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Employment
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March 26, 2024
Fishery Says Request For DOL Cooperators' Names Is Fair
The federal government cannot withhold information regarding an ongoing wage theft investigation, a fishery told a Mississippi federal court, because the probe is inextricably linked with claims that the company retaliated against employees who cooperated.
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March 26, 2024
2nd Circ. Revives Gender Bias Case Against Grocery Chain
A district court applied too harsh a standard when it dismissed a fired manager's sex bias suit against a supermarket chain, the Second Circuit said Tuesday, in a ruling that sought to "demystify" the test for assessing whether some discrimination claims can move to trial.
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March 26, 2024
Workers, Athena Health Seek OK For Meal Break Wage Deal
Athena Health Care Systems and two of its former workers asked a Connecticut federal court to approve their proposed settlement agreement resolving claims that the company deducted wages for meal breaks even though it purportedly made them work during those breaks.
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March 25, 2024
Homeland Security Raids Diddy's Homes In LA, Miami
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Monday raided homes owned by Sean "Diddy" Combs in Los Angeles and Miami, according to a statement from DHS as well as news reports.
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March 25, 2024
Boeing Called Out For 'Circular' Logic In Love-Triangle Murder
A Washington federal judge suggested on Monday that it would be unfair to let Being avoid liability in the early stages of a case involving a love-triangle among workers that ended in murder, calling the argument against allowing litigation to move forward "circular."
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March 25, 2024
Judge Finalizes Ban On Taking $540M IP Fight To China
An Illinois federal judge granted Motorola's request to stop Hytera from pursuing a non-infringement case against it in China, saying Monday that she would also start contempt proceedings in the case.
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March 25, 2024
Gorsuch Irked At Having To Decide $3K Furlough Dispute
Justice Neil Gorsuch expressed incredulity that the U.S. Supreme Court has to resolve a Pentagon employee's $3,000 dispute stemming from a furlough decision, remarking Monday on the "extraordinary" lengths the government has gone to in fighting the case.
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March 25, 2024
Arbitration Agreement Scrapped In NJ Doc's Sex Assault Suit
A New Jersey appeals court on Monday undid an order compelling arbitration in a pain management physician's suit alleging a fellow doctor sexually assaulted her, finding the arbitration agreement in her employment contract ambiguous and unenforceable.
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March 25, 2024
Waiting For Car Security Checks Is Work, Calif. Justices Say
Time spent by workers undergoing an employer's security check that includes an inspection of the worker's personal vehicle is compensable as hours worked, but time spent driving between the security gate and the parking lot is not, the California Supreme Court ruled Monday, answering a Ninth Circuit panel's queries.
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March 25, 2024
Tesla, Travelers Settle Wrongful Death Coverage Dispute
Tesla and a Travelers unit reached an agreement in the parties' dispute over coverage of a wrongful death lawsuit involving a construction worker at a company factory in Austin, shortly after a Texas federal judge declined to strike three of the insurers' defenses.
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March 25, 2024
DOJ Slammed For Backing GEO Group In Detainee Wage Fight
A group of immigrant detainees has urged the Ninth Circuit to reject the federal government's stance that a privately run detention center in Tacoma is exempt from Washington's minimum wage, saying the United States has failed to point to any conflicting federal laws.
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March 25, 2024
Prior Deal Bars Issues-Only Classes In NCAA Football MDL
An Illinois federal judge has denied a bid by former NCAA football players for issue-only classes in multidistrict litigation over concussion injuries, saying a settlement from a prior MDL specifically prohibits issue-only classes.
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March 25, 2024
Chattanooga Volkswagen Workers To Vote On UAW In April
Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, will take their third crack at voting on representation by the United Auto Workers next month, the National Labor Relations Board announced Monday, revealing that the election has been scheduled without company pushback.
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March 25, 2024
Jury Hands Mortgage Co. $73K Win In Trade Secrets Fight
An Ohio federal jury has found that Revolution Mortgage owes just over $73,700 to competitor Equity Resources in a case where Equity accused its rival of misappropriation of trade secrets.
