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May 20, 2013
NYC Sued Over Seniority Changes In School Bus Contracts
Two New York City school bus companies on Thursday hit the city with a lawsuit alleging its Department of Education illegally changed contract bid requirements, allowing newer companies to avoid a mandate that certain senior drivers be hired.
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May 20, 2013
Oil Field Workers Say Superior Energy Stiffed Them On OT
Superior Energy Services Inc. deprived over 1,000 Pennsylvania oil field workers of overtime pay by misclassifying them as exempt from federal and state wage laws, according to a proposed class action filed in federal court Friday.
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May 20, 2013
Baker Botts Lands Employee Benefits, Tax Pro In Dallas
Baker Botts LLP has landed an employee benefits and executive compensation veteran from Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP to join its Dallas office as a partner in its tax department, the firm announced Monday.
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May 20, 2013
High Court Snubs Nucor's Class Cert. Appeal In Bias Suit
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to hear an appeal from Nucor Corp. of a ruling awarding class certification to black workers for the company’s South Carolina factory, who sued alleging they worked in a hostile environment and faced racial discrimination.
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May 20, 2013
Smithfield Unit Ordered To Pay Workers For Prep Time
A federal judge determined Friday that a class of workers at a pork processing plant owned by a Smithfield Foods Inc. subsidiary should be compensated for time spent changing into and out of their uniforms, citing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Alvarez v. IBP Inc.
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May 20, 2013
Macy's Security Checks Violate Wage Laws, Suit Says
An ex-Macy's Corporate Services Inc. employee urged a California federal judge Monday to certify a class of 84,000 current and former workers who claim the department store chain required them to submit to off-the-clock loss-control inspections of their belongings, but didn't pay them for that time.
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May 20, 2013
PBGC Wants 2nd Circ. To Rethink Morgan Stanley ERISA Case
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. on Friday asked the Second Circuit for an en banc rehearing of its case alleging Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc. negligently invested a pension plan's assets in mortgage-backed securities, saying the case's dismissal hinders enforcement of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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May 20, 2013
Squire Sanders Beats Hartford's Appeal Over $15M Legal Tab
A California appeals court held Friday that Hartford Casualty Insurance Co. could not sue Squire Sanders directly to win back some of the $15 million it paid the firm to independently defend J.R. Marketing LLC against claims that its founders stole business from a former employer.
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May 20, 2013
Federal Law Preempts BofA Seating Suit, Judge Says
A California federal judge on Monday tossed a putative class action against Bank of America Corp. over suitable seating for its tellers, finding a California regulation requiring suitable seating in the workplace “offends and frustrates” the intent of the National Banking Act.
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May 20, 2013
EEOC Seeks To Revive Retaliation Claims Against Evans Fruit
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged a Washington federal court on Friday to revive Evans Fruit Co. Inc. workers' claims that they were intimidated after a meeting with the EEOC about sexual harassment allegations, arguing that the court erred by finding that alleged verbal threats were hearsay.
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May 20, 2013
Senate Committee Launches Pension-Lender Probe
A U.S. Senate committee announced Monday that it is searching for victims of potential pension-lending schemes, launching an investigation of loans in which retirees sign over benefits for cash but are hit by hidden exorbitant interest rates and fees.
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May 20, 2013
Q&A With Burr & Forman's Marcel Debruge
The University of Texas affirmative action case is important because the U.S. Supreme Court can further clarify the legality of race-based selection procedures. Although this case deals with a state university, it may provide helpful guidance for private employers, says Marcel Debruge, chairman of Burr & Forman LLP's labor and employment practice group.
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May 20, 2013
High Court To Review SOX's Protection Of Private Contractors
The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it would clarify whether private contractors of public companies are protected by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s whistleblower protections, granting writ to a pair of retaliation suits against privately owned Fidelity Investments.
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May 17, 2013
NY Crane Rulings Affirm Building Owners' Liability Worries
Two recent court decisions clarify that New York property owners are responsible for crane safety, making projects in the state more costly and and building owners more open to liability, attorneys say.
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May 17, 2013
OSHA Backs Fired Nuke Plant Engineer In Whistleblower Case
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Wednesday ordered Enercon Services Inc. to reinstate an engineer who alleged he was fired after complaining about hazardous conditions at a Kansas nuclear plant.
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May 17, 2013
Kmart Rips Bid To Set Aside Judgment In Seating Trial
A former Kmart Corp. cashier's claim that the company misled the court and her lawyers — a bid to undo her loss at the first class action trial over California's suitable seating requirements — is meritless, Kmart told San Francisco federal judge on Thursday.
