Employment

May 20, 2024
Lyft Has No Duty To Screen Passengers For Criminal History

A California appeals court has thrown out a former Lyft Inc. driver's suit against the company alleging he was stabbed by a passenger because the company failed to perform background checks on passengers, saying the company has no such duty.
May 20, 2024
FTC Says Albertsons Execs Deleted Texts In Kroger Case

Kroger and the Federal Trade Commission are at each other's throats over discovery in the agency's in-house challenge to the grocery giant's $25 billion merger with Albertsons and in district court, with the grocers accusing the agency of "running out the clock" and the FTC accusing the grocers of deleting text messages.
May 20, 2024
Tesla Must Face Sweeping Race Bias Class Action

Tesla must face a class action by scores of Black workers accusing it of a widespread culture of racial discrimination at its factory in Fremont, California, a state trial court judge has ruled.
May 20, 2024
NLRB Attys Say Mich. Starbucks Injunction Row Must Proceed

The U.S. Supreme Court's pending decision over a National Labor Relations Board injunction standard shouldn't pause a Michigan federal court case against Starbucks seeking reinstatement of fired employees, the board argued Monday, saying a stay would be detrimental to the workers' interests.
May 20, 2024
3 Insurance Execs Can't Hit Pause On Asset Theft Claims

Three former Sherbrooke Corporate Ltd. executives accused of stealing assets when they left to form their own venture lost a bid to halt the company's lawsuit, after a North Carolina federal judge doubted that their efforts to toss the case would succeed.
May 20, 2024
Ex-Detroit Tigers Worker Settles Age Bias Suit With Team

A Michigan federal judge on Monday issued a brief order dismissing an age bias lawsuit brought by a former Detroit Tigers employee against the MLB team, saying the parties informed the court they have resolved all claims just a month before trial was set to begin.
May 20, 2024
Wyndham Wants Out Of Pa. Hotel's Labor Trafficking Case

Wyndham Hotels & Resorts argued to a federal court Monday it could not be plausibly alleged the chain knew or could have known that its former franchisee at a New Stanton, Pennsylvania, Days Inn was exploiting laborers in a room-for-hire scheme, and so it should be dismissed from the laborers' lawsuit.
May 20, 2024
Senate Report Ties Automakers To Uyghur Forced Labor

BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and Volkswagen imported cars and their parts that were manufactured by a Chinese company sanctioned for using forced labor, according to a congressional report released Monday raising concerns about compliance with recent measures to crack down on labor violations.
May 20, 2024
Agricultural Groups Agree To Toss Claim In H-2A Rule Dispute

Several Florida-based agricultural groups agreed to toss a claim in their suit challenging the U.S. Department of Labor's rule raising the wages of H-2A agricultural workers, saying while they still believe the allegation is viable, trimming the suit will expedite the litigation.
May 20, 2024
Ex-Conn. Town Atty Sues Over 'False' Ethics Complaint

Former Newington, Connecticut, town attorney Benjamin Ancona Jr. and other former officials took the Hartford-area suburb to state court claiming the town's assessor and others defamed them in and regarding a now-dismissed ethics complaint that was purportedly loaded with false statements.
May 20, 2024
Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

Delaware was full of drama last week, as proposed changes to the state's corporate law statutes raised eyebrows and a professor's friend-of-the-court brief sparked a very unfriendly public exchange. Delaware's court of equity banged the gavel on pipeline and social media disputes, and shareholders filed new suits alleging insider trading, vote bungling, unfair stock buybacks and merger shenanigans. In case you missed any of it, here's the recap of all the top news last week from Delaware's Chancery Court.
May 20, 2024
Mich. Judges Claim Immunity In Defender's Retaliation Suit

A Detroit-area court and two of its judges say a public defender's retaliation suit should be dismissed because they have immunity from claims that her cases were moved because she complained about court staff behavior, saying that even if the allegations were true, the judges have a right to manage their courtrooms.
May 20, 2024
Snell & Wilmer Lands Hahn Loeser Employment Pro In Calif.

