NLRB Attys Won't Address Member Removal In 5th Circ. Row

By Braden Campbell

National Labor Relations Board attorneys told the Fifth Circuit that they won't defend NLRB members' firing protections at a Feb. 5 hearing on the agency's constitutionality in the wake of the president's removal of a board member and appointment of a new acting prosecutor.

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FBI Agents, Workers Sue To Stop Trump's Threatened Purge

By Jack Karp

FBI staff members filed two suits against the Trump administration on Tuesday in D.C. federal court, seeking to stop the president from compiling a list of agents and employees who worked on investigations into the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection and his retention and storage of classified documents.

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FCC Drops 5th Circ. Defense Of Nonbinary Gender Category

By Christopher Cole

The Federal Communications Commission will no longer defend a nonbinary gender category on its employment diversity forms amid challenges brought by religious broadcasters in the Fifth Circuit, where judges grilled the FCC on Tuesday about its authority to collect and publish industry data on employee diversity.

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Ex-Meta Marketing Director Alleges Sex Bias, Retaliation

By Bonnie Eslinger

A former Meta marketing director sued the tech giant in federal court Monday for sex discrimination and retaliation, saying despite her "distinguished" 15 years working to grow the company, she was treated differently than male peers, chastised for complaining about bias and discrimination, and booted after taking mental health leave.

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Trans Deputy's Bias Case Hits Headwinds At 11th Circ.

By Kellie Mejdrich

The full Eleventh Circuit grappled Tuesday with whether a county health plan's coverage exclusions for gender-affirming surgery conflicted with a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision, with several judges taking issue with a panel's ruling that found coverage denials for a transgender employee's vaginoplasty amounted to unlawful discrimination.

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5th Circ. Backs Biden's Gov't Contractor Wage Hike

By Emmy Freedman

The Fifth Circuit upended on Tuesday a ruling that blocked an executive order increasing the minimum wage for federal contractors to $15 per hour, saying former President Joe Biden acted within his authority when he put forward the regulation because it was intended to promote economy and efficiency.

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Federal Unions Challenge Trump's 'Fork' Resignation Program

By Lauren Berg

Unions representing federal employees slammed the Trump administration's "deferred resignation" offer in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday in Massachusetts, saying the "Fork in the Road" directive is an unlawful pretext for replacing government workers based on their ideology.

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Severance Pact Sinks Ex-Mercedes Exec's Age, Race Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

The Sixth Circuit upheld the dismissal Tuesday of a former executive's suit claiming the financial arm of Mercedes-Benz pushed her out of the company due to age and racial bias, rejecting her argument that a severance agreement she signed before suing the business wasn't enforceable.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2025 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2025 editorial advisory boards.

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Baltimore, Advocacy Orgs. Sue Trump Over Anti-DEI Orders

By Lauren Berg

The city of Baltimore and a coalition of academic and restaurant advocacy groups hit the Trump administration with a suit Monday in Maryland federal court over the president's push to curtail diversity, equity and inclusion programs, saying his executive orders are unlawfully vague and block Congress' constitutional power of the purse.

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Dem School Advocate Says Bias Complaints Led To Firing

By Julie Manganis

The former Massachusetts director of a pair of Democratic educational advocacy groups said she was subjected to retaliatory criticism and then fired after raising concerns about a new CEO's treatment of women and decision to partner with a conservative organization.

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UPS, Ex-VP Resolve Race Bias Suit Over Promotion Dispute

By Patrick Hoff

UPS agreed to end a Black former vice president's lawsuit claiming she was passed over for promotion and then replaced by a less experienced white subordinate whom she had trained, according to a Tuesday filing in Georgia federal court.

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1st Circ. Doubts Arbitration Bid 4 Years Into Au Pair Wage Row

By Julie Manganis

The First Circuit on Tuesday questioned an au pair placement agency's assertion that it is still entitled to force wage violation claims into arbitration in Switzerland despite more than four years of U.S. litigation and one prior trip to the appellate court.

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Amazon Wants Drivers Locked Out Of Collective Wage Suit

By Rachel Riley

Amazon is asking a Washington federal judge to oust nearly a dozen plaintiffs from a collective action accusing the e-commerce giant of misclassifying Amazon Flex delivery drivers as independent contractors, claiming the individuals failed to comply with a court-ordered discovery deadline last month.  

