Class Action

Expert Analysis

• Employee Virus Testing Could Spark Class Action Claims

  

  While employee COVID-19 testing may enhance safety and reassure a nervous workforce, its potential to generate Americans with Disabilities Act, wage and hour, discrimination, and privacy class actions should not be ignored, say attorneys at Epstein Becker.

• Virtual Meetings Could Be Fertile Ground For Legal Discovery

  

  Many remote meeting technologies include recording features as default settings, raising three primary concerns from a legal discovery and data retention perspective, and possibly bringing unintended consequences for companies in future litigation, says Courtney Murphy at Clark Hill.

• The Role Of Remote Mediation After The Crisis Is Over

  

  When the dark cloud of COVID-19 has passed and resolution centers are once again peopled with warring parties and aspiring peacemakers, remote mediations will likely still be common, but they are not going to be a panacea for all that ails the dispute resolution industry, says Mitch Orpett at Tribler Orpett.

• 7 Steps To Romancing The Virtual Classroom

  Excerpt from Lexis Practice Advisor

  

  For professors, trainers, lawyers, students and businesses grappling with the unexpected challenges of distance learning, trial attorney and teacher James Wagstaffe offers best practices for real-time online instruction.

• College Refund Suits Raise Complex Tuition Questions

  

  The flurry of putative class actions against universities contending that students no longer receive the benefit of their bargain with remote learning during the pandemic will require courts to undertake individualized and burdensome inquiries to determine what exactly tuition pays for, say attorneys at Bryan Cave.

• Key Return-To-Work Considerations For Law Firms

  

  There may be precious little notice before the legal community ramps up, so it's important to have return-to-work plans that address the unique challenges law firms will face in bringing employees back to offices, say attorneys Daniel Gerber, Barbara O'Connell and Richard Tucker.

• A Creative Solution For Teaching Local Practice In Law School

  

  To help prepare my students to navigate local practice, I wrote a set of rules for the classroom that mimics those they might encounter from a local judge or court, says Michael Zuckerman at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

• Va. Pro-Worker Laws Create New Litigation Risks For Cos.

  

  Virginia employers will likely face an increase in bias and retaliation claims, as well as collective wage and hour litigation, under new laws that create protections for LGBTQ employees, additional remedies for recovering unpaid wages, and independent contractor and whistleblower regulations, says Jack Blum at Polsinelli.

• Anticipating The Top 4 COVID-19 Employment Claims

  

  Several trends taking shape among early claims against employers related to COVID-19 provide guidance for handling Families First Coronavirus Response Act paid leave, Americans with Disabilities Act and Family and Medical Leave Act obligations, and discrimination and wage and hour issues, says Lariza Hebert at Fisher Phillips.

• Broker Liability For Insureds' COVID-19 Losses Likely Limited

  

  Policyholders may attempt to hold insurance brokers liable for unsuccessful COVID-19 business interruption claims — and at least one such suit has already been filed — but brokers should be fairly safe as long as they followed certain best practices in advising clients, say Glenn Jacobson and Thomas Maeglin of Abrams Gorelick.

• Making Law Firm Panels Work For The Cost-Conscious GC

  

  General counsel may be tempted to resort to matter-level requests for proposals in the wake of the COVID-19 economic crisis, but alternatively, a singular, global RFP process — to select a panel of law firms for all legal needs — can reduce legal spend while fostering long-term relationships, say Vivek Hatti, formerly at Avis Budget Group, and Jaron Luttich at Element Standard.

• Coffee Chain Fraud Spotlights Governance Issues Amid Crisis

  

  The recent Luckin Coffee accounting fraud underscores the need for robust series processes and controls to prevent and detect financial misconduct as corporate growth slides and employment falls, say professionals at K2 Intelligence.

• #MeToo's Unexpected Implications For Shareholder Litigation

  

  Attorneys at Debevoise discuss forms of shareholder litigation arising from the #MeToo movement, some early cases expressing skepticism of the claims, and recent actions that suggest renewed interest by plaintiffs and increased risk for companies.

• Workplace Body Temperature Devices Raise Privacy Concerns

  

  As employers begin using no-contact temperature taking devices to prevent the spread of COVID-19, they'll need to comply with state biometric data and breach notification laws, the California Consumer Privacy Act, and federal guidance, say attorneys at Husch Blackwell.

• 6 Areas Where UK Class Actions May Increase

  

  Class actions have been growing in prominence in the U.K. courts for a number of years, and the pandemic clearly has the potential to exacerbate that trend in certain areas in the coming weeks, months and years, say attorneys at Herbert Smith.