9th Circ. Backs FMCSA Block On Calif. Bus Driver Break Rules

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel on Thursday validated the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's conclusion that national hours-of-service regulations trump California's meal and rest break rules for bus drivers, saying the agency was justified in finding that the Golden State rules strain interstate commerce.

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

Georgia Fed. Judge Facing Impeachment Threat, New DQ Bid

By Emily Johnson

A Georgia federal judge reportedly disciplined for having sexual intercourse in her chambers and attending a political event is facing renewed pressure, as a former UPS employee seeks her disqualification from his dismissed racial discrimination lawsuit and a Georgia congressman drafts articles of impeachment to remove her from the bench.

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

House GOP Bill Would Cut DOL Funding, Eliminate OFCCP

By Irene Spezzamonte

The House Appropriations Committee introduced a funding bill Thursday that would cut the U.S. Department of Labor's budget by nearly $4 billion, including a decrease in the Wage and Hour Division's budget and the elimination of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.

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

DOJ Attys Launch Disability Suit Over Telework Revocation

By Emily Sawicki

Two federal immigration attorney-advisers have filed a proposed class action accusing the U.S. Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review of violating the Rehabilitation Act by denying them telework accommodations for their disabilities.

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

Draft House Bill Aims To Set Federal AI Regulatory Standard

By Allison Grande

A bipartisan pair of House members Thursday released a draft proposal to create a federal framework for AI governance that would require large developers to take steps to address and disclose "catastrophic" risks while prohibiting states from crafting or enforcing laws "targeting the development of AI models" for three years.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Tech Co. Settles Fired Worker's Sex Harassment Suit

By Grace Elletson

An ultrasonic technology company has agreed to settle a former employee's suit claiming she was fired after she rejected her boss's ongoing romantic advances and began looking into legal action against him, according to New York federal court filings.

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

Trucking Co. Will Pay $4.5M To End Applicant's Race Bias Suit

By Kelcey Caulder

A trucking company has reached a $4.5 million deal to resolve a lawsuit in which a Black applicant who said the company walked back a job offer because of his race scored a $3.4 million jury award in 2023, according to recent filings in Georgia federal court.

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

Ex-Detroit News Anchor Files Sex Bias Claims Against Fox

By Susan Smiley

Former Fox 2 Detroit news anchor Taryn Asher is accusing her ex-employer of sex discrimination and retaliation, alleging in a Michigan federal lawsuit that her male co-worker got prime assignments, interviews and scheduling and that she was excluded from key news meetings.

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

Worker Accuses Hormel Of Discriminatory, Retaliatory Firing

By MJ Koo

A Black payroll specialist at a Hormel Foods Corp. plant in Georgia has accused the food company of firing her two days before Christmas because of her race and age, and in retaliation for raising concerns about improper wage recordkeeping, according to a complaint filed in federal court.

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

Georgia-Pacific Improperly Calculates Overtime, Suit Says

By Benjamin Morse

Paper and building products manufacturer Georgia-Pacific shorted hourly workers on overtime by failing to include performance pay and other nondiscretionary compensation in their regular rate of pay, a forklift operator alleged in a proposed collective action in Georgia federal court.

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

Total Wine Operator Says Pay Transparency Class Is 'Ruinous'

By Benjamin Morse

A Total Wine & More operator urged a Washington federal judge Thursday to deny class certification in a pay transparency suit, warning that certifying a class of up to 20,000 job applicants would be "ruinous" for the employer.

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

Brief

Colorado Enacts PPE, Meat Plant Worker Protections

By MJ Koo

Colorado workers will no longer have to foot the bill for their own personal protective equipment under a new state law that also guarantees restroom breaks for meat processing workers.

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

Safeway Sues To Undo Teamsters Local's Driver Mileage Win

By Katherine Smith

Safeway Inc. has urged a Washington federal court to vacate an arbitration award finding the grocery store chain violated its collective bargaining agreement with a Teamsters local by unilaterally changing its method for calculating how much its delivery drivers are paid, arguing that the award "fails to draw its essence" from the agreement.