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March 25, 2024
NC High Court Vacates Workers' Comp For Weight Loss Surgery
A divided North Carolina Supreme Court has adopted a test for determining when someone is entitled to workers' compensation for treatment related to their workplace injury and, in doing so, reversed a ruling finding a preschool must pay for an employee's weight loss surgery.
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March 25, 2024
Texas Challenge To HHS Adoption Discrimination Rule Tossed
A Texas federal judge has scrapped a lawsuit challenging an Obama-era rule prohibiting recipients of adoption-related federal funding from discriminating based on gender and sexual orientation, writing that the federal government's decision not to enforce the regulation moots the case.
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March 25, 2024
X Can't Boot Severance Suit To Arbitration, Ex-Worker Says
A former employee told a Delaware federal court that X Corp. can't derail a suit alleging it owes $500 million for skimping on severance pay after Elon Musk took over and fired thousands of workers, saying X breached the pact it's trying to use to force arbitration.
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March 25, 2024
5th Circ. Told Procurement Act Limits Biden's Wage Power
The Biden administration lacks authority to implement a $15-per-hour minimum wage for government contractors, three Southern states told the Fifth Circuit, because the Procurement Act only empowers the executive branch to trim federal expenditures.
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March 25, 2024
7th Circ. Reverses Union's $2.3M Win In Pension Dispute
The Seventh Circuit reversed a Teamsters pension fund's $2.3 million win in a dispute over withdrawal liability against a bulk transport company, finding that a lower court properly denied the union attorney fees but erred in ruling in the union's favor on the merits of the case.
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March 25, 2024
DOJ Calls Probe Of Alleged SpaceX Hiring Bias Constitutional
The U.S. Department of Justice has defended its investigation into allegations that SpaceX refused to hire asylum-seekers and refugees, telling a Texas federal judge that its authority stems from a constitutionally sound provision of federal immigration law barring workplace discrimination based on citizenship status.
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March 25, 2024
Spending Bill Gives $260M To DOL Wage Division
The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division is expected to receive $260 million through the end of the fiscal year after President Joe Biden signed off on the latest bipartisan government funding bill.
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March 25, 2024
Plaintiffs' Attys Found Not Violating Soliciting Rules In OT Suit
Current and former employees of a Pennsylvania coal company earned conditional certification and did not violate soliciting rules for a collective action accusing management of violating overtime rules by not compensating time spent attending to gear before and after shifts, a federal judge ruled.
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March 25, 2024
Lazard Beats Fired Indian Exec's Bias, Retaliation Suit
Lazard Asset Management defeated a former senior vice president's suit alleging he was fired because of his Indian and Hindu background while on parental leave, with a New York federal judge ruling he failed to show that his negative performance evaluations stemmed from discrimination.
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March 25, 2024
Class Cert. In United Military Leave Suit Will Have To Wait
An Illinois federal judge said he had doubts about claims that United Airlines owes pay to pilots taking military leaves, saying he'll wait for several appeals courts to decide the fate of similar suits before signing off on class certification.
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March 25, 2024
Radio Host's Sex Orientation Bias Claims Fall Flat At 11th Circ.
The Eleventh Circuit rejected a former radio host's push for a second shot at pursuing his claims that he was fired because of his bisexuality, after the panel found he hadn't overcome the station's argument that he was terminated over a drunken episode at a concert.
Expert Analysis
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Employers Should Take Surgeon's Sex Bias Suit As A Warning
A Philadelphia federal jury's recent verdict in a sex bias suit over Thomas Jefferson University's inaction on a male plaintiff's sexual harassment complaint is a reminder to employers of all stripes about the importance of consistently applied protocols for handling complaints, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.
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Business Litigators Have A Source Of Untapped Fulfillment
As increasing numbers of attorneys struggle with stress and mental health issues, business litigators can find protection against burnout by remembering their important role in society — because fulfillment in one’s work isn’t just reserved for public interest lawyers, say Bennett Rawicki and Peter Bigelow at Hilgers Graben.
