Employment

  • August 15, 2025

    Employment Authority: Calif. Justices Arb. Fee Ruling

    Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with coverage on a California Supreme Court's decision expanding arbitration fee leniency and setting up a new roadway for employer relief, what attorneys should know about how enforcement actions will look like after the U.S. Department of Justice's guidance on "unlawful" diversity, equity and inclusion, and how more disputes will be diverted away from the National Labor Relations Board after a recent memo from the board's acting general counsel instructed prosecutors to choose carefully when to send cases to contractural arbitration processes. 

  • August 15, 2025

    5th Circ. Says PWFA Was Constitutionally Enacted

    The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was wrongly blocked from enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act against the state of Texas, the Fifth Circuit ruled Friday, saying the U.S. Constitution didn't require House lawmakers' physical presence to have a quorum when the statute was approved.

  • August 15, 2025

    White Police Officer Loses Race Bias Suit At 5th Circ.

    A Fifth Circuit panel won't reinstate a white police officer's claim that his race motivated the department's decision not to promote him to captain, holding Friday that the Louisiana State Police put forth a nondiscriminatory reason for promoting a pair of nonwhite candidates.

  • August 15, 2025

    Split DC Circ. Says Federal Union Not Immune From Bias Suit

    A divided D.C. Circuit panel on Friday reinstated a retired federal worker's discrimination lawsuit against a government workers union, with the majority pushing back on arguments that the allegations must be funneled through a special administrative process outside the courtroom. 

  • August 15, 2025

    Ex-US Bank AI Chief Says He Was Pushed Out Over Race

    The former head of U.S. Bank's artificial intelligence efforts has sued the bank, arguing he was subjected to a biased investigation, replaced by less-qualified white employees and had a new job offer rescinded after defamatory statements by bank employees, in retaliation for reporting race and religion discrimination.

  • August 15, 2025

    AFA-CWA Fights SkyWest Group's Counterclaims

    The Association of Flight Attendants, a union organizer and a group of current and former SkyWest flight attendants have asked a Utah federal judge to toss most of the counterclaims in their suit accusing the airline of undermining a union drive, saying the SkyWest Inflight Association can't substantiate its allegations against them.

  • August 15, 2025

    NLRB Top Cop Says States Can't Act As Agency Stand-In

    The National Labor Relations Board's acting general counsel opined Friday that federal law blocks pending state proposals to take on the agency's labor relations oversight even when the board can't perform certain functions because it lacks a quorum.

  • August 15, 2025

    4th Circ. Sides With Judiciary In Ex-Defender's Sex Bias Suit

    The Fourth Circuit shot down a former assistant public defender's effort to revive her sexual harassment suit against the federal judiciary, finding Friday that her belief that the judiciary's internal complaint process was unfair, leading her to quit, was not reasonable.

  • August 15, 2025

    Lyft Could Face Blame In Connecticut Ax Murder, Judge Says

    Lyft Inc. might be liable after one of its drivers brought an "aggressive" passenger carrying a 3-foot ax to a residential neighborhood, where he murdered a woman in front of her children, a Connecticut federal judge said Friday in advancing a lawsuit brought by the victim's estate.

  • August 15, 2025

    Engineering Consultant Says Ex-Principal Can't Jump To Rival

    Engineering and environmental consulting firm Partner Assessment Corp. has asked a federal judge to block a former principal from taking a high-level role at another firm, saying the former employee violated a noncompete agreement by accepting a job at a direct competitor.

  • August 15, 2025

    X Denied Early Win In Ex-Worker's WARN Act Fight

    A California federal court turned down X Corp.'s bid for an early win in a suit alleging Twitter employees weren't given proper notice of mass layoffs that followed Elon Musk's takeover of the social media company, citing disputes between the parties over why the ex-worker who sued was let go.

  • August 15, 2025

    Atty Urges Texas High Court To Take On Suit Over Firm Ouster

    A former Branscomb PC partner is asking the Texas Supreme Court to reject a lower court's order compelling him to arbitrate a suit he brought against the firm's other partners accusing them of wrongfully ousting him.

  • August 15, 2025

    UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

    This past week in London has seen Transport for London hit with a procurement claim by the operator of Oyster card, while Mastercard and Visa face claims from the Rocco Forte Hotel Group, and Liverpool Football Club lobbed a claim against a security company.

  • August 15, 2025

    Jackson Lewis Names New Leader In Austin

    Employment law firm Jackson Lewis has tapped an experienced management-side employment litigator to serve as managing principal of its Austin, Texas, office.

  • August 15, 2025

    DC Circ. Paves Way For Trump Admin To Resume CFPB Cuts

    A D.C. Circuit panel on Friday tentatively cleared President Donald Trump's administration to carry out mass layoffs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, rejecting a lower-court hold on those efforts but giving time for groups representing consumers and agency workers to request an appeal.

  • August 14, 2025

    Ed. Dept. Effort To Bar School Diversity Programs Blocked

    A Maryland federal judge on Thursday held that the U.S. Department of Education violated the constitution and Administrative Procedure Act when it issued guidance that took aim at school diversity programs, ruling that the "law does not countenance the government's hasty and summary treatment of these significant issues."

  • August 14, 2025

    Lizzo Touring Co. Wants Designer Sanctioned Over Health Info

    Lizzo's touring company urged a California federal judge to sanction a former designer for failing to disclose records of receiving mental health treatment to support her emotional distress claim, arguing Wednesday it was forced to hire its own expert to examine her and prepare a rebuttal without those records. 

  • August 14, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Revive 3M Worker's Noncompete Dispute

    The Ninth Circuit on Thursday declined to revive a former 3M Co. employee's lawsuit over a noncompete provision in his employment contract, agreeing with a Washington federal court's finding that the complaint failed to allege 3M actually enforced or leveraged the noncompete in violation of state law.

  • August 14, 2025

    Healthcare Co. Exec, GC Revealed Trade Secrets, Court Told

    A preponderance of emails shows that former CEOs involved with a trio of healthcare and real estate companies shared financial documents and other intellectual property that were undoubtedly trade secrets, the companies' attorney told the North Carolina Business Court on Thursday.

  • August 14, 2025

    Grubhub, Driver Ink $24.8M Deal To End Decade-Long Dispute

    Grubhub Inc. and a former delivery driver who accused the mobile food delivery platform of misclassifying him as an independent contractor have reached a $24.75 million settlement in his nearly decade-old lawsuit, with the driver deeming the deal an "excellent result" for a proposed settlement class of California drivers.

  • August 14, 2025

    Ex-Diversity Officer Sues NJ Hospital, Claiming Harassment

    The former diversity and inclusion officer at New Jersey's only public acute-care hospital claimed she endured sexist and racial harassment before she was unlawfully pushed out of her job in violation of the state's Law Against Discrimination, according to a lawsuit filed in state court.

  • August 14, 2025

    Planet Fitness Shorted OT Pay, Ex-General Manager Says

    A onetime Planet Fitness general manager has filed a collective action in Ohio federal court, alleging the gym failed to pay nonexempt employees overtime in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, and failed to maintain accurate records of time worked and amounts earned by and paid to employees.

  • August 14, 2025

    Trans Teacher's Battle Over Restrictive Fla. Law Put On Ice

    A Florida federal judge ruled Wednesday that a state law regulating workplace pronouns violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act but paused a lawsuit by a transgender public school teacher while the Eleventh Circuit considers another suit brought by a transgender sheriff's deputy in Georgia.

  • August 14, 2025

    9th Circ. OKs Returning Calif. Farm Wage Suit To State Court

    A California farmworker's wage and hour suit against Sunsweet Growers Inc. can proceed in state court, a Ninth Circuit panel ruled Thursday, rejecting the company's argument that the suit belongs in federal court and should be dismissed.

  • August 14, 2025

    DC Judge Halts Some USDA Climate Grant Terminations

    A D.C. federal judge on Thursday halted the U.S. Department of Agriculture's termination of certain climate-focused grants awarded to five nonprofits, saying the terminations were likely arbitrary and capricious but stopping short of blocking the administration's broader grant termination policy.

Expert Analysis

  • New DOJ Penalty Policy Could Spell Trouble For Cos.

