Employment

  • September 09, 2024

    Federal Law Preempts Standby Shift Claims, Oil Co. Says

    Oil refinery workers' claims that they didn't receive compensation for their 12-hour standby shifts require an interpretation of the collective bargaining agreements and the Labor Management Relations Act preempts the claims, a company told a California federal court.

  • September 06, 2024

    7th Circ. Skeptical Of Bid To Revive Fraud Claims Against Firm

    The Seventh Circuit seemed inclined Friday not to disturb lower court rulings that sank a litigation funder's fraud and damages claims against a law firm that abruptly dropped the business to represent a former employee who left to open a competing venture.

  • September 06, 2024

    Employment Authority: A Look At Min. Wage Ballot Measures

    Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with coverage on how courts could later consider laws passed through ballot measures about boosting the minimum wage and collective bargaining and four argument sessions that bias attorneys should watch in September, including the Eighth Circuit's review of a challenge to the abortion-related workplace accommodations within the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's Pregnant Workers Fairness Act final rule.

  • September 06, 2024

    Calif. Has Underpaid State Court Judges For Years, Suit Says

    A Sacramento County judge has filed a proposed class action on behalf of over 5,000 current and retired bench officers alleging they've been underpaid for the last several years over the state's failure to properly include special salary adjustments when calculating the average percentage salary increase for all state employees.

  • September 06, 2024

    X Corp. Shorted 3 Execs Millions In Severance, Suit Says

    Three former executives of Twitter, now known as X, said in a California federal court suit that Elon Musk prevented them from collecting millions in severance benefits following his takeover of the social media company by falsely claiming they were fired for failing to cooperate in investigations.

  • September 06, 2024

    Ex-Conn. Utility Execs Can't Shake Convictions At 2nd Circ.

    The Second Circuit issued a mammoth 140-page decision Friday upholding punishments including a $748,000 restitution order for three former executives convicted of stealing from a Connecticut utility cooperative, but the court threw out the utility's bid for a $9.6 million reimbursement for fronting the defendants' attorney fees.

  • September 06, 2024

    Ingersoll Rand Blocks Rival From Hiring Ex-Exec In NDA Fight

    A Colorado state court has preliminarily blocked the former chief executive of a company acquired by industrial products giant Ingersoll Rand Inc. from working for rival Avantor, finding Ingersoll Rand will likely win its claims that the executive specifically agreed not to work for Avantor as a condition of the acquisition.

  • September 06, 2024

    Starbucks Finds Interest For Appeal In Shareholder Suit

    A Washington Court of Appeals commissioner suggested to two Starbucks shareholders on Friday that their lawsuit must "do more than what it does" as of now if they want to accuse corporate leadership of responding illegally to barista unionization, hinting the court will likely take up the coffee giant's appeal.

  • September 06, 2024

    Payroll Co. Didn't Pay For Cannabis Client Referrals, Suit Says

    The founder of a now-closed payroll and human resources provider that largely served the cannabis industry claims he was never compensated for selling its client list to a Colorado rival, Comploy Inc., and is now demanding $161,000 and interest.

  • September 06, 2024

    Doctor Pulls Discovery Demands Against WWE Accuser

    Celebrity doctor Carlon Colker has withdrawn his demands seeking pre-litigation discovery materials from the woman who has accused Vince McMahon and former World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. executives of sexually assaulting and trafficking her.

  • September 06, 2024

    Ex-Union Head's Nephew Eyes Plea Change In Extortion Case

    The nephew of convicted felon and the former business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 is scheduled for a change of plea hearing on extortion charges stemming from allegedly intimidating a contractor on the Live! Casino construction project.

  • September 06, 2024

    Off The Bench: NCAA Flops, NBA Trial, Sunday Ticket Appeal

    In this week's Off The Bench, the $2.78 billion deal to settle a vast class action targeting the NCAA's name, image and likeness compensation rules hits a snag, the NBA and Warner Bros. aim for an April trial in their media rights fight, and NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers look to reinstate their $4.7 billion antitrust victory over the league.

  • September 06, 2024

    NC Restoration Co. Wants Out Of Rival's Noncompete Fight

    The new owner of a property restoration company caught in the crosshairs of a fight between its founders and their former employer has asked for a quick exit from the dispute, saying it can't be held liable for the founders' actions when the parties' real beef is with each other.

  • September 06, 2024

    PruittHealth Enabled Antigay Abuse, Fired Nurse Says

    The former nursing director of a PruittHealth facility in northwest Georgia has sued his former employer claiming a homophobic work environment, alleging that he was subjected to antigay abuse from his coworkers and patients alike before eventually being fired on bogus grounds.

  • September 06, 2024

    Travel Nurse Says Emory Ended Her Contract Over Race Bias

    A travel nurse alleged in a lawsuit that Emory Healthcare Inc. unlawfully terminated her three-month contract after she complained that allowing her to administer peritoneal dialysis on Black patients without proper training would be "akin to treating those patients as guinea pigs."

  • September 06, 2024

    4 ERISA Arguments To Watch In September

    The Ninth Circuit will weigh two cases involving whether class claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act can be forced into solo arbitration, and the Second Circuit will hear Yale University workers' bid to revive their retirement plan mismanagement suit. Here are four upcoming oral argument sessions that benefits attorneys should have on their radar.

  • September 06, 2024

    Pa. Paralegal Sues Former Firm For Disability Bias

    A former paralegal for Allentown, Pennsylvania, firm Zator Law LLC claims in a federal Americans with Disabilities Act lawsuit that her termination was a result of the firm's discrimination of her panic disorder and retaliation for her request for accommodations.

  • September 06, 2024

    Trustee Backs Tossing Ex-McElroy Deutsch CFO's Ch. 11 Case

    The U.S. Trustee's Office has urged a New Jersey bankruptcy court to dismiss a Chapter 11 petition from McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP's former CFO, who is currently incarcerated for embezzling millions from the firm, because he has stonewalled the trustee's requests for information about his finances.

  • September 06, 2024

    Workers At GE Aviation Plant Were Paid Late, Suit Claims

    More than 100 employees of a General Electric aviation manufacturing plant in Massachusetts say they were paid late on multiple occasions, in violation of the state's Wage Act, according to a proposed class action filed in state court.

  • September 06, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Rockfire Capital sue its former director, Liam Kavanagh, after he was accused of cheating cash-strapped Thurrock Council out of £150 million ($197 million), FedEx launch a claim against an Israeli supply chain business, and a legal dispute between steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta and a former colleague. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • September 06, 2024

    NLRB Denied Indicative Ruling Bid In SpaceX Dispute

    The National Labor Relations Board can't have an indicative ruling to pause an unfair labor practice case against SpaceX amid a challenge to the constitutionality of the board's structure, a Texas federal judge ruled, saying the agency didn't file a separate motion requesting such relief.

  • September 06, 2024

    NLRB Official OKs Grassroots Union Vote At NYC Nonprofit

    A National Labor Relations Board official has granted a grassroots union's petition for a representation election at a New York City nonprofit, rejecting the nonprofit's argument that the newly established union isn't built out enough to qualify as a labor organization under federal law.

  • September 06, 2024

    Ex-Saleswoman Can't Add Back Pay To $1 Win In ADA Suit

    A Pennsylvania federal judge said an ex-saleswoman can't collect a six-figure back pay award after a jury found she was unlawfully fired from an information technology company over her mental health issues but only gave her $1 in damages, noting that she found another job following her termination.  

  • September 06, 2024

    Fast Food Co., EEOC End Suit Over Late Demographic Data

    A California-based fast food franchisee has agreed to resolve a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit alleging it spurned its legal duty to share demographic information about its employees, the latest company to settle the agency's claims over tardy filings.

  • September 06, 2024

    Airline Asks 9th Circ. Panel To Reconsider Military Leave Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel didn't address whether a former Alaska Airlines pilot advanced enough evidence to show the airline denied him accrued vacation and sick time while on military stints, the company said, urging the panel to revisit its decision flipping the airline's earlier win.

Expert Analysis

  • Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban

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    Ahead of the Sept. 4 effective date for the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, employers should seek new ways to protect their proprietary and other sensitive information, including by revising existing confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, says Harvey Linder at Culhane.

  • 10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep

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    Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.

  • DOL's New OT Rule Will Produce Unbalanced Outcomes

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    The U.S. Department of Labor's new salary level for the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime exemption is about 65% higher than the current threshold and will cause many white collar employees to be classified as nonexempt because they work in a location with a lower cost of living, not because of their duties, says Stephen Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.

  • 5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits

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    Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.

  • A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence

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    The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.

  • To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef

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    To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • 3 Wage And Hour Tips For A Post-Chevron World

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    Employers can take three steps to handle day-to-day wage and hour compliance in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court soon reshifts the administrative law landscape by overturning the Chevron doctrine, which could cause a massive sea change in the way we all do business, say Seth Kaufman and Matthew Korn at Fisher Phillips.

  • 8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation

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    Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?

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    Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.

  • Attys Beware 2 Commonly Overlooked NIL Contract Issues

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    As name, image and likeness deals dominate high school and collegiate sports, preserving a client's NCAA eligibility should be a top priority, so lawyers should understand the potentially damaging contract provisions they may encounter when reviewing an agreement, says Paula Nagarajan at Arnall Golden.

  • After Years Of Popularity, PAGA's Fate Is Up In The Air

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    The last two years held important victories for plaintiff-side employment attorneys in California Private Attorneys General Act litigation at the trial and appellate court levels, but this hotbed of activity will quickly lose steam if voters approve a ballot measure in November to enact the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act, says Paul Sherman at Kabat Chapman.

  • 12 Keys To Successful Post-Trial Juror Interviews

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    Post-trial interviews offer attorneys an avenue to gain valuable insights into juror decision making and get feedback that can inform future litigation strategies, but certain best practices must be followed to get the most out of this research tool, say Alexa Hiley and Brianna Smith at IMS Legal.

  • How Employers, Attorneys Can Respond To Noncompete Ban

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    As the Federal Trade Commission's recently issued noncompete ban faces ongoing legal challenges, now is a good time for employers to consider whether they want to take a wait-and-see approach before halting use of noncompetes and for practitioners to gain insight into other tools available to protect their clients' business interests, says Jennifer Platzkere Snyder at Dilworth Paxson.

  • Perspectives

    Trauma-Informed Legal Approaches For Pro Bono Attorneys

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    As National Trauma Awareness Month ends, pro bono attorneys should nevertheless continue to acknowledge the mental and physical effects of trauma, allowing them to better represent clients, and protect themselves from compassion fatigue and burnout, say Katherine Cronin at Stinson and Katharine Manning at Blackbird.

  • Cos. Must Stay On Alert With Joint Employer Rule In Flux

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    While employers may breathe a sigh of relief at recent events blocking the National Labor Relations Board's proposed rule that would make it easier for two entities to be deemed joint employers, the rule is not yet dead, say attorneys at ​​​​​​​Day Pitney.

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