9th Circ. Won't Revive Hospital Workers' Vaccine Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The Ninth Circuit refused Wednesday to reopen a religious bias lawsuit accusing a Washington hospital of unlawfully denying employees' requests to avoid a COVID-19 vaccination mandate, finding that the medical center demonstrated that exemptions would've been too burdensome under a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision.

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'Wasn't A Hard Call': Jeffer Mangels Can't Arbitrate Atty's Suit

By Craig Clough

A Los Angeles judge ruled at a Wednesday hearing that Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP can't arbitrate an ex-associate's lawsuit alleging she was harassed and fired due to her pregnancy, saying it "wasn't a hard call" because her sexual harassment claims are statutorily prohibited from being arbitrated.

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NJ Finalizes ABC Test Rule For Independent Contractor Status

By Benjamin Morse

New Jersey adopted regulations codifying a test for determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors, establishing a classification framework set to take effect Oct. 1, the state has announced.

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Nursing Home Co. Can't Stave Off EEOC Harassment Trial

By Grace Elletson

A nursing facility operator can't dodge a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission suit claiming it fired an employee for complaining that her boss sexually harassed her, an Illinois federal judge said Wednesday, ruling a jury needs to assess whether the business acted out of retaliation.

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Judge Tells FEMA Officials To Preserve Signal Chats

By Corey Rothauser

A California federal judge has ordered Federal Emergency Management Agency and U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials to preserve Signal messages tied to FEMA operations in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's restructuring efforts, citing concerns that officials used disappearing-message settings while discussing matters relevant to the case.

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7th Circ. Won't Revive Ex-DHS Officer's Disability Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

The Seventh Circuit has declined to reinstate a fired immigration officer's suit claiming the Department of Homeland Security failed to accommodate his medical issues, saying that his claims were "meritless" and that he hadn't properly attempted to resolve them within the agency before filing suit.

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Vought Says EEOC Diversity Report At Odds With Trump Orders

By Tom Lotshaw

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's acting director, Russell Vought, chided the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for asking federal agencies about gender identity and diversity and inclusion for annual reports on their equal employment opportunity programs.

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Democrats Urge EEOC Chair Not To Roll Back IVF Protections

By Patrick Hoff

Over a dozen Democratic senators urged the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to preserve safeguards for workers undergoing fertility treatments, asserting in a letter that Chair Andrea Lucas' plans to rewrite Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations could lead employers to unlawfully deny employees' accommodation requests.

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White Worker Says Ga. City Fired Her Over Bias Complaint

By Kelcey Caulder

A white former employee sued the city of Hampton, Georgia, and a city department head in federal court Wednesday, alleging she was fired two months after she complained to the city's human resources department that she was being discriminated against because of her race.

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Pharmacy Axed Worker For Joining Army Reserve, Suit Says

By Patrick Hoff

An Atlanta-area pharmacy unlawfully fired an employee because she joined the U.S. Army Reserve, the former worker alleged in a complaint filed in Georgia federal court, saying the owner said she "needed someone that was going to be at work."

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Judge Approves $2.25M Walmart Wage Deal On Third Try

By MJ Koo

A decade-long wage lawsuit against Walmart has come to a close after a California federal judge granted final approval of a $2.25 million class action settlement that includes claims under California's Private Attorneys General Act.

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BofA Can Shield OT Docs In Mortgage Officers' Suit

By MJ Koo

A North Carolina federal judge has sided with Bank of America in a discovery dispute over documents the bank withheld as privileged in a mortgage loan officers' overtime lawsuit, finding the materials were part of a protected legal review process.

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Target Workers Fight Walking-Time Suit Dismissal Bid

By Benjamin Morse

Target warehouse workers urged a Washington federal judge to reject the retailer's bid to dismiss a proposed class action claiming employees weren't paid for time spent walking inside a distribution center before and after shifts, arguing they plausibly alleged they were on duty during that time.

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Safeway Hit With Wash. Break Pay, OT Suit

By Ben Adlin

Safeway Inc. broke Washington state law by denying employees required meal and rest breaks and failing to adequately compensate them for missed or interrupted breaks, a former worker has claimed in a proposed class action filed in King County Superior Court.

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Judge Blocks Southwest From Some Employee Investigations

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge delayed the deposition of multiple pilots after Southwest's union alleged the airline threatened witnesses with discipline right before they sat for depositions, saying the company could not bring new disciplinary actions against union-related witnesses for actions from over two years ago without prior court approval.

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Police Union Group Gets Ch. 11 OK To Pursue Fla. Appeal

By Vince Sullivan

The International Union of Police Associations AFL-CIO received approval Wednesday in Florida bankruptcy court to modify the automatic stay in its Chapter 11 case to pursue its appeal of an adverse state court judgment in a sexual harassment case that drove it into bankruptcy last month.

