Employment

  • March 01, 2024

    Employment Law Firm Sues IT Co. Over Ransomware Attack

    California-based employment law firm Mastagni Holstedt has sued an IT solutions company in Sacramento County Superior Court, saying that after hiring the company to install a network system and server, the firm suffered a ransomware attack forcing it to pay a group known as Black Basta to retrieve its data.

  • March 01, 2024

    Fired Boston Top Cop Says 'Destroyed Reputation' Merits Trial

    A Boston police commissioner fired after decades-old allegations of domestic abuse surfaced told a federal judge he is entitled to his day in court for his defamation suit, saying the city's former mayor "destroyed" his reputation in the press.

  • March 01, 2024

    Whistleblowers Say Paxton's Bid To Duck Deposition 'Disloyal'

    Whistleblowers accusing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of firing them for reporting suspected wrongdoing urged the state Supreme Court to reject his office's attempt to "derail litigation unilaterally" and avoid deposition in their retaliation lawsuit.

  • March 01, 2024

    DC Appeals Court Affirms 2014 Firing Of Administrative Judge

    A Washington, D.C., appeals court upheld the termination of a D.C. Office of Administrative Hearings judge who was fired nearly a decade ago amid scrutiny for a range of ethics violations that included steering a $43,000 city contract to the husband of the agency's general counsel.

  • March 01, 2024

    Golf Club Settles Claims Trump Atty Illegally Pushed NDA

    A Trump Organization golf club has settled a former server's claims that she was illegally induced to sign a nondisclosure agreement by one of Donald Trump's lawyers, Alina Habba, reopening the door for the ex-employee to pursue claims that she was sexually harassed on the job.

  • March 01, 2024

    USPS Says Ex-Carrier's Suit Fails Updated Religious Bias Test

    The U.S. Postal Service urged a Pennsylvania federal court to toss a former mail carrier's religious discrimination suit following its trip to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing his request to skip Sunday work caused an excessive burden on the agency under the high court's clarified standard.

  • March 01, 2024

    IT Firm Workers' $70M Race Bias Verdict Scrapped

    A Texas federal court on Friday wiped away a $70 million jury verdict that 10 former information technology company workers won in a race discrimination suit, saying the evidence didn't back up the hefty damages award.

  • March 01, 2024

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen a legal battle between confectionary heavyweight Mars Wrigley UK and a frozen food manufacturer, a trademark infringement claim by Abbott Diabetes Care over glucose monitoring meters, Mercedes-Benz Group hit with two commercial fraud disputes, and the Mediterranean Shipping Company tackle a cargo claim by an insurance company. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

  • March 01, 2024

    GRSM50 Adds Employment Pro In San Diego From Solo Shop

    Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani LLP, now known as GRSM50, is bolstering its employment team, bringing in a trial attorney, with his own firm, adept at class actions as a partner in its San Diego office.

  • February 29, 2024

    MoMA Says Assaults 'Unfortunate,' But Not Museum's Fault

    The Museum of Modern Art has asked a New York state court to toss a suit claiming that it failed to protect nude performers in an art exhibition from sexual assault, arguing that, while the incidents are regrettable, the facts of the case don't give rise to legal action. 

  • February 29, 2024

    Exxon Protected From Plant Fire Suits, Texas Court Rules

    Providing workers' compensation insurance to its subcontractors shielded ExxonMobil Corp. from personal injury lawsuits brought by workers hurt in a fire at one of its petrochemical plants, a Texas appellate court said Thursday, overriding a trial court ruling against the oil giant.

  • February 29, 2024

    Ousted Talent Agency CEO Sues Over 'Bogus' Firing

    Talent agency Verve's former CEO William Weinstein sued his fellow co-founders in California state court Thursday, alleging they fired him in bad faith for the "bogus" cause to cut him out of his equity shares and leaked his termination to the press in violation of the confidentiality provisions of their operating agreement.

  • February 29, 2024

    Houston Judge Again Declines Recusal In Back Wages Fight

    A Texas state judge again declined to recuse himself in a dispute between a Lewis Brisbois partner and his previous law firm after the partner filed a motion accusing the judge of allowing counsel for a Houston firm to "engage in numerous attacks" against him based on his sexuality.

