'You're Not Ready': Judge Warns Tesla, Agency Of Sanctions

By Dorothy Atkins

A California state judge presiding over the California Civil Rights Department's lawsuit alleging Tesla fostered racism at its Fremont factory admonished both parties Friday for violating orders and being unprepared for an upcoming bench trial, telling counsel, "Frankly I'm ready to start lobbing sanctions against every person in this room."

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Marathon Worker Says AI Caught Her Bosses' Gender Bias

By Gina Kim

A Marathon Engineering environmental scientist has sued her former employer in New Jersey state court, alleging she was fired due to her gender, after an AI assistant that recorded her termination meeting sent her a transcript showing that one of her supervisors said he hoped to replace her with a "relatively strapping young man."

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ex-Workers Want Firm Sanctioned For Unpaid Arbitration Fees

By Rose Krebs

Former employees of a New Jersey personal injury law firm have asked a state court to revive claims in two complaints, one alleging discrimination and the other asserting that the firm owes overtime pay, arguing the firm should be sanctioned for missing payments that led to arbitration proceedings being terminated.

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

Employment Authority: NLRB Poised For Precedent Shift

Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with coverage on how the Senate's confirmation of a third Republican member gives the National Labor Relations Board a cemented majority poised to move quickly on overturning President Joe Biden-era precedent, and how a year after the California Supreme Court's Hohenshelt ruling, employers still face uncertainty over what counts as a willful or grossly negligent late arbitration fee payment.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Atty Hits Conn. Prosecutors With Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Brian Steele

An attorney who was terminated from the Connecticut prosecutors' office that responds to habeas petitions has brought a federal lawsuit alleging she was isolated, punished, overwhelmed with assignments and then let go because she took maternity leave.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Smithfield Says It Shouldn't Face Jury In EEOC's Age Bias Suit

By Gina Kim

Smithfield Foods challenged a Georgia magistrate judge's report recommending the meat processor face the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's suit claiming it fired a senior sales employee due to her age, arguing Thursday the report cannot try to dictate how the company should've saved costs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Court Document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law Student's Race Bias Claim Survives In Kirk Discipline Suit

By Matt Perez

A Texas federal judge on Friday allowed a former Texas Tech law student to proceed with her claim that the university board was discriminatory in disciplining her over comments she made allegedly celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk because non-Black students who spoke about the assassination weren't investigated.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Immigration Judge Says Anti-DEI Bias Led To Her Ousting

By Elaine Briseño

A Black immigration judge has sued the U.S. Department of Justice for discrimination, alleging her firing was related to anti-DEI sentiments at the agency that overwhelmingly targeted older, nonwhite women.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Disney Beats Ex-ESPN Worker's COVID Vaccine Suit, For Now

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut federal judge on Friday dismissed a former ESPN remote video operator's lawsuit claiming the company's COVID-19 booster requirement violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and breached his employment contract, determining the worker failed to plausibly allege ESPN or its majority owner, Disney, were entangled with the government.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chicago Deputy Corp. Counsel Accused Of Disability Bias

By Lauraann Wood

A deputy corporation counsel in Chicago's legal department has been hit with discrimination claims for allegedly treating a supervising attorney's physical disability and workplace accommodation with "open hostility" before summoning her to a baseless disciplinary meeting in retaliation against her internal complaint.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Fed. Circ. Overrules Precedent On Veteran Hiring Protections

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Federal Circuit on Friday revived a disabled veteran's challenge to the U.S. Navy's handling of his promotion application, which the agency rejected after mistakenly finding he didn't submit certain documents, and then reviewed only after giving the job to someone else. 

2 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

HUD Grant Conditions Void For Failing APA, Judge Rules

By Rae Ann Varona

A Rhode Island federal judge Friday vacated new conditions for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development grants that nonprofit grantees said unlawfully targeted diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, among other things, saying the government failed to sufficiently explain why the conditions were needed.

Memorandum attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

$900M Va. Resort Contractors Face Wage Theft Class Action

By Jared Foretek

Carpenters building Kalahari Resorts' $900 million resort in Virginia are accusing general contractor Hensel Phelps and its subcontractor of misclassifying workers as independent contractors and stiffing them on overtime pay in a proposed class action.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Brief

Colo. Construction Co. Stiffed Workers On OT, Suit Says

By Benjamin Morse

A construction company denied overtime premiums to hourly workers, including a laborer who worked as many as 65 hours a week for straight-time pay, according to a proposed collective action filed in Colorado federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

SAG-AFTRA Plan Members Seek Final OK Of Data Breach Deal

By MJ Koo

Members of the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan have asked a California federal court for final approval of a $950,000 class action settlement resolving claims that a 2024 data breach exposed the personal and medical information of approximately 94,000 plan members.

Settlement attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Insurer Denies $10M Duty To Recycler In Lead Exposure Case

By Jonathan Capriel

An insurance company is arguing it has no obligation to cover any part of a $279 million insurance pool that battery recycler Gopher Resource LLC promised to folks who filed a class action claiming they suffered lead poisoning from the company's smelter.

4 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Worker Says Private Jail Co. Fired Him For Aiding Drug Probe

By Carolina Bolado

Private prison operator CoreCivic Inc. terminated an employee for cooperating with a local sheriff's investigation into drug smuggling at a Florida detention center, according to a suit filed Friday in federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trending Legal Implications Of Employee Influencer Programs

Employee-generated content is rapidly becoming a popular marketing strategy, as illustrated by Starbucks' new TikTok program, but it raises several legal risks for employers, including wage and hour exposure, federal disclosure obligations, and intellectual property concerns, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Are your summer associates prepared for a legal career?

How does your firm shape the summer associate experience and mentor new talent? Invite your summer associates to share their perspectives in this year’s Law360 Pulse Summer Associates Survey.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

Can Texas, Nevada Replicate Delaware's Corporate Edge?

By Jarek Rutz

Texas and Nevada have spent the past few years rewriting corporate laws and building specialized business courts in an effort to challenge Delaware's long-standing dominance as the preferred home for U.S. companies. While a handful of high-profile corporations have already made the move, corporate law experts say creating another Delaware will require far more than new statutes and judges.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

White House, BigLaw Atty Picked For Tenn. Federal Bench

By Jack Karp

President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is nominating a White House attorney and former BigLaw associate to serve as a Tennessee federal judge.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Holland & Knight Loses Bid To Escape GWG Fraud Suit

By Emily Sawicki

Holland & Knight LLP must face adversary claims in Houston bankruptcy court after a Texas federal judge found the trustee for bankrupt life insurance bond seller GWG Holdings Inc. had made a plausible case that the firm and one of its attorneys engaged in a racketeering conspiracy with its ex-chairman.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

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

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen newly signed Real Madrid footballer Yan Diomandé sued over access to his image rights, Nigel Farage and Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice accuse the NCA of leaking confidential financial information, and a right-wing American journalist hit The Guardian with a libel claim. 

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Sue Reisinger

Boeing has won dismissal of a Delaware suit brought by pension funds accusing its board of putting profits before safety. And in-house counsel helped pick Latham & Watkins as the leader on an annual list of client service all-stars.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Baker Botts LLP and King & Spalding LLP lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit enforced an over $2 billion arbitral award issued to a satellite communications company, ruling that the legal concept of an optimal venue for a case doesn't apply in matters concerning the enforcement of international arbitral awards.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »