Employment

May 06, 2024
Blaze Media Must Show Docs In Harassment Suit, Judge Says

A Texas federal judge ordered Blaze Media to cough up documents relating to a former commentator accused of sexual harassment, finding that the conservative media company didn't do enough to show that the discovery requests were overly broad and concerned confidential information.
May 06, 2024
Margolis Edelstein Wants Redo Of Malpractice Ruling In Del.

Margolis Edelstein wants the Delaware Supreme Court to reconsider its decision reviving an insurer's malpractice suit claiming its incompetence caused the insurer to have to settle a case for $1.2 million, and is asking the full court to rehear the matter.
May 06, 2024
Ritz-Carlton Defeats Post-Hurricane Layoff Claims At 1st Circ.

The First Circuit has said a Puerto Rico federal judge was right to rule in favor of a Ritz-Carlton hotel in a suit by a proposed class of employees who claimed they were wrongfully laid off after the island was decimated by back-to-back hurricanes in 2017.
May 06, 2024
3rd Circ. Won't Revive Ex-Pa. Agency Atty's Firing Suit

The Third Circuit on Monday declined to revive a former Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development attorney's suit alleging his firing violated his 14th Amendment rights, reasoning that the lawyer failed to show how his termination constitutes a deprivation of property.
May 06, 2024
Prof's Free Speech Suit Over Native Land Statement Falls Flat

A federal judge has tossed a professor's suit alleging the University of Washington violated his First Amendment rights after he opposed including an acknowledgment of Native Americans in his syllabus for a computer science course, saying his stance created a burden for the school.
May 06, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

A record $100 million settlement, a fishy Facebook decision, a canceled Amazon delivery and an upended $7.3 billion sale dispute topped the news out of Delaware's Court of Chancery last week. There were also new cases involving Hess, Microsoft and the 2022 World Cup.
May 06, 2024
Amazon Workers Answer Judge's $5.5M COVID Deal Inquiries

Amazon employees assured a California federal court that their $5.5 million proposed class action deal is fit for approval, giving additional information on the terms and saying the company backed ending the lawsuit accusing the e-commerce giant of failing to pay for time spent undergoing COVID screenings before shifts.
May 06, 2024
Ex-DeKalb Ethics Officer Wants Race Bias Suit Kept Alive

Attorneys for a former DeKalb County Board of Ethics deputy ethics officer told a Georgia federal judge Monday that a magistrate judge ignored "key facts" when recommending the dismissal of her suit alleging she was fired for complaining about racial discrimination.
May 06, 2024
CBP Denies Delay To Ban Ivorian Cocoa, Says Probe Is Active

U.S. Customs and Border Protection countered accusations that it is taking too long to ban cocoa imports allegedly harvested using child labor, telling the U.S. Court of International Trade it does not have a statutory deadline to complete its investigation.
May 06, 2024
FDIC, OCC Gear Up For Another Shot At Banker Bonus Rules

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Monday revived an Obama-era proposal to set restrictions on incentive-based pay for executives at big banks, a lingering item of unfinished Dodd-Frank Act business, and for now, the Federal Reserve is sitting out.
May 06, 2024
DOL Wants New Union Officer Vote For Midwestern Bakers

An Illinois federal judge should compel a Midwestern bakery workers union to rerun a 2023 officer election because it didn't properly update its members' addresses before sending out ballots, the U.S. Department of Labor has claimed in a new lawsuit against the union.
May 06, 2024
College Football Players Assoc. Eyes Athlete Protection Bill

The College Football Players Association will meet this week with lawmakers in Washington, D.C., to craft legislation that gives athletes certain worker protections and collective bargaining rights but stops short of classifying them as full employees, the organization said Monday.
May 06, 2024
Gerdau Steel Settles Fathers' Parental Leave Suit In Texas

A suit accusing steel producer Gerdau of not allowing male mill workers to take parental leave will be put to rest after a Texas federal judge signed off on a nationwide deal between the workers and the company.
May 06, 2024
Ex-Morgan & Morgan Paralegal Hits Firm With FMLA Suit