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May 17, 2013
ING Gave Morgan Stanley Kickbacks For 401(k) Biz, Suit Says
An Alabama medical laboratory filed a proposed class action in New York federal court on Friday alleging Morgan Stanley & Co. Inc. encouraged the lab to use ING Life Insurance and Annuity Co. to administer its employees' 401(k) plan because ING paid the brokerage firm extra fees.
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May 17, 2013
Texas High Court Clarifies Profession Defamation Limits
The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that a doctor alleging he was defamed by another doctor who accused him of unprofessionalism and lying was not subjected to defamation per se because the statements had no bearing on his skills or competence as a physician.
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May 17, 2013
Consultants Get Longer Notice Period In Wells Fargo OT MDL
A Texas federal court extended a time window Friday for mortgage consultants to join multidistrict overtime litigation against Wells Fargo & Co. following the Fifth Circuit's ruling on an allegedly wasteful challenge to conditional certification, but didn't give the plaintiffs as much extra time as they wanted.
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May 17, 2013
Indiana Right-To-Work Law Constitutional, AG Tells 7th Circ.
Indiana Attorney General Gregory Zoeller urged the Seventh Circuit on Friday to uphold the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging a state law that prohibits requiring union membership or union dues as a condition of employment, arguing that the statute is neither unconstitutional nor preempted by federal labor law.
Expert Analysis
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Know Your Codes Before Litigation Blows Up
A recent analysis of Occupational Safety and Health Administration data on boiler incidents at workplaces illustrates the need for manufacturers, designers and operators to be aware of applicable codes and standards. If litigation results from a catastrophic incident, any violations of applicable codes, standards and safety rules will be important evidence, says Jonathan Shoebotham of Thompson & Knight LLP.
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US Airways V. McCutchen Spurs Revision Of ERISA Plans
The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in U.S. Airways v. McCutchen should guide the drafting and revising of Employee Retirement Income Security Act plans. Certainly, a plan should protect itself by granting itself reimbursement rights in the beneficiary’s full recovery against a third party, say attorneys with Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP.
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Genesis V. Symczyk: A Win For Employers In The End
Even though the U.S. Supreme Court evaded resolving a particular circuit split in Genesis Healthcare Corp. v. Symczyk, the court did resolve another issue that should provide employers confidence in the proper disposition of Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions, say attorneys with Paul Hastings LLP.
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Paying Your Employees While On Lockdown
The events that occurred following the Boston Marathon bombings have had a disruptive effect on businesses throughout the metro area, and employers may wonder about their obligations to pay employees for work that they performed or missed during the lockdown. In Massachusetts, these issues are particularly poignant, says Barry Miller of Seyfarth Shaw LLP.
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9th Circ. Leaves Broughton-Cruz Hanging
The Ninth Circuit decision in Kilgore v. KeyBank NA leaves open the question of whether and to what extent California's Broughton-Cruz rule survives the U.S. Supreme Court decision in AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion. It also suggests additional guidance to maximize enforcement of arbitration agreements and class action waivers, say attorneys with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
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How To Navigate Federal Affirmative Action Compliance
The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs recently has increased the frequency and intensity of its affirmative action audits. It is essential that federal contractors and subcontractors be familiar with the 16 mandatory — and not-so-easy — steps for federal affirmative action compliance, and document all efforts to comply with them, says Christina Lewis of Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP.
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Don't Let Your Plaintiff Get Away In CEPA Cases
New Jersey's Conscientious Employee Protection Act is a powerful anti-retaliation statute, providing an array of significant remedies to an aggrieved party. However, as taken from Hitesman v. Bridgeway Inc., with great power comes great responsibility, including the important gatekeeping functions of trial courts in cases brought under the act, says Lawrence Del Rossi of Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP.
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5 Arbitration Assumptions That Aren't Always True
Arbitration is often thought to be preferable to litigating in court, and in some circumstances, it may be. Deciding to arbitrate, however, should be the result of a careful analysis of the benefits and disadvantages. That analysis requires examining some common perceptions, say Frank Emory and Rita Davis of Hunton & Williams LLP.
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Get The Latest Employment Updates — For Your Clients' Sake
The recent ruling by the California Court of Appeal in Harris v. Bingham McCutchen LLP highlights both employment law’s perpetual fluidity and the crucial importance of staying up to date on emerging issues and developments. Employers should note that using outdated or boilerplate language when drafting employment arbitration clauses may expose clients to significant risk, says Brian Lauter of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP.
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No Mercy From IRS On Section 409A Compliance
Big Brother is paying attention to how you value your company’s stock for purposes of granting stock options, as evidenced by Sutardja v. United States, in which the U.S. Court of Federal Claims recently confirmed that Section 409A applies to discounted stock options. This case highlights the need to ensure that a determination of fair market value is defensible and complies with Section 409A, says Justin Stemple of Warner Norcross & Judd LLP.