Employment

  • May 15, 2024

    Fired NC County Atty Launches Race Bias Suit

    A former Pitt County, North Carolina, government attorney has alleged in a federal lawsuit that the county manager's racial animus and the lawyer's concerns about contracting compliance got him fired after only 90 days on the job.

  • May 15, 2024

    Fees Sought For Missed Depo During Atty's Solar Eclipse Trip

    In following up on a Florida federal judge's sanctioning of a lawyer whose client missed a deposition while the attorney was solar eclipse viewing, AAA is asking the court to award it more than $7,800 in fees and costs as it fights a gender discrimination lawsuit.

  • May 15, 2024

    IT Recruiters Pursue Win Against Staffing Co. In OT Class Suit

    Recruiters for tech staffing company TEKsystems have asked a California federal judge to award them a pretrial win on their claim that the company misclassified them, saying recruiters are entry-level employees, not managers, so they don't qualify for the narrow exemption to California's overtime statute.

  • May 15, 2024

    Pet Telehealth Startup Canned Vet After Bite Injury, Suit Says

    A Massachusetts veterinarian says she was lured to a mobile pet care startup but replaced months later by a younger vet after she claimed workers' compensation for a dog bite suffered on the job.

  • May 15, 2024

    Toss Of Bonus Bias Claim Too Short On Details, 5th Circ. Says

    The Fifth Circuit has reinstated a Hispanic salesman's claim that he was denied $160,000 in bonuses by a construction contractor out of racial bias after he was fired, ruling the lower court didn't adequately explain why it nixed that allegation.

  • May 15, 2024

    Senators Release 'Road Map' For Crafting Federal AI Policy

    A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday laid out a "road map" for artificial intelligence policy that calls for increased AI innovation funding, testing of potential harms posed by AI and consideration of the technology's workforce implications.

  • May 15, 2024

    Securities Firm Cuts Deal To End Age Bias Suit

    A securities firm struck a deal with a former sales representative in his 60s who accused the company of firing him despite his laudable performance and replacing him with two younger, less-experienced workers, a filing in Colorado federal court said.

  • May 14, 2024

    In Hot Seat, FDIC's Gruenberg Pledges 'Fundamental Change'

    Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Martin Gruenberg will tell House lawmakers Wednesday that he is taking "full responsibility" for his agency's workplace misconduct scandal and eyeing "fundamental" structural reforms, striking a humbled but determined tone as he faces the first of two hearings that could be make-or-break for his job.

  • May 14, 2024

    Venable Opens Colo. Office With 8 Sherman & Howard Attys

    Venable LLP is growing its presence by opening its first office in Colorado, with eight commercial and employment attorneys from Sherman & Howard LLP opening its Denver location, which will be headed by partner-in-charge James "Jim" Sawtelle, the firm announced Tuesday.

  • May 14, 2024

    Seattle Public Defender's $7M Employment Win Wiped Out

    The Washington Court of Appeals on Tuesday ruled a former King County public defender could not bring a hostile work environment claim over a client's harassing behavior that persisted after she stopped representing him, erasing her $7 million jury win.

  • May 14, 2024

    Conn. Retaliation Suit Advances After Justices' Title VII Ruling

    With a recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion said to be illuminating the path forward, a federal judge in Connecticut has declined to dismiss a case by a self-described former "high-level" employee of a private equity firm who alleges she was fired after raising concerns about her employer's treatment of women.

  • May 14, 2024

    5th Circ. Expresses Doubt On Nasdaq Board Diversity Rules

    Lawyers for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Nasdaq Stock Market LLC faced a barrage of questions from the full Fifth Circuit on Tuesday, with judges wondering whether rules requiring corporations to disclose board diversity information would open the door to investor questions on religious practices, political beliefs or Taylor Swift fandom.

  • May 14, 2024

    NC State Fights Cancer Patient's Presuit Building Access

    North Carolina State University is pressing the state appeals court to find it is insulated from an "unusual" order allowing a former graduate student worker diagnosed with cancer to inspect a campus building that tested high for levels of carcinogens.