Snell & Wilmer LLP has added a Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP partner in San Diego, strengthening its labor and employment practice.
May 20, 2024
Northshore Unit Beats Employee's Vaccine Exemption Suit

A nurse working for a Northshore Health unit in Illinois cannot pursue employment deprivation claims over the hospital's initial rejection of her COVID-19 vaccine religious exemption request since she was granted the exemption on appeal, a federal judge said Friday.
May 20, 2024
McElroy Deutsch Says Ex-Exec's Guilt Boosts Home Claim

McElroy Deutsch Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP doubled down on its attempt to seize the home of two former firm executives following a guilty plea on criminal embezzlement charges earlier this month by one of them, the firm's former chief financial officer.
May 20, 2024
Pa. Rehab Center Worker's Firing Suit Filed Too Late

A Pennsylvania appeals panel won't reinstate a wrongful termination suit by a former rehabilitation center worker who says she was wrongly fired for using medical cannabis, rejecting her argument that her claims should be subject to a six-year statute of limitations instead of two years.
May 20, 2024
Justices Won't Wade Into Engraver's Age Bias Suit

The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to consider a metal engraver's claims that a silversmith fired him because he was over 40 with carpal tunnel syndrome, leaving in place a Ninth Circuit ruling that only part of his case needed to be heard by a jury.
May 20, 2024
6th Circ. Orders Sanctioned Prison Co. To Pay NLRB Atty Fees

The Sixth Circuit said a Federal Bureau of Prisons contractor has to pay the U.S. National Labor Relations Board's attorney fees from arguing the contractor should be held in contempt in a dispute over two fired union supporters, with one judge dissenting in part over 0.4 billable hour.
May 20, 2024
FDIC's Gruenberg To Resign In Workplace Report Aftermath

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg committed Monday to resigning from his post amid continuing fallout from his agency's toxic workplace scandal, bending to mounting pressure for his exit.
May 17, 2024
Jenner & Block Sued For Firing Worker Over Vax Refusal

A former Jenner & Block LLP employee filed a discrimination suit against the law firm on May 17, claiming she was fired after the firm refused to provide a religious exemption from its COVID-19 vaccine mandate despite her belief that taking the vaccine would make her complicit in abortion.
May 17, 2024
UC Says Union Trying To Illegally Strike Amid Campus Protest

The University of California system is accusing the union that represents its graduate student workers of calling for an illegal strike over the university system's pushback to pro-Palestine campus protests, filing an unfair labor practice charge Friday.
May 17, 2024
Qorvo Wins $38.6M In Akoustis Trade Secrets And Patent Trial

A Delaware federal jury on Friday told Akoustis Technologies Inc. to pay wireless company Qorvo Inc. nearly $38.6 million for misappropriating its trade secrets and infringing its patents, following a two-week trial over radio frequency filter technology.
May 17, 2024
Trucking Co. Dodges Misclassification Suit, For Now

A trucking company can temporarily escape claims that it misclassified drivers as independent contractors because the driver lodging the suit failed to show jurisdictional diversity, an Illinois federal judge ruled.
May 17, 2024
Allergan Says Deserted Drug Rule Weakens $680M Fraud Suit

Allergan drew a Maryland federal court's attention to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' abandonment of a regulation clarifying drug pricing, arguing the move undermined a whistleblower's claims that it overcharged Medicaid by over $680 million.
May 17, 2024
How A $3K Pro Se Claim Led To A 9-0 High Court Decision

A milestone victory at the U.S. Supreme Court for $3,000 in wages started with a Pentagon worker’s principled commitment to his employer — a dedication that ironically led to a decadelong fight against his own bosses. Stuart R. Harrow and his attorneys speak to Law360 about how a seemingly low-stakes conflict turned into a high-profile case with reverberations for hundreds of federal employees.

Expert Analysis

Navigating Class Actions After Papa John's Settlement Denial

A Kentucky federal court's surprising denial of preliminary approval for a $5 million settlement in the Papa John's no-poach case may prove to be an outlier but suggests a class action settlement would only be approved when a plaintiff demonstrates that a litigation class would be certified, say attorneys at Robins Kaplan.
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.