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Employment
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September 04, 2024
Marathon Faces Wrongful Death Suit Over Refinery Explosion
The family of a Texas machinist who burned to death in a refinery explosion is suing Marathon Petroleum Co. and others, claiming their shoddy build, maintenance and management of the facility caused the catastrophic failure.
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September 04, 2024
UBH Wins On Parity In Family's Mental Health Benefits Fight
A Utah federal judge has handed mixed results to United Behavioral Health and a father whose child was partially denied coverage for mental health treatment at two residential treatment centers.
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September 04, 2024
3rd Circ. Revives Machinery Worker's Disability Bias Suit
The Third Circuit reopened a former machinery worker's lawsuit alleging he was fired because he requested light-duty assignments following an on-the-job back injury, saying Wednesday a trial court used an outdated standard to conclude that federal law didn't consider his temporary pain a disability.
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September 04, 2024
Warner Music, Atlantic Beat Suit Over Alleged Abuse In 1980s
A New York state judge released Warner Music Group and Atlantic Records from a suit claiming their negligence allowed Atlantic's then-CEO to sexually assault the plaintiff in the 1980s and that they violated their duty of care by failing to fire him, finding the entities didn't exist at the time.
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September 04, 2024
Ex-CEO Sues Ferry Co.'s Private-Equity Buyer
The former CEO of a company that operates a ferry service has told a Michigan federal court that he was wrongly terminated and then badmouthed by the company's new private-equity owners.
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September 04, 2024
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Blackbeard IP Fight, Firm Data Breach
As summer winds down, the North Carolina Business Court tackled usage rights pertaining to footage and artifacts from Blackbeard's shipwreck while grappling with uncovering the details of a cyberattack that exposed the data of Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP. In case you missed those and others, here are the highlights.
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September 04, 2024
LinkedIn Speech Not Covered By Labor Law, 5th Circ. Told
A logistics company told a Fifth Circuit panel during oral arguments Wednesday that an employee who was fired for allegedly disparaging comments made over LinkedIn wasn't protected under labor law, although the panel pointed out that an employee can take protected wage complaints to outside parties.
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September 04, 2024
Amazon Says Too Many Differences Among Driver Class
Amazon urged a Washington federal court to reject class certification in a delivery driver's lawsuit alleging he was misclassified as an independent contractor, saying there are too many differences among these drivers to warrant class treatment.
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September 04, 2024
Ex-Twitter Worker Class Conditionally Certified In Age Bias Suit
A California federal judge has conditionally certified a collective action on behalf of former Twitter workers aged 50 and older who were fired after Elon Musk acquired the company, saying while this isn't the stage "to weigh the evidence," the complaint shows "beyond mere speculation" Twitter may have discriminated against older employees.
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September 04, 2024
Polsinelli Adds Ex-Alston & Bird Litigator To LA Office
Polsinelli PC announced Tuesday that it is continuing to expand its litigation bench by adding an experienced trial attorney as a principal to the firm's Los Angeles office.
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September 04, 2024
2nd Circ. Hears Unvaxxed NY Judge's 'Exile' Challenge
A Second Circuit panel on Wednesday voiced some skepticism of a bid to revive a New York state judge's lawsuit over his "exile" after he failed to get a religious exemption from the court system's COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
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September 04, 2024
4th Circ. Says Trade Secrets Verdict Wrongly Based On Va. Law
The Fourth Circuit wants a Virginia federal court to take another crack at a trade secrets dispute brought by an industrial equipment supplier against a former employee who founded and operated two competitors while working for it, concluding a jury's verdict was based on the wrong laws.
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September 04, 2024
Ex-NFLers Seek Class Cert. To Challenge 'Sham' Benefits
Former NFL players suing the league's disability plan for denying them benefits have asked a Maryland federal judge to certify a vast class of aggrieved ex-pros, excoriating the "sham claims process" that left them out in the cold.
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September 04, 2024
NLRB Says Deference Not Needed In Solo Protest Case
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision abandoning its long-standing deference to administrative agencies should not affect the Third Circuit's review of a National Labor Relations Board order broadening when individual employees engage in protected actions, the agency argued in a brief to the appeals court.
