Employment

May 07, 2024
Google Says Exec's Firing Based On Behavior, Not Bias

Google urged a New York federal court to toss a lawsuit from a former executive who said he was fired for being a white man, arguing his termination came because he threw a raucous, alcohol-fueled party at his lake house despite receiving prior warnings about bad behavior.
May 07, 2024
Tennis Org. Ordered To Pay $9M For Sexual Abuse Negligence

The U.S. Tennis Association has been ordered to pay $9 million to tennis pro Kylie McKenzie, who has waged a legal battle against the organization over its failure to shield her from sexual abuse at the hands of her coach at a Florida training center.
May 07, 2024
Sidley Brings On Wilson Sonsini Employment Pro In Palo Alto

Sidley Austin LLP has boosted its labor and employment practice with a partner joining from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati PC who boasts more than a decade of experience handling employment-related matters in Silicon Valley.
May 06, 2024
Ikea Sanctioned For Deleting Emails In Age Bias Suit

A Pennsylvania federal judge on Monday sanctioned Ikea for deleting four email accounts it had a duty to preserve in a proposed collective action alleging the furniture retailer discriminated based on age, saying Ikea was grossly negligent, the plaintiffs were prejudiced and the retailers' subsequent "strategy of delay and obfuscation" was "offensive."
May 06, 2024
Judge Weighs Discovery Need On McD's No-Poach Standard

No-poach antitrust litigation against McDonald's is getting back underway in Illinois federal court following the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal of the fast food giant's appeal, spurring the district court judge to consider whether more discovery might be needed to determine the appropriate standard that will govern the case.
May 06, 2024
Ex-JetBlue Attendant Can't Have Neurological Exam Recorded

A New York federal judge said Monday that a former flight attendant for JetBlue Airways Corp. who said she suffered brain injuries from being exposed to toxic fumes can't have a neurological examination recorded, saying she hadn't established special conditions that would warrant it.
May 06, 2024
Pet Food Co. Hill's Sues Exec In Del. To Block Freshpet Job

Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. asked Delaware's Court of Chancery on Monday to bar its former U.S president from taking a position with smaller industry competitor Freshpet Inc., saying the hiring was imminent and urging fast-track proceedings to block the move.
May 06, 2024
Bridgewater Fights To Keep Bias Claims Under Wraps

Connecticut asset management firm Bridgewater Associates LP fought Friday to keep dispute with two terminated employees over alleged discrimination in arbitration, saying the Federal Arbitration Act bans its ex-workers from using state court procedures contrary to private dispute resolution agreements, and from airing grievances in public.
May 06, 2024
Employer's Good Faith Axes Paystub Fine, Calif. Justices Rule

The California Supreme Court on Monday held that if an employer had a good faith belief it was providing complete and accurate wage statements to its employees, it has not knowingly and intentionally violated state labor law, meaning workers cannot recover civil penalties offered for intentional violations of wage statement requirements.
May 06, 2024
5th Circ. Revives Airline Workers' Hearing-Loss Suit

A pair of flight attendants seeking to hold Boeing liable over hearing loss they suffered due to an aircraft's allegedly faulty smoke alarm have successfully convinced a Fifth Circuit panel to allow them to refile their case, bringing their claims back from the brink almost three years after the appeals court tossed them.
May 06, 2024
7th Circ. Backs Ford In Black Ex-Plumber's Bias Suit

The Seventh Circuit on Monday upheld Ford Motor Co.'s defeat of a former plumber's lawsuit alleging she was punished for reporting she'd been treated harshly by her supervisor because she's a Black Muslim woman, finding nothing wrong with a lower court tossing the case.
May 06, 2024
9th Circ. Hints Walmart Can't Avoid Jury In Disability Bias Suit

A Ninth Circuit panel indicated Monday that it doubted Walmart Inc. was being honest when it told a vision-impaired employee seeking to come back from a leave of absence that no jobs were available, with one judge suggesting a jury should decide if the retail giant lied to the worker.
May 06, 2024
Home Builder Beats NC Trade Secrets Suit

The North Carolina's business court scrapped an interior designer's claims that a competitor stole cabinetry designs and customer information when it hired a former employee, sparing only an accusation that the ex-worker embezzled money.
May 06, 2024
Workday Defeats In-House Atty's Bias Suit, For Now

A California magistrate judge on Monday dismissed, for now, a lawsuit by a Workday Inc. in-house attorney who accused the company of discriminatory and retaliatory behavior, which included pay inequities and calling the police to conduct an unnecessary wellness check at his house when he was hospitalized.
May 06, 2024
Chicago To Pay $6M To End Water Workers' Race Bias Suits

The city of Chicago will pay nearly $6 million to end several lawsuits accusing its water management department of allowing racism to go unchecked and subjecting Black employees to harsher discipline than white workers, counsel for the workers said Monday.
May 06, 2024
Judge Questions Reason For Removing Chem Co. Wage Class

A Pennsylvania federal judge joined chemical company workers Monday in questioning whether the company had plausibly alleged that there were enough people in a proposed class to remove their wage suit from state court.
May 06, 2024
NJ Justices Erase Gov't Workplace Probe Confidentiality Rule

The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday struck down part of a state statute that directs investigators to request, but not require, confidentiality in discrimination or harassment investigations involving state workers, ruling the provision still reached too far and chilled protected speech.
May 06, 2024
Mass. Justices Wary Of Spiking Uber, Lyft Ballot Questions

Justices on Massachusetts' highest court appeared unlikely Monday to strike down ballot proposals to reinvent app-based drivers' relationships with Uber, Lyft and the like, commenting that the scattershot ideas for voters in March all carry the underlying theme of creating a carveout from the state's worker-friendly employee classification law.
May 06, 2024
Ex-Worker Sues Fla. Krispy Kreme Over Transgender Status

A former employee at a corporate-owned Krispy Kreme restaurant in Miami has sued the company in Florida state court on allegations of sex and gender discrimination, saying that a manager fired her after learning about her transgender status.
May 06, 2024
Chamber's Noncompete Challenge On Hold For Earlier Case

A Texas federal court has paused the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's case challenging the Federal Trade Commission's pending ban on noncompetes and encouraged the group to join a case filed a day earlier by tax services and software company Ryan LLC.
May 06, 2024
Colo. High Court Sanctions Ex-Judge Who Harassed Staff

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday formally censured a former state judge who sought out relationships with court staff and tried to get another judge to expedite his father's probate case, finding the judge "repeatedly abused his power for self-gain," and ordered him to pay $51,000 in sanctions.
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.

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.