9th Circ. Says SpaceX Firing Fight Can Stay Out Of Arbitration

By Rae Ann Varona

The Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that eight former SpaceX employees who claim they were fired for complaining about CEO Elon Musk's sexually charged social media posts may pursue their claims in court, saying the former employees did not have to "adequately allege" sexual harassment to avoid arbitration.

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LA Judge Ousted After 'Extreme' Remarks Upend $10M Verdict

By Dorothy Atkins

California's judicial ethics watchdog Tuesday ordered Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert S. Draper, who lost reelection in June, to be removed from office due to willful misconduct, including "extreme and bizarre" racial comments that led a state appeals court to reverse a $10 million sexual harassment verdict. 

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Trump Taps DOJ Lawyer To Serve On EEOC

By Vin Gurrieri

President Donald Trump has nominated an attorney with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to fill one of two vacancies on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, potentially solidifying a three-member Republican majority through at least 2029.

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Unions Drop Fight Over Spirit Data Sale To Google

By MJ Koo

A flight attendants union said Tuesday that it and other unions have withdrawn their objections to Spirit Airlines' sale of former employees' data to Google in the airline's New York bankruptcy case, after securing new limits on the data included in the sale and safeguards for its de-identification.

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EEOC Plan To Nix Workforce Reports Moves To White House

By Grace Elletson

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has moved a step closer to scrapping long-standing workforce demographic report requirements for large employers, sending a rule that would end the data filings to the White House for review.

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Workday Seeks To Unwind Collective In AI Hiring Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

Workday urged a California federal court on Tuesday not to allow workers to proceed as a group in their lawsuit alleging the company's artificial intelligence tools unlawfully discriminated against thousands of job applicants, saying the workers can't show that the tools were used against them in the same way.

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Colo. Agency Escapes Black Applicant's Hiring Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

A federal judge tossed a Black job hopeful's suit claiming he was passed over for a policy role in a Colorado agency out of race bias, ruling his case is devoid of evidence that the white woman who got the job was given advantages he was denied.

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Brief

Utility Co. Settles EEOC Suit Over Telework Accommodation

By Patrick Hoff

An electric utilities company will pay $25,000 to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it unlawfully refused to let a former employee work remotely following a stroke, according to a Tuesday filing in Georgia federal court.

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Philly Mayor Had Final Say On DEI Moves, Ex-Officer Says

By Matthew Santoni

The city of Philadelphia's former top DEI officer filed a new version of her federal lawsuit accusing the city of firing her in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment of a Black co-worker by her white boss, rendering the city's pending motion to dismiss moot.

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Ex-Officer Says Ga. City Fired Her For Reporting Assault

By Kelcey Caulder

A former Marietta, Georgia, police officer accused the city of firing her a little over a month after she reported that a fellow officer sexually assaulted her, claiming in a federal lawsuit that the city discriminated against her because she is a woman and retaliated against her for her report.

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Stryker Shorted Wash. Workers On Breaks, Wages, Suit Says

By MJ Koo

A medical device company failed to provide Washington hourly workers with required meal and rest breaks, underpaid their wages and restricted their ability to discuss their pay, according to a proposed class action removed to Washington federal court.

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Staffing Co. Loses Coverage Bid For Poultry Employee Suit

By Danielle Ferguson

An insurer does not have to defend a staffing agency against a lawsuit alleging it shorted workers on overtime pay and cut into paychecks for required safety equipment, an Illinois federal court has ruled, finding that the underlying dispute fell under an insured v. insured exclusion. 

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Tenn. College Hoops Players Release CBA Proposal

By Alex Lawson

The University of Tennessee men's basketball team released a collective bargaining agreement framework Tuesday, aimed at fostering cooperation between athletes and schools as the business of college sports becomes more sophisticated.

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DaVita, Fresenius Sued By Wash. AG Over Noncompete Terms

By Rachel Riley

The Washington State Attorney General's Office accused for-profit kidney dialysis providers DaVita and Fresenius of illegally barring specialists contracted as medical directors from taking on similar roles at other local dialysis centers, thwarting competition and ultimately diminishing patient options, according to a new lawsuit.

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Investment Firm Says Analyst Used AI To Steal Source Code

By Brian Steele

A research analyst for the quantitative trading arm of investment firm Point72 LP used company-provided artificial intelligence programs to extract proprietary source code so he could bring it to a competitor, according to a Connecticut state court lawsuit.