  • May 14, 2024

    Ind. Panel Agrees Hospital Can't Be Liable If Doctors Aren't

    An Indiana appeals court has refused to reinstate a woman's vicarious liability claim against Indiana University Health North Hospital Inc. in a suit alleging its staff failed to properly diagnose her sepsis, holding the hospital can't be held liable for the conduct of agents who have already been released from liability.

  • May 14, 2024

    Colo. Org Lacks Standing In Access Law Row, Judge Says

    The Colorado Livestock Association doesn't have standing to challenge a state law that requires agricultural employers to give workers access to service providers, a state judge ruled, finding individual members of the group must take part in the proceeding.

  • May 14, 2024

    Revised $2.25M Walmart OT Deal Fails For Lack Of Changes

    A California federal judge again refused to approve a $2.25 million deal between Walmart and 1,700 workers that would resolve an unpaid overtime lawsuit, finding that the modified agreement did not fix deficiencies the court had previously identified in the settlement's distribution method.

  • May 14, 2024

    Northwestern Settles Tax Law Prof's Age Bias Suit

    Northwestern University agreed to settle a law school professor's age bias suit filed in Illinois federal court claiming he was given smaller raises year-over-year in comparison with his younger colleagues after he cast aside the institution's push for him to retire early.

  • May 14, 2024

    Trial Averted In Boston Health Agency Harassment Case

    A former Boston health department employee on Tuesday reported that she had settled her claims against the city and a former boss who she says sexually harassed her, scuttling a trial that would have featured several high-profile witnesses, including a federal judge.

  • May 14, 2024

    Kraft Heinz Seeks To Ax Teamsters' Retiree Benefit Grievance

    Kraft Heinz asked a Delaware federal judge Tuesday to step in and stop a Teamsters unit's healthcare grievance from going to arbitration, saying the union must use the dispute resolution process outlined in the company healthcare plan, not the grievance and arbitration process outlined in the union contract.

  • May 14, 2024

    Ex-Tesla Worker Urges 9th Circ. To Revive Whistleblower Suit

    A former Tesla employee who says he was fired for reporting unlawful activity asked the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday to revive his Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower claim, saying those claims aren't arbitrable, and a lower court erred when it dismissed them based on an arbitrator's findings regarding his other claims against Tesla.

  • May 14, 2024

    Insurer Says Miami Retaliation Scheme Not Covered

    An insurer for the City of Miami is seeking reimbursement of $5 million for expenses incurred in defending the city and one of its commissioners against underlying lawsuits alleging political retaliation, telling a Florida federal court that the allegations fall outside the scope of its policies.

  • May 14, 2024

    Law Firm Must Face Ex-HR Manager's Pregnancy Bias Suit

    A Florida federal judge refused Tuesday to allow a law firm to escape a former human resources manager's pregnancy discrimination suit, saying a jury should decide the dispute given the "peculiar" timing of her firing.

  • May 14, 2024

    States Accuse EEOC Of 'Smuggling' Abortion Into PWFA Rule

    Louisiana and Mississippi have sued the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seeking to invalidate regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, claiming the agency's stance that employers must provide workers accommodations if they get an abortion flouts U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the PWFA itself.

  • May 14, 2024

    7th Circ. Seems Wary Of Jurisdiction Over Union Fund Misuse

    Two Seventh Circuit judges on Tuesday pressed the U.S. Department of Labor to address how much authority individual employers had as part of an allegedly mismanaged multiemployer benefit fund, saying the question is crucial to determine whether the agency properly won a federal court injunction.

  • May 14, 2024

    Christian Org. Staves Off Same-Sex Bias Trial With $120K Deal

    A Christian nonprofit has agreed to pay a Washington job candidate $120,000 to avoid a damages trial on claims it refused to hire her because she was in a same-sex marriage, though it said it would appeal the liability finding against it.

Expert Analysis

  • Fears About The End Of Chevron Deference Are Overblown

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    While some are concerned about repercussions if the U.S. Supreme Court brings an end to Chevron deference in the Loper and Relentless cases this term, agencies and attorneys would survive just fine under the doctrines that have already begun to replace it, say Daniel Wolff and Henry Leung at Crowell & Moring.