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Entertainment Cos. Stiff Workers On Wages, Suit Says

By Emmy Freedman

A former stagehand is suing the entertainment companies behind Coachella and many sporting events in California state court, saying she and other hourly workers are required to drive as much as three hours away from their homes for work without any compensation.

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Brief

Pa. Fines Allegheny Co. Contractor For Misclassified Workers

By Matthew Santoni

An Allegheny County contractor will pay $144,000 to settle claims from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry that it had misclassified nearly 200 workers, the department announced Monday.

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Trump Trans Care Order Usurps Congress' Power, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

The Trump administration overstepped when it issued an executive order cutting off gender-affirming care for people under 19, a group of transgender adolescents, young adults and their families told a Maryland federal court Tuesday, arguing the president is trying to usurp Congressional authority by forcing federally funded hospitals to discriminate.

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Ill. Panel Upholds Barge Worker's $3.3M Jury Award

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois state appeals court on Tuesday affirmed a $3.31 million jury award and a directed verdict in favor of a man who was severely injured while working on a barge crew, saying it was an appropriate sanction for the defendant's attorney revealing the substance of trial testimony to a witness.

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4th Circ. Revives FCA Suit Alleging Faked Therapy Notes

By Dan McKay

The Fourth Circuit on Monday sided with a whistleblower who accused her former employer of creating fake notes about addiction therapy sessions that never happened, finding that she had sufficiently detailed the allegations and connected the dots to defeat a motion to dismiss.

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A Halftime Analysis Of DOJ's Compensation Pilot Program

The U.S. Department of Justice appears to consider the first half of its three-year pilot program on compensation incentives and clawbacks to be proceeding successfully, so companies should expect prosecutors to emphasize the program and other compliance-related considerations early in investigations, say attorneys at Debevoise.

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Imagine The Possibilities Of Openly Autistic Lawyering

Andi Mazingo at Lumen Law, who was diagnosed with autism about midway through her career, discusses how the legal profession can create inclusive workplaces that empower openly autistic lawyers and enhance innovation, and how neurodivergent attorneys can navigate the challenges and opportunities that come with disclosing one’s diagnosis.

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Senate Confirms Pam Bondi To Be AG

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 54-46 on Tuesday to confirm Pam Bondi to be attorney general.

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'Is This A Joke?' Judge Denies Atty Fees For Grocery Patrons

By Bryan Koenig

A California federal judge had so little tolerance for shoppers claiming victory and seeking attorney fees from the abandoned Kroger-Albertsons merger that in tossing their motion and underlying lawsuit he noted with incredulity, "Plaintiffs are actually making these arguments."

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Trump Selects McKinsey CLO For Commerce Department GC

By Hailey Konnath

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated McKinsey & Co.'s Chief Legal Officer Pierre Gentin to serve as the next general counsel at the U.S. Department of Commerce, according to congressional records.

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Haynes Boone Adds 7-Atty Seward & Kissel Team In NY

By Christine DeRosa

Haynes Boone has grown its fund finance and securitization practices with the addition of seven attorneys from Seward & Kissel LLP, including the head of the firm's asset securitization and CLO practice group.

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Former Conn. US Attorney Returns To McCarter & English

By Christine DeRosa

Vanessa Roberts Avery, who recently stepped down as U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, has returned to her roots as a business litigator at McCarter & English LLP in Hartford, Connecticut.

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Analysis

Wheeling & Appealing: The Latest Must-Know Appellate Action

By Jeff Overley

February is off to a rip-roaring start in several circuits, and there's plenty more action ahead, including a moment of truth for judiciary policymaking that has managed to anger both the defense and plaintiffs bars. We'll explore all that in this edition of Wheeling & Appealing, which also includes an appellate quiz pegged to recent presidential news.

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DOJ Criminal Division Leader Joins White & Case's DC Shop

By Jack Rodgers

White & Case LLP announced on Tuesday it was growing its white collar team with the addition of partner Brent Wible, who told Law360 Pulse that it was time for him to step back into private practice following a five-year stint with the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Trump Picks AG Paxton Atty For Homeland Security Dept.

By Catherine Marfin

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's special counsel, who is also a former member of President Donald Trump's reelection campaign, has been tapped for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Paxton announced Tuesday.

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