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Employment
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May 29, 2012
NLRB Resignation May Recharge Nomination Battles
The resignation of National Labor Relations Board member Terence Flynn over the weekend amid allegations of ethics violations sets the stage for another high-stakes political confrontation between the president and Congress over the board's composition, even as the fight over previous appointments continues in the courts.
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May 29, 2012
Whistleblower Takes Home $14.5M In BofA Mortgage Deal
A former Countrywide Financial Corp. employee who launched a whistleblower suit claiming the Bank of America Corp. unit knowingly inflated property appraisals for federal loans has received a $14.5 million reward for the information he provided the government, his lawyer said Tuesday.
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May 29, 2012
JOBS Act May Cause D&O Coverage Concerns, Report Says
While the JOBS Act helps smaller companies raise capital, it also opens the door to potential securities class actions and investigations that may not be covered by their directors and officers policies, a report released Tuesday said.
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May 29, 2012
Labor Dept. Beats Trade Groups' Tip Rule Challenge
The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday beat claims in Washington federal court that it hadn't given a trio of trade groups enough opportunity to comment on a rule that changed requirements that forced employers to notify tipped workers about their wage rates.
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May 29, 2012
KFC Says Dukes, Brinker Kill Meal Break Class Action
Fast food giant KFC moved Friday to decertify a class action by employees who claim they were wrongly denied meal and rest breaks, saying the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Dukes and a more recent ruling by California's high court should kill the class claims.
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May 29, 2012
Best Buy Defeats Vacation Day Pay Suit By SoCal Managers
Best Buy Co. Inc. has successfully defended itself against a putative class action accusing it of labor code violations, with a California judge ruling Thursday that a floating vacation day policy didn't apply to all store managers and didn't require the retailer to pay employees for unused days.
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May 29, 2012
NJ Atty Hits Ex-Firm With Whistleblower Suit Over Runner Use
A former attorney with Arzadi & Associates has sued the Perth Amboy, N.J.-based personal injury law firm, claiming she was forced out after protesting its potential use of runners to drum up clients.
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May 29, 2012
Judge Won't Force Wash. AG To Alter ACA Challenge
A Washington state judge on Friday refused to force the state’s Republican attorney general to amend his brief challenging the health care reform law’s constitutionality, even though he says he opposes only the individual mandate to buy health insurance and expansion of Medicaid.
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May 29, 2012
CVS Can't Shake Pharmacists' Damages Claim In Wage Suit
A California judge on Tuesday rejected CVS Pharmacy Inc.’s request to strike a punitive damages claim from a class action by pharmacists who say they weren’t reimbursed for time spent traveling between stores, saying CVS' federal law arguments won’t fly in state court.
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May 29, 2012
Stats Needn't Cover All Excuses For Disparate Impact: 9th Circ.
The Ninth Circuit on Tuesday found that employees using statistical evidence in a prima facie case alleging disparate treatment don't need to address all possible explanations a defendant suggests, in a suit launched by two former on-air reporters for a CBS Broadcasting Inc. subsidiary.
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May 29, 2012
SG Asks Justices To Wait For Better Supervisor Liability Case
The question of who qualifies as a supervisor, which can saddle an employer with Title VII liability, is ripe for U.S. Supreme Court review — but a race bias case against Ball State University is the wrong vehicle, the nation's solicitor general said Thursday.
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May 29, 2012
Unserved Summons Lets VC Firm Off Hook In Derivative Suit
A California appeals court on Friday affirmed the dismissal of Japanese venture capital firm IT-Farm Corp. from a shareholder derivative and breach of employment contract suit over its role in the sale of software company KatanaMe Inc., ruling IT-Farm was never properly served.
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May 29, 2012
McDonald's Escapes Class Claims In Race Discrimination Suit
McDonald's Corp. on Friday won dismissal of companywide racial discrimination allegations after an Illinois federal judge determined the individual plaintiffs had forfeited such broad claims by failing to include them in their underlying charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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May 30, 2012
Dewey & LeBoeuf Files For Bankruptcy
Following the defection of more than half its partners, debt-ridden Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP filed for bankruptcy Monday night, marking one of the largest law firm collapses in U.S. history.
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May 25, 2012
SP Newsprint Gets $5M Secrets Suit Against Employees Stayed
A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Thursday stayed a Georgia action brought by a former contractor of SP Newsprint Holdings LLC, which called the $5 million trade secrets suit against three SP employees an attempted end run around its automatic stay protection.