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Generative AI Adds Risk To Employee 'Self-Help' Discovery
Plaintiffs have long engaged in their own evidence gathering for claims against current or former employers, but as more companies implement generative AI tools, both the potential scope and the potential risks of such "self-help" discovery are rising quickly, says Nick Peterson at Wiley.
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5 Ways To Hone Deposition Skills And Improve Results
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
Depositions must never be taken for granted in the preparations needed to win a dispositive motion or a trial, and five best practices, including knowing when to hire a videographer, can significantly improve outcomes, says James Argionis at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
Skiing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
A lifetime of skiing has helped me develop important professional skills, and taught me that embracing challenges with a spirit of adventure can allow lawyers to push boundaries, expand their capabilities and ultimately excel in their careers, says Andrea Przybysz at Tucker Ellis.
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Navigating Trade Secret Litigation In A High-Stakes Landscape
Recent eye-popping verdicts are becoming increasingly common in trade secret litigation — but employers can take several proactive steps to protect proprietary information and defend against misappropriation accusations in order to avoid becoming the next headline, say Jessica Mason and Jack FitzGerald at Foley & Lardner.
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Opinion
UK Whistleblowers Flock To The US For Good Reason
The U.K. Serious Fraud Office director recently brought renewed attention to the differences between the U.K. and U.S. whistleblower regimes — differences that may make reporting to U.S. agencies a better and safer option for U.K. whistleblowers, and show why U.K. whistleblower laws need to be improved, say Benjamin Calitri and Kate Reeves at Kohn Kohn.
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Think Like A Lawyer: Forget Everything You Know About IRAC
The mode of legal reasoning most students learn in law school, often called “Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion,” or IRAC, erroneously frames analysis as a separate, discrete step, resulting in disorganized briefs and untold obfuscation — but the fix is pretty simple, says Luke Andrews at Poole Huffman.
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Opinion
There Is No NCAA Supremacy Clause, Especially For NIL
A recent Tennessee federal court ruling illustrates the NCAA's problematic position that its member schools should violate state law rather than its rules — and the organization's legal history with the dormant commerce clause raises a fundamental constitutional issue that will have to be resolved before attorneys can navigate NIL with confidence, says Patrick O’Donnell at HWG.
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Employer Pointers As Wage And Hour AI Risks Emerge
Following the Biden administration's executive order on artificial intelligence, employers using or considering artificial intelligence tools should carefully assess whether such use could increase their exposure to liability under federal and state wage and hour laws, and be wary of algorithmic discrimination, bias and inaccurate or incomplete reporting, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
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The Pros And Cons Of Protecting AI As Trade Secrets
Despite regulatory trends toward greater transparency of artificial intelligence models, federal policy acknowledges, and perhaps endorses, trade secret protection for AI information, but there are still hurdles in keeping AI information a secret, say Jennifer Maisel and Andrew Stewart at Rothwell Figg.
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Complying With Enforcers' Ephemeral Messaging Guidance
Given federal antitrust enforcers’ recently issued guidance on ephemeral messaging applications, organizations must take a proactive approach to preserving short-lived communications — or risk criminal obstruction charges and civil discovery sanctions, say attorneys at Manatt.
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Race Bias Defense Considerations After 11th Circ. Ruling
In Tynes v. Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed that the McDonnell Douglas test for employment discrimination cases is merely an evidentiary framework, so employers relying on it as a substantive standard of liability may need to rethink their litigation strategy, says Helen Jay at Phelps Dunbar.
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How Firms Can Ensure Associate Gender Parity Lasts
Among associates, women now outnumber men for the first time, but progress toward gender equality at the top of the legal profession remains glacially slow, and firms must implement time-tested solutions to ensure associates’ gender parity lasts throughout their careers, say Kelly Culhane and Nicole Joseph at Culhane Meadows.
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How Echoing Techniques Can Derail Witnesses At Deposition
Before depositions, defense attorneys must prepare witnesses to recognize covert echoing techniques that may be used by opposing counsel to lower their defenses and elicit sensitive information — potentially leading to nuclear settlements and verdicts, say Bill Kanasky and Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.