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Employment
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May 17, 2013
Tuesday Morning Ex-CEO Sues, Says Ousted For Cancer
The former president and CEO of closeout retailer Tuesday Morning Corp. launched suit Thursday in Dallas County Court alleging she was wrongfully fired after she told the company about her cancer diagnosis.
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May 17, 2013
Secure Energy Loses D&O Coverage For $4M Suit After Delay
A Missouri federal court ruled Wednesday that Secure Energy Inc. could not win coverage under directors and officers policies for a $3.8 million breach of contract suit because it waited too long to report the claim, holding that it was irrelevant whether the late notice actually prejudiced the insurer.
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May 17, 2013
Whistleblower Wants Jackson Lewis DQ'd In Sun FCA Suit
A whistleblower asked a Florida federal judge Thursday to disqualify Jackson Lewis LLP from representing Sun Healthcare Group Inc. in a suit accusing it of falsely billing Medicare, saying the firm has misused sealed records in another case.
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May 17, 2013
Q&A With Littler Mendelson's Michael Lotito
Those dependent on the National Labor Relations Board's decision-making often lack certainty relative to compliance standards, which is why the board should become more judicial and less political, says Michael Lotito, co-chairman of workplace policy institute at Littler Mendelson PC.
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May 16, 2013
NJ Bill Could Shake Up Contractor Model For Port Trucking
A bill up for a vote Monday in the New Jersey Assembly to establish a presumption that port and parcel delivery truck drivers are employees and not contractors would effectively kill the use of independent owner-operators in those industries while exposing motor carriers to more costs and legal actions, opponents contend.
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May 16, 2013
Ropes & Gray Settles Ex-Partner's Age, Sex Bias Suit
Ropes & Gray LLP has settled a lawsuit by a former partner accusing it of firing her after she complained her work had been handed off to younger, male partners, according to a filing in New York federal court Thursday.
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May 16, 2013
Ex-Commerce Bank Director Tells Jury He Sped CEO's Ouster
A former director of Commerce Bancorp said in New Jersey federal court on Thursday that his refusal to sign a settlement with federal regulators over real estate deals hastened the ouster of Commerce founder Vernon W. Hill II, as a jury mulls awarding Hill a $17.2 million severance payment.
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May 16, 2013
Orrick Wants Heller Ehrman Clawback Ruling Revisited
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP asked a California federal judge on Wednesday to review a bankruptcy judge's ruling in favor of claims that the law firm wrongfully hired former partners of defunct Heller Ehrman LLP, arguing that the bankruptcy court may not have had authority to address the clawback claims.
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May 16, 2013
3rd Circ. Adds Fuel To Obama Recess Appointments Fight
The Third Circuit's ruling Thursday invalidating President Barack Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board will make it far harder for the labor board to peg the D.C. Circuit's similar Noel Canning ruling as a mere outlier, raising the stakes in a battle attorneys expect to end only when the Supreme Court weighs in.
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May 16, 2013
Calif. Appeals Court Favors Claims Adjuster In OT Pay Suit
A California appeals court on Thursday rejected liability investigation firm Koning & Associates' argument that a former claims adjuster was not eligible for overtime pay, ruling that compensation based only on hours worked, with no assured minimum pay, does not count as a salary.
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May 16, 2013
Philly Needs To Fill Vacant Firefighter Posts, Judge Says
A Pennsylvania state judge on Tuesday gave the city of Philadelphia until May 25 to fill 17 budgeted captain and lieutenant vacancies in the city’s fire department that union officials claim have gone unfilled in violation of civil service regulations.
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May 16, 2013
Gristedes Asks 2nd Circ. To Bag $3.4M Atty Bill In OT Suit
New York grocery chain Gristedes asked the Second Circuit on Thursday to chop a $3.4 million legal bill it was ordered to pay to a law firm that represented its workers in an wage-and-hour class action, arguing the firm padded its legal fees.
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May 16, 2013
NY AG Probes Purported Wage Theft By Fast Food Cos.
The New York state attorney general's office said Thursday it was investigating alleged widespread wage-and-hour violations by fast food companies and their franchisees in response to a survey of workers in New York City that said many of them had been cheated by their employers.
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May 16, 2013
Albany's Own 'Scandal Mania' Threatens Cuomo's Big Ideas
Gov. Andrew Cuomo doggedly pressed forward this week on women's workplace equality, a casino expansion and campaign reform, but the drumbeat of corruption arrests and malfeasance in New York's lawmaking capital has grown so loud that it threatens to crimp his policy agenda, experts say.
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May 16, 2013
Axiom Wins Sanctions In Medical Device Trademark Row
A Florida federal judge on Wednesday issued sanctions against several affiliated Chinese companies accused of producing counterfeit versions of Axiom Worldwide Inc. medical devices, ruling that the companies, created by a former Axiom sales agent, have used the disputed trademarks and copyrights in the U.S.