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May 25, 2012
6th Circ. Loosens Causation Standard For ADA Suits
The Sixth Circuit on Friday joined the nation's other appeals courts in determining that the Americans with Disabilities Act does not require a worker suing for discrimination to demonstrate she was fired solely for her disability, reversing a trial court's ruling to the contrary.
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May 25, 2012
6th Circ. Nixes KeyCorp ERISA Case Over Lack Of Injury
A KeyCorp 401(k) plan participant who sold company stock while its price was allegedly artificially inflated suffered no out-of-pocket loss and has no standing to sue, the Sixth Circuit said Friday, declining to revive a putative class action.
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May 25, 2012
E&Y Wants 2nd Circ. To Halt Cert. Bid In Class Waiver Case
Ernst & Young LLP asked the Second Circuit on Wednesday to freeze a pending wage-and-hour class action against it as it appeals a judge's decision denying individual arbitration in the case, arguing that it would face exponentially higher legal costs if class certification were allowed to proceed.
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May 25, 2012
State Workers Can't Get FMLA Damages, Iowa High Court Says
Iowa's highest court ruled Friday that state employees cannot sue for damages under the Family and Medical Leave Act's self-care provision, finding the state had not waived its sovereign immunity.
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May 25, 2012
NJ Assembly Backs Minimum Wage Hike Over Biz Opposition
The New Jersey Assembly on Thursday voted to raise the state's minimum wage to $8.50 per hour, the third highest in the nation, over protests that the increase would put local businesses at a competitive disadvantage and muddle economic recovery efforts.
Expert Analysis
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Social Media: A Danger To Company IP
Employee social media activity should be a source of headaches for companies concerned about protecting their intellectual property assets. One social media slip-up can be enough to cause grave damage to patents, trade secrets or copyrights, says Ben Quarmby of MoloLamken LLP.
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'Quickie Elections'? Not So Fast, NLRB
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has voided the National Labor Relations Board's so-called quickie election rules due to an insufficient quorum during the vote. If the D.C. Circuit upholds this decision, it could signal a new weapon for board members in the implementation of unfavorable rules, say Joel Barras and Valerie Eifert of Reed Smith LLP.
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Who's Entitled To Calif. Wage, Hour Attorneys' Fees?
The California Supreme Court has issued a ruling in Kirby v. Imroos Fire Protection Inc., attempting to clarify and limit a prevailing party’s entitlement to attorneys’ fees for bringing certain types of wage and hour claims. But the court's failure to address a glaring inconsistency with the Private Attorney General Act essentially nullifies this holding, say Chelsea Spuck and Donald Samuels of Bryan Cave LLP.
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Inside NJ’s Trade Secrets Act
In order to take full advantage of the rights and protections afforded by New Jersey's new Trade Secrets Act, trade secret owners should establish at least six protection guidelines, says Joseph Agostino of Greenberg Traurig LLP.
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Time For A Fresh Look At Background Check Practices
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's updated guidance on employer use of criminal history information in background checks and two recent Fair Credit Reporting Act class action cases have highlighted the need for employers to re-evaluate their background check practices, say Kevin Kelly, Genetha Turner and Saira Najam of Locke Lord LLP.
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Whistleblower Protection Only Goes So Far
In a time of expanding whistleblower protections, the victory of the Board of Education of Prince George’s County against a terminated teacher who was engaged in protected activities shows that, under the right factual circumstances, employers still can obtain summary decision, say Igor Babichenki and Mary Pivec of Williams Mullen PC.
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Best Practices For Corporate Social Responsibility
As with many industries, the legal services industry has adapted to the demand for sustainability practices. An effective Corporate Social Responsibility program will manifest itself in all strategic planning, from best firm employee practices and environmental sustainability to providing legal services, recruiting and retention of employees, business development, marketing and philanthropy, says Howard Dakoff of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.
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How To Respond To ADA Accommodation Requests
With the amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act broadening the definition of “disability,” the focus in ADA matters has turned more and more to accommodation issues. But it is often unclear not only whether an accommodation can be made that will solve the issue without undue hardship, but also whether an accommodation is even needed, say Susan Maisa and Ryan Parsons of Foley & Lardner LLP.
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Extending Title VII To Transgender Protection
In a watershed moment for the transgender community, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has solidified its intended protection of transgender employees under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This decision highlights the broad range of protected categories that could subject employers to more liability for discrimination, say Rania Afram and Eugene Connors of Reed Smith LLP.
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Hiring Incumbent Employees On Government Contracts
The U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. General Services Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have issued a proposed rule protecting service employees from termination by successor contractors and subcontractors — a change that would significantly limit a new contractor's discretion in making hiring decisions, say Rick Vacura and Susan Borschel of Morrison & Foerster LLP.