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Joe Gibbs Racing Adding To Claims Rivals Stole Trade Secrets

By David Steele

Joe Gibbs Racing LLC has asked a North Carolina federal court to let it add allegations to its suit against a rival NASCAR team, to prove that its employee was hired away specifically to bring its trade secrets with him.

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CSX Beats Supervisor's Safety Injury Claims

By Chart Riggall

A Georgia federal judge has freed CSX from a lawsuit filed by a maintenance worker who said he was injured while trying to lift dangerously unsecured equipment, ruling the company can't be liable for a task that clearly fell within the worker's job description.

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NC Court No Place For Smoothie-Shop Stroke Suit, Panel Says

By Abigail Harrison

A smoothie shop manager's negligence suit should leave North Carolina's state court system, an appellate panel ruled Wednesday, finding that injuries from a stroke that left him on a bathroom floor for hours occurred during the course of employment and that the North Carolina Industrial Commission has exclusive jurisdiction.

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Tips For Handling DEI Clampdown In Gov't Contracts

A recent executive order and subsequent guidance from the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council reflect unified opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion in federal contracts, requiring contractors to, among other things, identify which entities are subject to flow-down obligations and prepare for near-term contract action and negotiations, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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Alston & Bird Adds Ex-Katten Corporate Pro In Chicago

By Kevin Penton

Alston & Bird LLP has added a capital markets attorney previously with Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP as a partner in its Chicago office, the firm announced Thursday.

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FBI Assistant GC Joins FBI Alum At Fenwick

By Jack Rodgers

Fenwick & West LLP has hired the former assistant general counsel of the FBI, who will work as a counsel to support technology and life sciences companies and who is rejoining the former FBI director's chief of staff in the Washington, D.C., office.

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Toss Of Ex-Shkreli Atty's Deal May Be Error, 2nd Circ. Hints

By Pete Brush

A Second Circuit judge hinted Thursday that a trial judge may have erred in rejecting a retirement-fund garnishment deal that would have protected Martin Shkreli's convicted former lawyer from a potential $1 million "punitive tax event."

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Financial Cos. Say Atty Can't Represent Self In Securities Suit

By George Woolston

A group of financial services companies fighting an attorney's proposed securities class action has urged a New Jersey federal court to disqualify the attorney from serving as class counsel, arguing that precedent and ethical obligations prevent him from serving as both class counsel and the proposed class's named representative.

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King & Spalding Adds Congressional Health Policy Duo In DC

By Alison Knezevich

Two former congressional staffers experienced in health policy recently joined King & Spalding LLP in its Washington, D.C., office, the firm announced this week.

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Analysis

Why Compliance Is Getting Complicated In Latin America

By Phillip Bantz

White collar compliance is getting trickier for companies that do business in Latin America, according to experts, who say they are seeing big shifts in the region connected to cartel crackdowns and efforts to strengthen corporate regulations, including relatively recent pushes for voluntary self-disclosure.

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Comey Retains NC Criminal Defense Pro For 2nd Indictment

By Rachel Rippetoe

Former FBI Director James Comey has added a North Carolina white collar defense pro to his legal team fighting an indictment by the Trump administration over a social media post last year that prosecutors characterized as a threat of violence against the president, according to a court filing on Thursday.

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Broadfield Adds Corporate Partners From Sidley, Cooley In NY

By Tracey Read

Broadfield announced Thursday that two former BigLaw attorneys have joined the firm as partners in its U.S. corporate practice in New York.

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Judge Grants Additional Deposition Time In Retaliation Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

An attorney suing her ex-mentor and former law firm for sexual harassment and retaliation has been ordered by a Michigan federal judge to sit for two additional hours of deposition testimony after the court found that conduct during her first deposition impeded the examination and that further questioning is warranted based on developments in discovery.

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Shipman, Pullman Attys Among Dozen Added To Conn. Bench

By Brian Steele

Connecticut lawmakers confirmed 12 new judges to the Superior Court, including partners at Shipman & Goodwin LLP and Pullman & Comley LLC, as the 2026 legislative session wound to a close this week.

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NC Judge Tosses Atty's Suit Against State Bar Panel Member

By Andrea Keckley

A North Carolina federal judge dismissed a suspended attorney's lawsuit against a State Bar Disciplinary Hearing Commission member he accused of bias and due process violations, finding Thursday that the defendant is entitled to absolute quasi-judicial immunity.

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Ex-Jackson Walker Atty Seeks Breakup With Romance Suit

By Adrian Cruz

A former Jackson Walker LLP partner said Thursday that she should be dropped from a suit accusing her, a former Texas bankruptcy judge she had a secret relationship with and multiple law firms of fomenting "mass corruption" in Houston's bankruptcy court.

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Womble Bond Atty's 'Draconian' Penalty Gives 4th Circ. Pause

By Hayley Fowler

A Fourth Circuit panel seemed to struggle Thursday with what one judge described as a "Draconian" contempt order against a Womble Bond Dickinson partner, with the panel nudging counsel for both sides towards a simpler solution that wouldn't force the court's involvement.

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