DC Circ. Knocks NLRB For 'Irrational' Impasse Analysis

By Beverly Banks

The D.C. Circuit on Friday rejected the National Labor Relations Board's conclusions that a quarry operator unlawfully threatened to stop contributions to a pension fund for unionized workers, finding the board's "legal analysis is irrational" about whether the parties were at an impasse.

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Trump's Firing Of CPSC Commissioners Ruled Illegal

By Craig Clough

A Maryland judge ruled Friday that the removal of three U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission commissioners by President Donald Trump was unlawful, finding a 1935 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protected a Federal Trade Commission member from removal applies to the members of the CPSC. 

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Former NJ Deputy AG Claims Office Fired Him For His ADHD

By Beverly Banks

A former deputy attorney general who worked on environmental cases for New Jersey accused the state of retaliating against him when he sought accommodations for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and later terminated him for his disability.

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Workers At Immigration Agency Contractor OK For Union Vote

By Emily Brill

The employees of a Lee's Summit, Missouri, office that helps U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services process benefit applications can vote on union representation, a National Labor Relations Board official said, rejecting the employer's argument that the union should also include employees of its Overland Park, Kansas, office.

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State Dept. Layoffs Still Violate Injunction, Judge Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

A California federal judge said Friday that planned staff reductions at the State Department would violate her injunction blocking President Donald Trump's executive order directing layoffs at federal agencies, saying she's not persuaded by the government's assertion that the department's reorganization was underway before the order.

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Ex-Defender Urges 4th Circ. To 'Fortify' Workplace Protections

By Hayley Fowler

A former assistant public defender has doubled down on efforts to revive her sex bias suit against the federal judiciary, telling the Fourth Circuit that siding with the judiciary would further discourage its employees from speaking up or reporting abuse out of fear of retaliation.

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Roundup

Employment Authority: How Bias Audits Can Quell DEI Fights

Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with coverage on how employers can audit their diversity programs to ensure they don't raise concerns of bias, why unions are backing a California bill requiring self-driving delivery vehicles to have human help and how the rollback of Washington, D.C.'s tip credit saw a recent setback.

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PwC Can't Get Sex Harassment Suit Kicked To Arbitration

By Patrick Hoff

A New York federal judge declined to toss a former PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP principal's lawsuit alleging male colleagues berated her and took credit for her work before forcing her out, ruling a law curbing mandatory arbitration covered claims that she was mistreated because of her gender.

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NJ Law Firm Accused Of Retaliation Over Maternity Leave

By Emily Sawicki

New Jersey law firm Ragan & Ragan PC is facing a discrimination suit filed by its former collections manager in state court, alleging that the firm and its name partner engaged in a "calculated and malicious campaign of retaliation" against her for taking maternity leave.

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Fired CSX Worker Says FMLA Claims Are Timely

By Emmy Freedman

A former CSX Transportation Inc. employee's suit claiming he was fired for taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act were on pause while a similar class action was being litigated, he told a Florida federal judge Friday, urging the court to reject the transport company's dismissal bid.

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Trump Can't Pause Reinstating FLRA Chair Pending Appeal

By Dorothy Atkins

A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Friday rejected the Trump administration's request to pause an order requiring the Democratic chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority's reinstatement, finding the government's request is belated and that a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling doesn't necessarily support the stay.

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Brief

Oregon Takes Cannabis Labor Peace Row To 9th Circ.

By Sam Reisman

Oregon officials will appeal a federal judge's order barring enforcement of a voter-approved law that required licensed cannabis businesses to enter into labor peace pacts with their workers.

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4th Circ. Affirms Toss Of Contractor's ULP Suit Against Union

By Emily Brill

The Fourth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a Maryland mechanical contractor's lawsuit against a Sheet Metal Air Rail & Transportation Workers local on Friday, ruling that the union's alleged smear campaign against the company didn't rise to the level of an unfair labor practice under the National Labor Relations Act.

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Colo. Appeals Upholds State Board Rules On Teacher Reviews

By Ryan Harroff

A state appeals court sided with the Colorado State Board of Education in a challenge brought by an educators union against the board's new teacher performance evaluation system and the appeal process for those evaluations, precedentially ruling that the board acted within its delegated authority.