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App Says Ex-Engineer Stole Secrets, Used AI To Plan Move

By Rae Ann Varona

Members-only hospitality platform Dorsia alleged Tuesday in New York state court that its former senior engineer used a company-paid Anthropic Claude account to strategize his departure to join rival startup Rumor and ignored the chatbot's warnings that he'd be "toast" if he brought Dorsia's confidential information with him.

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Ex-NASCAR Exec Says Discovery Shows He Stole No Secrets

By Nadia Dreid

The ex-competition director for one of NASCAR's biggest teams says he beats claims that he ran off to join the competition with his old employer's trade secrets in his pocket, telling a North Carolina federal court that Joe Gibbs Racing still can't show he ever shared anything he wasn't supposed to.

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Josh Cellars Parent Owes Ex-President Royalties, Jury Told

By Aaron Keller

The companies behind Josh Cellars wines breached an agreement to distribute trademark royalties to a former company president who owned 20% of a holding entity, all because the family that controlled the brand wanted to keep the money for themselves, a Connecticut jury heard Tuesday.

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7th Circ. Mulls FCA Penalties For SuperValu Without Damages

By Celeste Bott

A Seventh Circuit panel grappled Tuesday with whether supermarket chain SuperValu Inc. could face billions of dollars in False Claims Act penalties for knowingly submitting false prescription drug claims when a jury found whistleblowers failed to prove the government suffered damages, with one judge characterizing the potential penalties as "mind-boggling."

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Apple In-House Atty Rejoins Littler In Texas

By Lynn LaRowe

Management-side employment law firm Littler Mendelson PC has added a shareholder in Austin who is rejoining the firm from Apple Inc., where he served as a senior member of the global employment law team.

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DOJ's Deloitte, Lockheed DEI Deals Stress Whistleblower Role

The U.S. Department of Justice's recent settlements with Deloitte and Lockheed Martin over their diversity, equity and inclusion practices, launched by private whistleblowers, demonstrate to government contractors that federal enforcement can start from within, say attorneys at Hinckley Allen.

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What The 11th Circ.'s Qui Tam Ruling Left Unanswered

Although the Eleventh Circuit’s recent ruling in Zafirov v. Florida Medical Associates upheld the False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions under the appointments clause, its narrow reasoning leaves unresolved questions about presidential control over relator litigation that could sustain further constitutional challenges, says Taylor Chenery at Bass Berry.

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Planning Personal Phone Collections Before Discovery Begins

For counsel planning a personal phone collection as part of the litigation discovery process, it's important to take early steps to ensure that necessary information will be obtained without exposing unrelated information or running into access issues, says Jeremy Horowitz at MARA Forensics.

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How A Child Of Immigrants Defends Abrego Garcia

By Corey Rothauser

Hecker Fink attorney Jeffrey Then grew up translating English-language letters for customers at his Dominican immigrant family’s Bronx business. Decades later, he drew on that experience while defending Kilmar Abrego Garcia from federal human smuggling charges, becoming a lifeline for Abrego Garcia during his detention.

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Q&A

John Morgan On Why Luck Matters More Than Most Admit

By Y. Peter Kang

John Morgan, founder of personal injury giant Morgan & Morgan PA, built the largest personal injury firm in the U.S., with 1,110 attorneys in 140 locations. In his new memoir, "Life Is Luck," the attorney who Forbes estimates has a net worth of $1.5 billion argues that success is about more than talent, intelligence or determination. It is also about recognizing opportunities, taking risks and capitalizing on fortunate breaks when they appear.

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Wachtell To Probe Nvidia CEO's Affair With Alleged China Spy

By Anna Scott Farrell and Sue Reisinger

Nvidia has hired Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz to lead an investigation into allegations that its founder and CEO had an affair with a business executive who U.S. intelligence believes is a Chinese spy, the artificial intelligence chipmaker said Tuesday.

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Grassley Defends Rush To Confirm Trump Judicial Picks

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Tuesday defended how quickly the committee is moving to confirm President Donald Trump's judicial picks before Democrats control the Senate.

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Trump Swaps Out Blocked 8th Circ. Nominee With Ark. Justice

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Tuesday withdrew his pick for the Eighth Circuit and replaced him with a different nominee amid apparent opposition from Arkansas' senators. 

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Girardi Estate's $54M Claim Put Behind Other Creditors

By Craig Clough

The trustees overseeing Tom Girardi's and his former law firm's bankruptcies struck a deal to put their claims against each other behind other approved general unsecured claims, according to a California bankruptcy court filing, with the firm's trustee saying neither estate is expected to collect on those claims.

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