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Employment
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July 30, 2024
Virginia Appeals Court Tosses Record $2B Trade Secrets Verdict
The Court of Appeals of Virginia on Tuesday reversed Appian Corp.'s $2 billion trade secrets judgment against competitor Pegasystems Inc., saying that the trial court made a series of errors on its way to the biggest jury award in state history and that a new trial was warranted.
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July 29, 2024
Calif. High Court Says Co-Worker's Slur Can Be Harassment
The California Supreme Court on Monday revived a race bias suit brought by a longtime employee of the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, finding that her co-worker's one-time use of a racial slur may indeed have been so severe that it created a hostile work environment.
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July 29, 2024
Wells Fargo Can't Escape Investors' Sham Diverse Hiring Suit
A California federal judge refused to throw out a proposed securities class action against Wells Fargo alleging it conducted sham interviews to meet diversity targets that triggered a stock drop when the truth came to light, finding Monday that the investors had plausibly alleged the bank's ill-will.
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July 29, 2024
FTC, Challengers, Their Backers Vie For Noncompetes' Fate
The fate of the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban is on the line as the agency trades blows with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other challengers spread across three different federal courts, all now grappling with a decision last week providing important backing to the FTC's rulemaking authority.
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July 29, 2024
9th Circ. Axes Limit On DOL Denying Calif. Agencies Grants
The U.S. Department of Labor can shut California transit agencies out of a federal grant because of a conflict between a state pension law and a federal transit law, with the Ninth Circuit lifting a ban Monday on the agency denying grant applications because of that conflict.
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July 29, 2024
Railroads Ask 11th Circ. To Void New Train Crew Size Rule
Rail giants have told the Eleventh Circuit that the Federal Railroad Administration overstepped with its new two-person train crew rule, saying rail labor costs would surge if "one of the most consequential rulemakings in the history of American railroading" were allowed to stand.
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July 29, 2024
BofA Mortgage Loan Officers Get Conditional Cert. In OT Suit
A group of mortgage loan officers who accused Bank of America of misclassifying the employees as overtime-exempt has cinched conditional collective certification, with a North Carolina federal judge rejecting the bank's arguments that their job duties were too different to merit certification.
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July 29, 2024
'Simpsons' Creator Owes Pay, Ignored Harassment, Suit Says
"The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening and his wife, Agustina Picasso, didn't do anything to stop the sexual harassment their former house manager told them she faced, while also cheating her out of wages, the worker said.
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July 29, 2024
SEIU Escapes Hospital Worker's Harassment Suit
A New York federal judge tossed a hospital worker's claims alleging a Service Employees International Union local failed to help address harassment she faced on the job, saying the claims against the union are preempted by federal law.
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July 29, 2024
Panera Franchisee Ends Pagan Worker's Religious Bias Suit
A Panera franchisee and a former employee alerted a Pennsylvania federal court Monday that they've agreed to resolve the ex-worker's suit claiming she was harassed out of her job when she disclosed that she practiced neopaganism.
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July 29, 2024
Texas Judge Blocks NLRB Suit Over ALJ Removal Protections
A Texas federal judge blocked the National Labor Relations Board on Monday from prosecuting claims that an energy company unlawfully transferred and fired a worker who complained about safety issues, saying the agency's in-house judges are unconstitutionally insulated from removal.
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July 29, 2024
Amazon Defeats Class Status Push In Military Leave Suit
A Washington federal judge refused Monday to greenlight a class action accusing Amazon of demoting or firing workers who took time off for military service, saying they hadn't shown the thousands of would-be class members had enough in common.
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July 29, 2024
Ex-Worker Says Ga. Facility Support Co. Fired Her Over Race
A facility support services company was sued Sunday in Georgia federal court by a Black former employee who alleged she was fired so that a white worker could take her job supervising cleaning staff on the night shift at a Hyundai plant.
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July 29, 2024
Medical Co. Fights To Reboot Arbitration Bid At 9th Circ.
A private-equity owned medical product maker urged the Ninth Circuit on Monday to reverse a finding that a truck loader's proposed class wage claims are exempt from federal arbitration law, arguing that the court erred in finding that she engaged in interstate commerce based on "super flimsy evidence" and is exempt.
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July 29, 2024
Wells Fargo Accused Of Race Bias By Bangladeshi Director
A Bangladeshi man who worked as a director for Wells Fargo until he was fired last year is suing the bank for race discrimination and retaliation, saying his manager was "openly uncomfortable" with his ethnicity and was brazen in her mistreatment of him as a result.
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July 29, 2024
Immigration Firm Wants Injunction In Trade Secret Fight
A Washington-based immigration law firm is arguing that a Colombian ex-employee helped a Houston immigration law firm poach its offshore employees in Colombia and copy its business model for building a large-scale firm, and that the court must declare a preliminary injunction to stop "irreparable harm."
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July 29, 2024
DeSantis Wants To Ax Suit Over Fla. Prosecutor Suspension
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved on Friday to dismiss an amended complaint regarding his suspension of elected prosecutor Monique Worrell, arguing that voters have no right to see an elected official serve an entire term.
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July 29, 2024
Cardiologist Hits Mass. Hospital With Equal Pay Suit
A cardiologist at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital says a less experienced male colleague whom she helped train is being paid $95,000 more, in violation of the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.
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July 29, 2024
Judge Narrows Ex-Worker's Claims Against Bronx DA's Office
A New York federal judge has trimmed claims in an employment suit lodged against the Bronx district attorney's office by a woman who worked there, holding that others alleging discrimination under the Family and Medical Leave Act and a racially driven promotion could move forward.