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Pa. Court Faults Agency For Rebuffing Late Child-Death Filing

By Matthew Santoni

Pennsylvania's labor regulator should have at least considered accepting a business's late submission of a response to accusations of child labor stemming from a fatal accident with a wood chipper, a state appellate panel ruled Friday in an opinion that clarified when to make exceptions to agency filing deadlines.

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Jefferson Health Hit With Disability Bias Suit By Ex-Director

By Gina Kim

A longtime Thomas Jefferson University Hospital employee filed a retaliation suit in New Jersey state court Wednesday alleging she was ousted from her job for taking sick time and blowing the whistle about what she considered to be improper vendor relationships and language in a grant application.

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Casino Workers Say Mich. Tribe Can't Exit Data Breach Suit

By Joyce Hanson

A group of casino employees are fighting a motion in Michigan federal court by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to throw out a proposed class action involving a data breach, arguing that tribal sovereign immunity does not bar the lawsuit.

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Feature

'Outcry' Led To Workers' Comp Change, Conn. Attys Told

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut Supreme Court ruling that empowered administrative law judges to award ongoing disability benefits created such an outcry that lawmakers intervened in order to cap the costs for entities that would shoulder those bills, attorneys at the state bar association's annual conference heard Friday.

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Philly Law Initiates New Era Of Worker Protections

A new worker protection law in Philadelphia includes, among other measures, a private right of action and recordkeeping requirements that may amount to a lower evidentiary standard, introducing a new level of accountability and additional noncompliance risks for employers, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Series

Volunteering At Schools Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Speaking to elementary school students about the importance of college and other opportunities after high school — especially students who may not see those paths reflected in their daily lives — not only taught me the importance of giving back, but also helped to sharpen several skills essential to a successful legal practice, says Guillermo Escobedo at Constangy.

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ABA Sues Over Trump's 'Law Firm Intimidation Policy'

By Alison Knezevich

The American Bar Association sued dozens of federal officials and agencies in D.C. federal court Monday, saying President Donald Trump and his administration have used the executive branch's vast powers "to coerce lawyers and law firms to abandon clients, causes and policy positions" he doesn't like.

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Norton Rose Fulbright Says It Was Duped By Legal Tech Co.

By Catherine Marfin

Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP has accused the company behind a cloud-based legal workflow product of duping it into using its services and keeping client files without permission once their contract expired.

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Davis Wright Must Face Employment Atty's Defamation Claim

By Dorothy Atkins

A Washington state judge refused to toss in their entirety an employment attorney's defamation claims against Davis Wright Tremaine LLP and other firm partners, finding Washington's Uniform Public Expression Protection Act shields the firm from some of the attorney's allegations, but not all.

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National Judicial College CEO Steps Down After 8 Years

By Ryan Boysen

Judge Benes Z. Aldana has abruptly stepped down as president and CEO of the National Judicial College after eight years as a steady hand who guided the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, increased its course offerings and organized several symposia on the importance of the rule of law. 

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Calif. Bar Panel Upholds Recommending Eastman Disbarment

By Emily Sawicki

A panel of the California State Bar Court's Review Department has affirmed the March 2024 recommended disbarment of President Donald Trump's former attorney, John Eastman, over attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

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Fake NY Lawyer Admits To Stealing Over $290K From Clients

By Pete Brush

A New York man admitted Monday that he posed as a lawyer to steal over $290,000 from people who thought he was doing class action, discrimination and other legal work, copping to larceny and fraud charges in state court.

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Fla. Supreme Court Orders Bar To Stop ABA Appointments

By Hailey Konnath

The Florida Supreme Court has instructed the Florida Bar to stop appointing delegates to the American Bar Association's House of Delegates, calling the state bar's work with the ABA "inconsistent" with its core mission of regulating the legal profession in the Sunshine State.

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Asian Bar Groups Jump Into Fight Over Trump Birthright Ban

By Bonnie Eslinger

The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and dozens of other affiliated legal organizations urged the First Circuit on Monday to uphold a Massachusetts federal judge's decision blocking President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, saying the White House order is unconstitutional and would "disproportionately harm" Asian American communities.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Sydney Price and Jeff Montgomery

Delaware's Court of Chancery this past week sought answers in the high-stakes battle over the constitutionality of newly enacted Delaware corporation law amendments, which will hitch a ride to the state's Supreme Court via a suit contesting a $117 million acquisition of Clearway Energy Inc. by its majority shareholder.

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