  • February 29, 2024

    Black Detective Costume Not Protected Speech, Kraft Says

    A white manager who was fired by Kraft Heinz for wearing blackface as part of a Halloween costume in which he dressed as a character from the television show "Miami Vice" doesn't have a viable retaliation suit because his costume wasn't protected speech, the company told a Connecticut federal court.

  • February 29, 2024

    9th Circ. Revives Ex-Terminix Worker's PAGA Wage Suit

    A Ninth Circuit panel directed a lower court Thursday to consider a former Terminix worker's constitutional standing to bring representative wage claims while his individual claims undergo arbitration, saying arbitration does not revoke his right to bring representative claims.

  • February 29, 2024

    Ex-Philly Union Manager Gets Extortion Trial Delayed

    Former Philadelphia union leader John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty on Thursday successfully petitioned to delay his upcoming extortion trial to give his defense attorneys more time to prepare on the heels of his embezzlement conviction last year.

  • February 29, 2024

    Ex-JetBlue Flight Attendant's Subpoena Battle Heads To NY

    A former flight attendant for JetBlue Airways Corp. and her husband have dropped a legal battle that they launched Feb. 9 in Connecticut to force the airline to turn over subpoenaed documents in an underlying toxic tort case, but the federal court fight is set to continue next door.

  • February 29, 2024

    Black Ex-Davis Polk Atty To Appeal Loss In Retaliation Suit

    A Black former associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP will appeal a jury's finding that the firm and two other defendants didn't retaliate against him after he raised concerns about racial bias and diversity.

  • February 29, 2024

    Architect Of Capitol Ex-Execs Must Merge Discrimination Suits

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday directed four top executives ousted from the Architect of the Capitol to combine their separate employment discrimination lawsuits against the federal agency.

  • February 29, 2024

    Cleveland Defeats Firefighter's Bias Suit Over Beard Policy

    The City of Cleveland escaped a firefighter's suit alleging he was forced into retirement when he refused to shave his beard because of a skin condition affecting Black men, with an Ohio federal judge finding the city's clean-shaven policy was in line with federal firefighting equipment regulations.

  • February 29, 2024

    Colo. Firm Says Atty Abandoned Work While Seeking New Job

    A Denver debt collection law firm has accused a former senior associate of performing little to no meaningful work during a brief one-year tenure at the outfit while also pursuing a partnership role at another firm.

  • February 29, 2024

    10th Circ. Says NLRB's Remedies 'Inconsistent' With Law

    The National Labor Relations Board surpassed its powers when ordering a concrete company to make pension contributions and profit-sharing payments to workers without factoring in past compensation, the Tenth Circuit ruled, sending the case back to the board for a second look but finding the company violated federal labor law.

  • February 29, 2024

    Munck Wilson Adds IP Lawyer From Wood Smith

    A former Wood Smith Henning & Berman LLP attorney has made the move to Munck Wilson Mandala LLP in Los Angeles, bringing with her a history of working on intellectual property litigation and other commercial matters.

  • February 29, 2024

    Law Firm Recruited Objectors To Tank Vax Deal, Class Says

    Indianapolis-based law firm Kroger Gardis & Regas LLP is trying to unravel a settlement with Ascension Health Alliance because the firm wants to pursue its own class litigation, hospital staff told the Sixth Circuit in a brief filed Wednesday.

  • February 29, 2024

    Tesla Likely To Face 6,000-Member Class Action On Race Bias

    A California state judge said she's prepared to certify a nearly 6,000-member class of Black Tesla workers alleging the manufacturer failed to address rampant racist language and graffiti at a California factory, finding the workers presented enough evidence to proceed as a group.

Expert Analysis

  • NY Co-Ops Must Avoid Pitfalls When Navigating Insurance

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    In light of skyrocketing premiums, tricky exclusions and dwindling options, New York cooperative corporations must carefully review potential contractors' insurance policies in order to secure full protection, as even seemingly minor contractor jobs can carry significant risk due to New York labor laws, says Eliot Zuckerman at Smith Gambrell.

  • How Int'l Strategies Can Mitigate US Child Labor Risks

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    Recent reports of child labor in the U.S. raise significant compliance concerns under state and federal child labor laws, but international business and human rights principles provide tools companies can use to identify, mitigate and remediate the risks, says Tom Plotkin at Covington.

  • Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial

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    Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.

  • Opinion

    Congress Must Protect Consumer Fraud Whistleblowers

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    Congress' proposed bill to establish a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau whistleblower program is crucial for the public's protection against insurance fraud, credit fraud, investment fraud, identity theft, mortgage fraud and other consumer fraud schemes, which all too often go unchecked, says Stephen Kohn at Kohn Kohn.

  • An Employer's Guide To EEOC Draft Harassment Guidance

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    Rudy Gomez and Steven Reardon at FordHarrison discuss the most notable aspects of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s recently proposed workplace harassment guidance, examine how it fits into the context of recent enforcement trends, and advise on proactive compliance measures in light of the commission’s first update on the issue in 24 years.

  • 2nd Circ. OT Ruling Guides On Pay For Off-The-Clock Work

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    While the Second Circuit’s recent holding in Perry v. City of New York reiterated that the Fair Labor Standards Act obligates employers to pay overtime for off-the-clock work, it recognized circumstances, such as an employee’s failure to report, that allow an employer to disclaim the knowledge element that triggers this obligation, say Robert Whitman and Kyle Winnick at Seyfarth.

  • To Responsibly Rock Out At Work, Draft A Music Policy

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    Employers may be tempted to turn down the tunes after a Ninth Circuit decision that blasting misogynist music could count as workplace harassment, but companies can safely provide a soundtrack to the workday if they first take practical steps to ensure their playlists don’t demean or disrespect workers or patrons, says Ally Coll at the Purple Method.

  • Maximizing Law Firm Profitability In Uncertain Times

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    As threats of an economic downturn loom, firms can boost profits by embracing the power of bottom-line management and creating an ecosystem where strategic financial oversight and robust timekeeping practices meet evolved client relations, says Shireen Hilal at Maior Strategic Consulting.

  • What Employers Face As NLRB Protects More Solo Protests

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    Given the National Labor Relations Board’s recent decision in Miller Plastics to implement a broader standard for when it will protect individual protests, employers must be careful to not open themselves to unfair labor practice claims when disciplining employees with personal gripes, says Mohamed Barry at Fisher Phillips.

  • 5 Surprises In New Pregnancy Law's Proposed Regulations

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    Attorneys at Baker McKenzie examine five significant ways that recently proposed regulations for implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act could catch U.S. employers off guard by changing how pregnant workers and those with related medical conditions must be accommodated.

  • Tips For Student Visa Applicants Mired In Processing Delays

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    Notwithstanding procedural changes at the U.S. Department of State that provided hope for more timely and predictable visa processing outcomes, international student applications continue to risk becoming bogged down in administrative processing, but certain steps may improve the situation, say Carl Risch and Lauren Epstein at Mayer Brown.

  • FLSA Ruling Highlights Time Compensability Under State Law

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    While the Third Circuit's August decision in Tyger v. Precision Drilling endorsed the prevailing standard among federal courts regarding time compensability under the Fair Labor Standards Act, it also serves as a reminder that state laws will often find a broader range of activities to be compensable, say Ryan Warden and Craig Long at White and Williams.

  • Calif. Law Tests Noncompete Prohibitions' Potential Reach

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    California’s newly enacted law, which voids employee restrictive covenants, whether signed in or out of the state, has the potential to upend typical agreement negotiations, and highlights ongoing questions concerning how California's worker protections fare in other jurisdictions, says Sarah Tishler at Beck Reed.

  • Steps For Gov't Contractors On The OFCCP's Audit List

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    Federal contractors on the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' most recent list of firms flagged for potential audit should take certain steps now in light of the agency’s new scheduling letter, which significantly increases the burden and potential risks for contractors, say Andrew Turnbull and Sadé Tidwell at MoFo.

  • USW Ruling Highlights Successor Liability In Bankruptcy Sale

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    A Delaware federal court's recent decision in United Steelworkers v. Braeburn is important for potential asset purchasers in Section 363 bankruptcy sales as it found the purchaser was subject to obligations under the National Labor Relations Act notwithstanding language in the sale approval order transferring the debtor's assets free and clear of successor liability, say attorneys at Arnold & Porter.

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