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September 04, 2024
McElroy Deutsch's Former CFO Fights Bid To Sink Ch. 11 Case
The currently incarcerated former chief financial officer for McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP denied that his Chapter 11 filing was a bad faith maneuver meant to stall ongoing civil litigation, claiming instead that the bankruptcy will allow for the liquidation of property for the benefit of creditors.
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September 04, 2024
Fla. Builder Can't Escape Former In-House Atty's Suit
A Florida federal magistrate judge has rejected a development company's bid to escape a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by its onetime in-house counsel, saying that enough has been pled to overcome the dismissal request.
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September 04, 2024
Wash. Contractors Must Face Suit Over Off-Site Death
A Washington appeals panel has revived a wrongful death suit alleging a contractor and subcontractor are responsible for the death of a worker in a forklift accident, saying they may have had a duty to the worker even though the accident didn't happen on the worksite itself.
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September 04, 2024
Ex-Mass. Pol 'A Little Sloppy' But Not Criminal, Jurors Told
Former Massachusetts state Sen. Dean A. Tran denied charges Wednesday that he stole pandemic unemployment assistance and cheated on his taxes, with his attorney telling a jury that Tran simply made a series of paperwork "mistakes."
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September 04, 2024
Cos. Tell High Court Biden Can't Hike Contractors' Min. Wage
The Tenth Circuit pushed the borders of the Procurement Act too much when it blessed President Joe Biden's decision to increase federal contractors' hourly minimum wage, two outdoor groups told the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the law doesn't authorize wage increases.
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September 04, 2024
Concrete Co. Owes Workers $370K, Wash. Panel Says
A Washington appeals court refused to overturn a state agency's determination that a concrete company owes workers more than $370,000 in wages for working at a disposal site, saying the work was sufficiently related to a public works project to trigger the state's prevailing wage law.
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September 03, 2024
Ex-VP Says Health Co. Tried To Call Firing Retirement
A former vice president and chief human resources officer for The Elevance Health Companies Inc. claims it terminated his employment to hire a substantially younger person and tried to call it a retirement, according to an age discrimination suit filed in a Georgia federal court Tuesday.
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September 03, 2024
Ivy Leaguers Withdraw Opposition To NCAA's $2B NIL Deal
Two Brown University athletes have withdrawn their opposition to the NCAA's proposed $2.78 billion name, image and likeness settlement, telling a federal judge in California on Tuesday that they've been assured it will not impact their own antitrust case against several Ivy League schools.
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September 03, 2024
Seattle Court Accused Of Fostering Racist, Hostile Workplace
An African American former employee at the Seattle Municipal Court has alleged that she was the target of racist and sexist comments and that a court administrator falsely claimed in a courtwide email that she had been arrested and charged with a serious crime when she was on sick leave.
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September 03, 2024
Retailer Says No Good Faith In Worker's Wash. Pay Range Suit
Retailer Aaron's urged a Washington state court to throw out a job applicant's proposed class action accusing it of failing to post salary ranges in job advertisements, saying the worker's 15 other similar lawsuits show he had no interest in actually getting a job at the company.
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September 03, 2024
3rd Circ. Preview: Starbucks Firing, Liquor Law In September
Two National Labor Relations Board cases grace the Third Circuit's September session, when panels will probe the agency's suits against Starbucks Corp. for firing Philadelphia workers attempting to unionize and a plastic company accused of firing a safety whistleblower.
Expert Analysis
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New OSHA Memo Helps Clarify Recordkeeping Compliance
Based on recent Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidance on whether musculoskeletal disorders are recordable injuries under the agency's recordkeeping regulation, it appears that OSHA may target active release techniques and stretching programs during its inspections, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.
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A Closer Look At Feds' Proposed Banker Compensation Rule
A recently proposed rule to limit financial institutions' ability to award incentive-based compensation for risk-taking may progress through the rulemaking process slowly due to the sheer number of regulators collaborating on the rule and the number of issues under consideration, say attorneys at Troutman Pepper.