A former Morgan & Morgan PA paralegal who says she was unlawfully fired after requesting time off under protections afforded by the Family and Medical Leave Act has sued the firm in Florida federal court, alleging interference and retaliation.
May 06, 2024
Lewis Brisbois Employment Pro Joins Fisher Phillips In NJ

Fisher Phillips LLP is building out its New Jersey presence with the addition of a former Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP labor and employment partner coming aboard as of counsel.
May 03, 2024
Calif. Appeals Court Calls Firm's Conduct 'Woefully Uncivil'

A California state appeals court has backed sanctions against The Vanderpool Law Firm in a dispute with Masimo Corp., finding that the firm had engaged in misconduct during discovery and noting that it was "woefully uncivil" in its emails with opposing counsel.
May 03, 2024
Employment Authority: EEOC's New Harassment Guidance

Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with coverage on the five takeaways from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's long-awaited guidance on workplace harassment, the wage and hour cases that are changing federal arbitration and a National Labor Relations Board decision on severance agreements lands in the Sixth Circuit.
May 03, 2024
Ill. Hilton Operators Slapped With Time-Tracking BIPA Suits

Hilton workers have hit several hotel operators in the Chicago area with a proposed class action and an individual lawsuit in Illinois state court, accusing the hotels of illegally collecting and retaining workers' biometric data to keep track of workers' hours in violation of the state Biometric Information Privacy Act.
May 03, 2024
Boeing Can't Avoid Pre-Conception Toxic Birth Defect Claims

A Washington state judge said Friday that the child of two Boeing factory workers can sue the aerospace giant for negligence based on harm he allegedly suffered before he was conceived, allowing him to accuse the company of failing to warn his parents about toxic chemicals they were exposed to on the job.
May 03, 2024
Cruise Contractors Aim To End $2.8M Union Fund Debt Row

Two cruise ship contractors and a union pension fund told a Louisiana federal judge Friday that they're winding down their dispute over the contractors' $2.8 million debt to the fund, asking him to toss the case but let them reopen it if they can't settle the last outstanding issue.
May 03, 2024
DuPont, Corteva Want 'Schrödinger's Cat' Class Decertified

DuPont and Corteva Inc. asked a Pennsylvania federal court Friday to undo class certification for former employees who claim they were wrongly denied an "optional retirement" when DuPont de Nemours Inc. and Corteva's parent companies merged and they were spun off, arguing that the two class representatives' claims clash with the rest of the class.
May 03, 2024
Claims Court Trims Military Vax Mandate Class Action

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims pared back a proposed class action seeking military back pay for service members allegedly discharged for not complying with a 2021 COVID-19 vaccination mandate, saying it had no jurisdiction over a nonmoney-mandating statute.
May 03, 2024
Ex-Spirit Flight Attendant Drops FMLA Suit

A Florida federal judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit a former flight attendant lodged against Spirit Airlines accusing it of firing her after she complained that its medical leave policies ran afoul of the Family and Medical Leave Act.
May 03, 2024
Arby's Franchise, Auto Dealer Hit With Ga. Data Breach Suits

Workers at an Arby's franchise, a home nursing company and national car dealership have sued their employers in Georgia federal court, alleging the employers failed to safeguard sensitive personal information exposed in recent cyberattacks.
May 03, 2024
Chamber Blasts FTC Bid For Member IDs In Noncompete Suit

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is defending its ability to represent anonymous members in its Texas federal suit challenging the Federal Trade Commission's pending noncompete ban, arguing that the FTC's attempt to block that representation is "radical and unprecedented."