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May 16, 2013
Kodak Seeks Green Light On $650M Imaging Biz Spinoff
Eastman Kodak Co. asked a New York bankruptcy court Wednesday to approve a $650 million spinoff of its document imaging business to its largest creditor U.K. Kodak Pension Plan, a key settlement resolving $2.8 billion in claims and pushing the company a step closer to a Chapter 11 exit.
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May 16, 2013
Wal-Mart Says DC Circ. Posting Ruling Refutes Bias Claims
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. told a Wisconsin federal court Wednesday that the D.C. Circuit's recent decision vacating the National Labor Relations Board's notice posting rule bolstered its bid to nix class gender bias claims from women covered by the disbanded nationwide Dukes class.
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May 16, 2013
NYC Hospital Operator Avoids FLSA Overtime Action For Now
A New York federal judge Wednesday tossed a putative class action accusing New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by depriving hourly employees of overtime pay, but left the plaintiff a chance to amend his complaint to add more detailed allegations.
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May 16, 2013
Google Drops Bid For IP Boutique Firm's Personnel File
A Colorado federal judge on Wednesday signed off on Google Inc.’s withdrawal of its move to force intellectual property boutique Sheridan Ross PC to produce the personnel file of a former employee who claims he created two disputed patents, after Google learned it contained no relevant information.
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May 16, 2013
EEOC's 1st Genetic Bias Class Action Targets Nursing Home
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission launched its first class action under the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act on Thursday, accusing a New York nursing home of wrongly requesting family medical histories as part of health exams before and after workers accept jobs.
Expert Analysis
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Summa V. Hofstra — A Cautionary Tale For Employers
The Second Circuit's recent decision in Summa v. Hofstra University provides a clear lesson to employers: When employers learn that their employee is being harassed, they need to not only quickly stop the harassment but also ensure that the harassed employee does not face retribution for raising the issue in the first place, say attorneys with Katz Marshall & Banks LLP.
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8 Ways To Reduce Employment Litigation Costs
Employment lawsuits and charges with administrative agencies continue to rise, along with the cost associated with these actions. Can a company truly undertake measures to reduce its employment litigation spend? In my view, the answer unquestionably is yes, says Brian McDermott of Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC.
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Get Ready For Increased Minimum Wages
In preparation for increasing minimum wages across the country, employers should update their payroll practices, place workplace posters concerning minimum wage appropriately and ensure that employees are correctly classified as exempt or nonexempt, say attorneys with Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.
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OFCCP Guidelines — Scientifically Valid But Unclear
The lack of specificity in the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' new compensation guidelines may be frustrating to federal contractors, but the upside may be that the OFCCP will now try to accurately model the contractor’s compensation decisions, says Audrius Girnius of Advanced Analytical Consulting Group Inc.
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Business Judgment Rules The Roost In Exec Pay Analysis
The Delaware Supreme Court’s ruling in Freedman v. Adams affirms that employers, and corporate boards, have wide latitude in making executive compensation decisions. In upholding the Delaware Chancery Court ruling, the court focused on the board’s exercise of its business judgment, say attorneys with Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP.
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Can Employers Force Arbitration Of FCA Retaliation Claims?
As seen in Winston v. Academi Training Center Inc., a court may decide that one or two bad terms renders an entire arbitration clause unenforceable, thus eliminating the company’s ability to compel arbitration of False Claims Act retaliation claims. Companies should proceed with caution when drafting aggressive or boilerplate arbitration clauses, say attorneys with Nixon Peabody LLP.
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How Lawyers Benefit From Early Neutral Evaluation
Early neutral evaluation usually asks a retired judge to consider one party’s case, as if preparing to rule on summary judgment or presiding over a bench trial. Effective evaluation can supply a reality check on a case — it gives the lawyer the gift of seeing the case as others see it, says James Rosenbaum, a panelist with JAMS and former U.S. district judge for the District of Minnesota.
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The FLSA's New 'Clothes'
While the U.S. Supreme Court decision — expected in 2014 — on the definition of "clothes" under the Fair Labor Standards Act might have some impact on the general question of whether time spent donning and doffing work clothes is compensable, the ruling will be most significant to employers who rely on FLSA section 203(o) and collective bargaining agreements to exclude donning and doffing activities from compensable time, says Elizabeth Arce of Liebert Cassidy Whitmore.
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China's Remedy For Labor Inequity Could Spark Unrest
New amendments to China's Employment Contract Law will take effect on July 1, 2013. If strictly enforced, they will severely limit the ability of foreign and domestic employers in China to use dispatched workers from labor dispatch agencies — as well as create the potential for social unrest, says Kevin Jones of Faegre Baker Daniels LLP.
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Sequestration Raises Labor Law Risks For Contractors
Notwithstanding the additional flexibility provided by the spending bill that President Obama signed on March 26, sequestration will continue to cause significant uncertainty for government contractors due to government customers cutting programs, tasks and personnel. In selecting the employees who will be impacted by these cuts, contractors should apply reduction-in-force principles to reduce the likelihood of discrimination claims, say attorneys with Proskauer Rose LLP.