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Why Jurors Balk At 'I Don't Recall' — And How To Respond
Jurors often react negatively to a witness who responds “I don’t remember” because they tend to hold erroneous beliefs about the nature of human memory, but attorneys can adopt a few strategies to mitigate the impact of these biases, say Steve Wood and Ava Hernández at Courtroom Sciences.
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Series
Fishing Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Atop the list of ways fishing makes me a better lawyer is the relief it offers from the chronic stress of a demanding caseload, but it has also improved my listening skills and patience, and has served as an exceptional setting for building earnest relationships, says Steven DeGeorge at Robinson Bradshaw.
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Exploring Alternatives To Noncompetes Ahead Of FTC Ban
Ahead of the Sept. 4 effective date for the Federal Trade Commission's noncompete ban, employers should seek new ways to protect their proprietary and other sensitive information, including by revising existing confidentiality and nondisclosure agreements, says Harvey Linder at Culhane.
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10 Tips To Build Trust With Your Witness During Trial Prep
Preparing a witness for deposition or trial requires more than just legal skills — lawyers must also work to cultivate trust with the witness, using strategies ranging from wearing a hat when conducting mock cross-examination to offering them a ride to court before they testify, say Faye Paul Teller and Sara McDermott at Munger Tolles.
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DOL's New OT Rule Will Produce Unbalanced Outcomes
The U.S. Department of Labor's new salary level for the Fair Labor Standards Act overtime exemption is about 65% higher than the current threshold and will cause many white collar employees to be classified as nonexempt because they work in a location with a lower cost of living, not because of their duties, says Stephen Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.
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5th Circ. Venue-Transfer Cases Highlight Mandamus Limits
Three ongoing cases filed within the Fifth Circuit highlight an odd procedural wrinkle that may let district courts defy an appellate writ: orders granting transfer to out-of-circuit districts, but parties opposing intercircuit transfer can work around this hurdle to effective appellate review, says Charles Fowler at McKool Smith.
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A Healthier Legal Industry Starts With Emotional Intelligence
The legal profession has long been plagued by high rates of mental health issues, in part due to attorneys’ early training and broader societal stereotypes — but developing one’s emotional intelligence is one way to foster positive change, collectively and individually, says attorney Esperanza Franco.
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To Make Your Legal Writing Clear, Emulate A Master Chef
To deliver clear and effective written advocacy, lawyers should follow the model of a fine dining chef — seasoning a foundation of pure facts with punchy descriptors, spicing it up with analogies, refining the recipe and trimming the fat — thus catering to a sophisticated audience of decision-makers, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.
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3 Wage And Hour Tips For A Post-Chevron World
Employers can take three steps to handle day-to-day wage and hour compliance in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court soon reshifts the administrative law landscape by overturning the Chevron doctrine, which could cause a massive sea change in the way we all do business, say Seth Kaufman and Matthew Korn at Fisher Phillips.
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8 Steps Companies Should Take After An Internal Investigation
Given the U.S. Department of Justice’s increasing focus on corporate compliance and remediation of misconduct, companies must follow through in several key ways after an internal investigation to ensure history does not repeat itself, say Jonathan Aronie and Joseph Jay at Sheppard Mullin.
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Circuit Judge Writes An Opinion, AI Helps: What Now?
Last week's Eleventh Circuit opinion in Snell v. United Specialty Insurance, notable for a concurrence outlining the use of artificial intelligence to evaluate a term's common meaning, is hopefully the first step toward developing a coherent basis for the judiciary's generative AI use, says David Zaslowsky at Baker McKenzie.
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Attys Beware 2 Commonly Overlooked NIL Contract Issues
As name, image and likeness deals dominate high school and collegiate sports, preserving a client's NCAA eligibility should be a top priority, so lawyers should understand the potentially damaging contract provisions they may encounter when reviewing an agreement, says Paula Nagarajan at Arnall Golden.
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After Years Of Popularity, PAGA's Fate Is Up In The Air
The last two years held important victories for plaintiff-side employment attorneys in California Private Attorneys General Act litigation at the trial and appellate court levels, but this hotbed of activity will quickly lose steam if voters approve a ballot measure in November to enact the California Fair Pay and Employer Accountability Act, says Paul Sherman at Kabat Chapman.