Expert Analysis

4 PR Pointers When Your Case Is In The News

Media coverage of new lawsuits exploded last year, demonstrating why defense attorneys should devise a public relations plan that complements their legal strategy, incorporating several objectives to balance ethical obligations and advocacy, say Nathan Burchfiel at Pinkston and Ryan June at Castañeda + Heidelman.
Sex Harassment Arbitration Exemption: Devil Is In The Date

A Federal Arbitration Act amendment that exempts workplace sexual harassment claims from arbitration is muddled in ongoing confusion about its chronological reach — and as many such cases begin to run up against applicable statutes of limitations, the clock is ticking for claimants to bring their actions in court, says Abe Melamed at Signature Resolution.
Compliance Refresher Amid DOL Child Labor Crackdown

In light of the Labor Department’s recent announcement of new penalty assessment procedures for child labor law violations, Erica MacDonald and Sylvia Bokyung St. Clair at Faegre Drinker discuss what employers should know about the department’s continued focus on this issue and how to bolster compliance efforts.
Antitrust Enforcement Initiatives To Watch In 2024

The U.S. Department of Justice is likely to prioritize information-sharing prosecutions in 2024, following last year's withdrawal of safe harbors, as well as labor market enforcement after trial losses forced a pullback in 2023, say attorneys at Fried Frank.
Law Firm Strategies For Successfully Navigating 2024 Trends

Though law firms face the dual challenge of external and internal pressures as they enter 2024, firms willing to pivot will be able to stand out by adapting to stakeholder needs and reimagining their infrastructure, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Consultants.
Top 10 Employer Resolutions For 2024

From technological leaps to sea changes in labor policy to literal sea changes, 2024 provides opportunities for employers to face big-picture questions that will shape their business for years to come, say Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Lisa Haldar at Lawrence & Bundy.
AI In Employment Law: The Top Guest Articles Of 2023

This year, the most popular employment law topics related to artificial intelligence in Law360's Expert Analysis section included ChatGPT, new AI legislation, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
The Most-Read Employment Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

This year, some of the most popular employment topics in articles written for Law360's Expert Analysis section focused on workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, new unionization rules from the National Labor Relations Board, and proposed regulations for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
The Most-Read Legal Industry Law360 Guest Articles Of 2023

A range of legal industry topics drew readers' attention in Law360's Expert Analysis section this year, from associate retention strategies to ethical billing practices.
Lessons Learned From 2023's Top FMLA Decisions

This year’s most significant Family and Medical Leave Act decisions offer lessons on the act's technical requirements, including the definition of serious health condition, compliance with notice requirements and whether it is permissible to give an employee substantial extra work upon their return from leave, says Linda Dwoskin at Dechert.
Artificial Intelligence Is In Need Of Regulation — But How?

Since most of the artificial intelligence-related laws in 2023 were part of more extensive consumer privacy law, the U.S. still has a lot of work to do to build consensus on how to oversee AI, and even who should do the regulating, before moving forward on specific and reasonable guidelines as AI's capabilities grow, say Nick Toufexis and Paul Saputo at Saputo Toufexis.
Inside Higher Education's New FCA Liability Challenges

As the educational sector expands its use of government funding, schools are at increased risk under the False Claims Act, but recent settlements offer valuable lessons about new theories of liability they may face and specific procedures to reduce their exposure, say James Zelenay and Jeremy Ochsenbein at Gibson Dunn.
Attorneys' Busiest Times Can Be Business Opportunities

Attorneys who resolve to grow their revenue and client base in 2024 should be careful not to abandon their goals when they get too busy with client work, because these periods of zero bandwidth can actually be a catalyst for future growth, says Amy Drysdale at Alchemy Consulting.
In The World Of Legal Ethics, 10 Trends To Note From 2023

Lucian Pera at Adams and Reese and Trisha Rich at Holland & Knight identify the top legal ethics trends from 2023 — including issues related to hot documents, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — that lawyers should be aware of to put their best foot forward.
Del. Dispatch: The 2023 Corporate Cases You Need To Know

Corporate and mergers and acquisitions litigation has continued at a fevered pace this year, with the Delaware courts addressing numerous novel issues with important practical implications, including officer exculpation and buyer aiding-and-abetting liability, say attorneys at Fried Frank.