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July 29, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court
Litigation linked to Elon Musk sparked several filings in Delaware's Court of Chancery last week, including a call for sanctions and hand-wringing about a proposed multibillion-dollar attorney fee. Here, Law360 looks at this and other highlights from last week in Delaware's Chancery Court.
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July 29, 2024
BlackBerry Gets Former Exec's Sex Harassment Suit Trimmed
A California federal judge tossed several pay discrimination claims from a former BlackBerry executive's lawsuit claiming she was fired for reporting that the company's CEO sexually harassed her before taking the top job, saying she didn't show that she and the CEO had comparable positions before he assumed the role.
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July 29, 2024
8 Ex-Employees Say NJ Firm Didn't Pay OT, Paid Women Less
Davis Saperstein & Salomon PC has been hit with a pair of lawsuits in New Jersey state court alleging the Bergen County-based personal injury firm didn't pay overtime wages, paid its female employees less than their male colleagues and subjected a pregnant woman to a hostile work environment.
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July 29, 2024
3rd Circ. Says Jury Must Weigh Ex-Philly ADA's Vax Bias Case
A jury will have to determine whether the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office was following a neutral, general policy when it denied an employee's religious exemption from its COVID-19 vaccination mandate, or whether D.A. Larry Krasner harbored anti-religious bias in the decision, the Third Circuit ruled Monday.
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July 29, 2024
Real Estate Co. Strikes Deal To End Black Worker's Bias Suit
A real estate company reached an agreement with a Black former worker to resolve his lawsuit accusing the company of denying him a bonus based on his race and then firing him when he complained, a filing in Georgia federal court said.
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July 29, 2024
Delta Says Pay Transparency Law Applies To Job Offers Only
A job applicant at Delta Air Lines can't support his claims that the airline violated Washington law by not including pay ranges in its job postings because he was not offered a position, the company told a federal court.
Expert Analysis
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Beware OSHA's Aggressive Stance Toward Safety Violations
The solicitor of labor's recent enforcement report shows the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will increasingly consider creative enforcement measures and even criminal referrals to hold employers accountable for workplace safety infractions, say Ronald Taylor and Page Kim at Venable.
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4 Ways To Motivate Junior Attorneys To Bring Their Best
As Gen Z and younger millennial attorneys increasingly express dissatisfaction with their work and head for the exits, the lawyers who manage them must understand and attend to their needs and priorities to boost engagement and increase retention, says Stacey Schwartz at Katten.
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The Tricky Implications Of New Calif. Noncompete Laws
Two new California noncompete laws that ban certain out-of-state agreements and require employers to notify certain workers raise novel issues related to mergers and acquisitions, and pose particular challenges for technology companies, says John Viola at Thompson Coburn.
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Patent Ownership Issues In Light Of USPTO AI Guidance
Recently published guidance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office establishes that inventions created using artificial intelligence may be patentable if a human also significantly contributes, but ownership and legal rights in these types of patents are different issues that require further assessment, says Karl Gross at Leydig Voit.
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Calif. Ruling Shows Limits Of Exculpatory Lease Clauses
A California court's recent decision in Epochal Enterprises v. LF Encinitas Properties, finding a landlord liable for failing to disclose the presence of asbestos on the subject property, underscores the limits of exculpatory clauses' ability to safeguard landlords from liability where known hazards are present, say Fawaz Bham and Javier De Luna at Hunton.
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Breaking Down California's New Workplace Violence Law
Ilana Morady and Patrick Joyce at Seyfarth discuss several aspects of a new California law that requires employers to create and implement workplace violence prevention plans, including who is covered and the recordkeeping and training requirements that must be in place before the law goes into effect on July 1.
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Series
Serving As A Sheriff's Deputy Made Me A Better Lawyer
Skills developed during my work as a reserve deputy — where there was a need to always be prepared, decisive and articulate — transferred to my practice as an intellectual property litigator, and my experience taught me that clients often appreciate and relate to the desire to participate in extracurricular activities, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.
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Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown
While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.
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What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law
With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs
Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.
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Preparing For Possible Calif. Criminal Antitrust Enforcement
Though a recent announcement that the California Attorney General's Office will resume criminal prosecutions in support of its antitrust enforcement may be mere saber-rattling, companies and their counsel should nevertheless be prepared for interactions with the California AG's Antitrust Section that are not limited to civil liability issues, say Dylan Ballard and Lillian Sun at V&E.
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Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights
While a New Jersey state appeals court has twice determined that an employee's termination by a private employer for social media posts is not prohibited, New York has yet to take a stand on the issue — so employers' decisions on such matters still need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, say Julie Levinson Werner and Jessica Kriegsfeld at Lowenstein Sandler.
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Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent
Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.
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AI In Accounting Raises OT Exemption Questions
A recent surge in the use of artificial intelligence in accounting work calls into question whether professionals in the industry can argue they are no longer overtime exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, highlighting how technology could test the limits of the law for a variety of professions, say Bradford Kelley at Littler and Stephen Malone at Peloton Interactive.
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Calif. High Court Ruling Has Lessons For Waiving Jury Trials
The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in TriCoast Builders v. Fonnegra, denying relief to a contractor that had waived its right to a jury trial, shows that litigants should always post jury fees as soon as possible, and seek writ review if the court denies relief from a waiver, say Steven Fleischman and Nicolas Sonnenburg at Horvitz & Levy.