and more – have all played a vital role in my success as an attorney, says Gerard D'Emilio at GableGotwals.

  • How Law Firms Can Avoid 'Collaboration Drag'

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    Law firm decision making can be stifled by “collaboration drag” — characterized by too many pointless meetings, too much peer feedback and too little dissent — but a few strategies can help stakeholders improve decision-making processes and build consensus, says Steve Groom at Miles Mediation.

  • Workday AI Bias Suit Suggests Hiring Lessons For Employers

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    As state laws and a federal agency increasingly focus on employment bias introduced by artificial intelligence systems, a California federal court's recent decision to allow a discrimination suit to proceed against Workday's AI-driven recruitment software, shows companies should promptly assess these tools' risks, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.

  • When The Supreme Court Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade

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    Instead of grousing about the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions overturning long-standing precedents, attorneys should look to history for examples of how enterprising legal minds molded difficult decisions to their advantage, and figure out how to work with the cards they’ve been dealt, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

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