  • What A Post-Chevron Landscape Could Mean For Labor Law

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    With the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on Chevron deference expected by the end of June, it’s not too soon to consider how National Labor Relations Act interpretations could be affected if federal courts no longer defer to administrative agencies’ statutory interpretation and regulatory actions, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Former Minn. Chief Justice Instructs On Writing Better Briefs

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    Former Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, now at Greenberg Traurig, offers strategies on writing more effective appellate briefs from her time on the bench.

  • Preparing For Possible Calif. Criminal Antitrust Enforcement

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    Though a recent announcement that the California Attorney General's Office will resume criminal prosecutions in support of its antitrust enforcement may be mere saber-rattling, companies and their counsel should nevertheless be prepared for interactions with the California AG's Antitrust Section that are not limited to civil liability issues, say Dylan Ballard and Lillian Sun at V&E.

  • Studying NY, NJ Case Law On Employee Social Media Rights

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    While a New Jersey state appeals court has twice determined that an employee's termination by a private employer for social media posts is not prohibited, New York has yet to take a stand on the issue — so employers' decisions on such matters still need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, say Julie Levinson Werner and Jessica Kriegsfeld at Lowenstein Sandler.

  • Stay Interviews Are Key To Retaining Legal Talent

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    Even as the economy shifts and layoffs continue, law firms still want to retain their top attorneys, and so-called stay interviews — informal conversations with employees to identify potential issues before they lead to turnover — can be a crucial tool for improving retention and morale, say Tina Cohen Nicol and Kate Reder Sheikh at Major Lindsey.

  • AI In Accounting Raises OT Exemption Questions

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    A recent surge in the use of artificial intelligence in accounting work calls into question whether professionals in the industry can argue they are no longer overtime exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act, highlighting how technology could test the limits of the law for a variety of professions, say Bradford Kelley at Littler and Stephen Malone at Peloton Interactive.

  • Calif. High Court Ruling Has Lessons For Waiving Jury Trials

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    The California Supreme Court’s recent decision in TriCoast Builders v. Fonnegra, denying relief to a contractor that had waived its right to a jury trial, shows that litigants should always post jury fees as soon as possible, and seek writ review if the court denies relief from a waiver, say Steven Fleischman and Nicolas Sonnenburg at Horvitz & Levy.

  • A Look At 3 Noncompete Bans Under Consideration In NYC

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    A trio of noncompete bills currently pending in the New York City Council would have various effects on employers' abilities to enter into such agreements with their employees, reflecting growing anti-noncompete sentiment across the U.S., say Tracey Diamond and Grace Goodheart at Troutman Pepper.

  • Series

    Spray Painting Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    My experiences as an abstract spray paint artist have made me a better litigator, demonstrating — in more ways than one — how fluidity and flexibility are necessary parts of a successful legal practice, says Erick Sandlin at Bracewell.

  • Draft Pay Equity Rule May Pose Contractor Compliance Snags

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    The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council's recently proposed rule that would prohibit government contractors from requesting certain job applicants' salary history seems simple on the surface, but achieving compliance will be a nuanced affair for many contractors who must also adhere to state and local pay transparency laws, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • 2nd Circ. Baby Food Ruling Disregards FDA's Expertise

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    The Second Circuit's recent decision in White v. Beech-Nut Nutrition, refusing to defer litigation over heavy metals in baby food until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration weighs in on the issue, provides no indication that courts will resolve the issue with greater efficiency than the FDA, say attorneys at Phillips Lytle.

  • Past CCPA Enforcement Sets Path For Compliance Efforts

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    The California Privacy Protection Agency and the California Attorney General's Office haven't skipped a beat in investigating potential noncompliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act, and six broad issues will continue to dominate the enforcement landscape and inform compliance strategy, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

  • Securing A Common Understanding Of Language Used At Trial

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    Witness examinations in the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump illustrate the importance of building a common understanding of words and phrases and examples as a fact-finding tool at trial, says Reuben Guttman at Guttman Buschner.

  • Where 9th Circ. Lowe's Ruling Leaves PAGA Jurisprudence

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    Leah Kennedy and Carolyn Wheeler at Katz Banks discuss the legal landscape and controlling precedent around the Private Attorneys General Act that led to the Ninth Circuit's Johnson v. Lowe's decision last month on individual PAGA wage claims, and explore the open questions that it leaves.

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