Littler Mendelson

1. 1st Trial Of Tyson Donning, Doffing MDL To Start In Aug.

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010

A federal judge has rejected Tyson Foods Inc.'s bids for summary judgment and to decertify several classes of workers in sprawling multidistrict donning and doffing litigation, clearing the way for the first test trial to start in August.

2. 3M, Employees Seek OK For $5M Deal In FLSA Suit

Thursday, Mar 18, 2010

3M Co. and a class of employees who have accused the company of denying workers regular and overtime pay for work-related activities have asked a federal judge to approve a settlement that would give the workers up to $4.95 million.

3. Lockheed, Calif. Guards Reach $1.5M Meal Break Deal

Monday, Mar 15, 2010

Lockheed Martin Corp. and a class of current and former security guards at facilities throughout California have reached a settlement worth up to $1.55 million in a lawsuit claiming the guards were denied required meal breaks.

4. DHL, Workers Seek Approval For Settlement In OT Case

Wednesday, Mar 10, 2010

Attorneys for DHL Express (USA) Inc. and a class of its employees have asked a court to approve a $740,000 settlement in a wage-and-hour suit alleging some workers were misclassified as exempt from overtime provisions of California state law.

5. Jury Trial Gets OK'd In Volvo Retiree Benefits Suit

Tuesday, Mar 09, 2010

Retired workers suing Volvo Group North America Inc. will be able to pursue money damages in a jury trial, a federal magistrate judge has ruled.

6. Employment Taxes Audit — Is Your Company Ready?

Thursday, Mar 04, 2010

In addition to potential "assessments," the latest IRS National Research Program will provide the IRS with the statistical sample of overall employment taxes compliance. The audit program will be conducted over a three-year period with at least 2,000 employment tax audits conducted per year, says GJ Stillson MacDonnell of Littler Mendelson PC.

7. MetLife Sues Ex-Workers, Rival Over Poaching

Wednesday, Mar 03, 2010

MetLife Bank NA has gone after 10 ex-employees who defected from the lender to work at competitor Evergreen Moneysource Mortgage Co., alleging the workers breached their employment contracts by taking customers and fellow employees with them.

8. Lateral Market Stays Hot As Winter Wears On

Monday, Mar 01, 2010

Lateral movement in the legal industry continued to rise in February, with Allen & Overy LLP picking up more than a dozen partners from Clayton Utz, and Latham & Watkins LLP and Haynes and Boone LLP also showing significant gains.

9. Wage-And-Hour Wave Hits Big Apple Eateries

Friday, Feb 26, 2010

Now that much of the low-hanging fruit has been plucked in the ongoing wage-and-hour suit boom, plaintiffs attorneys have set their sights on New York City's restaurants, serving them up with class and collective actions — often centering on tip-pooling claims — with increasing frequency, attorneys say.

10. ABM Janitors Win Collective Certification In FLSA Case

Monday, Feb 22, 2010

A judge has granted collective certification to a class of up to 2,500 janitors in a suit accusing cleaning services provider ABM Industries Inc. of violating federal wage-and-hour laws by scrimping on overtime pay.

11. Plaintiffs' Tactics Expose CAFA's Gray Areas

Monday, Feb 22, 2010

In the five years since the enactment of the Class Action Fairness Act, the plaintiffs bar has devised new ways to keep class actions in state court, exposing gray areas in the law and keeping defense counsel on their toes.

12. Conditional Cert. Denied In HSBC Finance FLSA Case

Friday, Feb 19, 2010

A federal judge has refused to conditionally certify a nationwide class of thousands in a suit alleging HSBC Finance Corp. account executives had to work off the clock and weren't paid a premium rate for overtime hours.

13. Top 5 Employment Motions And How To Win Them

Wednesday, Feb 17, 2010

With jurors easily lost to the plaintiffs' side in employment cases, the difference between a win and a loss for defense counsel often comes down to motion preparation. Lawyers talked to Law360 about the key motions in employment cases and shared some of their strategies for bringing home a win.

14. Littler Mendelson Adds Shareholders In Birmingham

Friday, Feb 12, 2010

Employment firm Littler Mendelson PC has added former Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC attorneys Charles Powell and Jennifer Swain as shareholders in the firm's Birmingham, Ala., office.

15. Judge Nixes 2nd Class In Bus Drivers' Suit Over Breaks

Friday, Feb 12, 2010

The federal judge who certified a class against bus company Laidlaw Transit Services Inc. in a meal and rest break suit brought by San Diego bus drivers has declined to certify an additional class against First Transit Inc., another bus company defendant, saying the motion was filed too late.

16. Toyota Loses Bid To Get 'Cover-Up' Docs From Ex-Atty

Thursday, Feb 11, 2010

An arbitrator has denied Toyota Motor Corp.'s bid to force its former in-house counsel to turn over documents that he claims show the car giant covering up evidence relevant to litigation over rollover accidents.

17. MasTec Installers Forced To Arbitrate OT Claims

Tuesday, Feb 09, 2010

A federal judge has ordered two MasTec Services Co. Inc. satellite installers to individually arbitrate their claims in a putative class action accusing the company of failing to pay proper overtime.

18. $44M Deal In Merrill Lynch FLSA Suit Gets Final OK

Tuesday, Feb 09, 2010

A federal judge has granted final approval to a $43.5 million settlement, including $10.9 million in legal fees, resolving 11 class and collective actions accusing Merrill Lynch & Co. of failing to properly compensate its financial advisers.

19. Legal Secretary Class Certified In OT Suit V. IP Firm

Monday, Feb 08, 2010

A federal judge has paved the way for a class action involving secretaries, paralegals and others at Turocy & Watson LLP, conditionally certifying a class in the case brought by a former legal secretary claiming she was improperly denied overtime pay by the intellectual property boutique.

20. Centex Managers Lose Bid For Class Status In OT Suit

Friday, Feb 05, 2010

A federal court has rejected a bid for conditional certification of a nationwide class of field managers in an overtime wage suit against Centex Homes Inc., agreeing with the conclusions of a magistrate judge that the proposed class would be “unmanageable.”