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    In light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s recently published guidance making victim relief a core condition of coordinated resolution crediting, companies facing parallel investigations must carefully calibrate their negotiation strategies to minimize the risk of duplicative penalties, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • Mulling Worker Reclassification In Light Of No Tax On OT

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    The One Big Beautiful Bill Act's no-tax-on-overtime provisions provide tax relief for employees who regularly work overtime and are nonexempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act, but reclassifying employees may lead to higher compliance costs and increased wage and hour litigation for employers, says Steve Bronars at Edgeworth Economics.

  • 7 Ways Employers Can Avoid Labor Friction Over AI

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    As artificial intelligence use in the workplace emerges as a key labor relations topic in the U.S. and Europe, employers looking to reduce reputational risk and prevent costly disputes should consider proactive strategies to engage with unions, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • Series

    Playing Baseball Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Playing baseball in college, and now Wiffle ball in a local league, has taught me that teamwork, mental endurance and emotional intelligence are not only important to success in the sport, but also to success as a trial attorney, says Kevan Dorsey at Swift Currie.

  • What Cos. Must Note From EU's Delivery Hero-Glovo Ruling

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    The European Commission’s recent landmark decision in Delivery Hero-Glovo, sanctioning companies for the first time over a stand-alone no-poach cartel agreement, underscores the potential antitrust risks of horizontal cross-ownership between competitors, say lawyers at McDermott.

  • 3rd Circ. Bias Ruling Offers Safety Policy Exception Lessons

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    The Third Circuit's decision in Smith v. City of Atlantic City, partially reinstating a religious bias suit over a policy requiring firefighters to be clean-shaven, cautions employers on the legal risk of including practical or discretionary exceptions in safety procedures, say Joseph Quinn and Mark Schaeffer at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Managing Risks As State AGs Seek To Fill Enforcement Gap

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    Given an unprecedented surge in state attorney general activity resulting from significant shifts in federal enforcement priorities, companies must consider tailored strategies for navigating the ever-evolving risk landscape, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Skillful Persuasion

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    In many ways, law school teaches us how to argue, but when the ultimate goal is to get your client what they want, being persuasive through preparation and humility is the more likely key to success, says Michael Friedland at Friedland Cianfrani.

  • A Look At Trump 2.0 Antitrust Enforcement So Far

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    The first six months of President Donald Trump's second administration were marked by aggressive antitrust enforcement tempered by traditional structural remedies for mergers, but other unprecedented actions, like the firing of Federal Trade Commission Democrats, will likely stoke heated discussion ahead, says Richard Dagen at Axinn.

  • How NY Appeals Ruling Alters Employers' Sex Abuse Liability

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    In Nellenback v. Madison County, the New York Court of Appeals arguably reset the evidentiary threshold in sexual abuse cases involving employer liability, countering lower court decisions that allowed evidence of the length of the undiscovered abuse to substitute as notice of an employee's dangerous propensity, say attorneys at Hurwitz Fine.

  • Litigation Inspiration: How To Respond After A Loss

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    Every litigator loses a case now and then, and the sting of that loss can become a medicine that strengthens or a poison that corrodes, depending on how the attorney responds, says Bennett Rawicki at Hilgers Graben.

  • FDA's Hasty Policymaking Approach Faces APA Challenges

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    Though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has abandoned its usual notice-and-comment process for implementing new regulatory initiatives, two recent district court decisions make clear that these programs are still susceptible to Administrative Procedure Act challenges, says Rachel Turow at Skadden.

  • Wash. Law Highlights Debate Over Unemployment For Strikers

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    A new Washington state law that will allow strikers to receive unemployment benefits during work stoppages raises questions about whether such laws subsidize disruptions to the economy or whether they are preempted by federal labor law, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O'Connor.

  • The Metamorphosis Of The Major Questions Doctrine

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    The so-called major questions doctrine arose as a counterweight to Chevron deference over the past few decades, but invocations of the doctrine have persisted in the year since Chevron was overturned, suggesting it still has a role to play in reining in agency overreach, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.

  • A Rapidly Evolving Landscape For Noncompetes In Healthcare

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    A wave of new state laws regulating noncompete agreements in the healthcare sector, varying in scope, approach and enforceability, are shaped by several factors unique to the industry and are likely to distort the market, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

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