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

Ex-Football Stars Sue NCAA, Conferences For Lost NIL Pay

By Elaine Briseño

Two college football stars, who went on to play in the NFL, have filed antitrust suits claiming the NCAA, Big Ten and Southeastern conferences exploited them for their abilities while denying them compensation for their names, images and likenesses.

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

USW Drops Saint-Gobain Retiree Healthcare Change Suit

By Matthew Santoni

The United Steelworkers union has dropped its lawsuit over materials manufacturer Saint-Gobain's changes to union retirees' healthcare plans, less than a week after losing a bid for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order.

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

Realty Rival, Directors Barred From Poaching Brokerage Staff

By Hayley Fowler

Two former sales directors for a real estate brokerage must stop recruiting former coworkers for a rival company that hired them, North Carolina's business court has said, finding the new employer should also be barred from meddling with more of the brokerage's employment contracts.

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

Brief

Wind Co. Gets OK On Ch. 11 Plan And $129M Sale

By Emily Lever

A Texas bankruptcy judge has approved bankrupt wind energy company Shannon Wind's $129.5 million sale and its Chapter 11 liquidation plan.

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

Maynard Nexsen Grows Dallas Roster With 4 Atty Additions

By Lynn LaRowe

Maynard Nexsen PC has bulked up in Dallas with a new shareholder and of counsel who joined from Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, an associate who arrived from Winstead PC and an associate who has relocated from the firm's Washington, D.C., office.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

7 Ways Va. Employers Can Prep For New Noncompete Limits

As of July 1, Virginia noncompete agreements with employees fired without "cause" must provide "severance benefits" — but with those key terms undefined, employers should implement several flexible but defensible compliance strategies to limit their exposure once the rule is rolled out, say attorneys at Cooley.

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Competing At Poker Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Playing poker in male-dominated rooms taught me to treat skepticism as background noise when my opponents seem to underestimate me, to apply pressure when it matters and to adapt without losing strategic discipline — skills that are all indispensable in restructuring and insolvency matters, says Alexis Gambale at Pashman Stein.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Quinn Emanuel, Texas Boutique Match Milbank Associate Pay

By Kevin Penton

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP and a Texas-based litigation boutique are the latest firms to match Milbank LLP's pay hikes for associates, with annual increases of $10,000 to $20,000 that top off at $455,000.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Blanche's AG Bid Could Face Rocky Path In Senate

By Courtney Bublé

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will be tapped for the permanent role, but he might not have a smooth path to confirmation.

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

Goldstein Seeks Sentencing Delay, Citing New Tax Claims

By Jared Foretek

SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein renewed his push Wednesday in Maryland federal court for a delayed sentencing, saying prosecutors blindsided his defense by including additional uncharged years of alleged tax avoidance in the government's sentencing memorandum.

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

Deepfake Mocks Judge Spearheading Judiciary Deepfake Rule

By Jeff Overley

The New York federal judge developing policies for phony audiovisual materials revealed Thursday firsthand experience with the subject: an artificial intelligence video on social media that depicts him as a maniacal Nazi who recently sentenced a private equity executive to prison "for being a Republican."

1 document attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Analysis

'Parallel' DOJ, SEC Investigations Not So Parallel Anymore

By Phillip Bantz

The level of coordination between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has decreased under the Trump administration, resulting in disjointed investigatory efforts and misaligned timing in parallel investigations, experts say.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

'Kentucky Hammer' Tries To Control Attys, PI Market, Suit Says

By James Boyle

The principal attorney of personal injury firm Isaacs & Isaacs PCS, who advertises as the "Kentucky Hammer," has been accused by a former attorney at the firm of bullying his employees into signing unfavorable contracts and attempting to monopolize the local personal injury market.

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

Baker Donelson Seeks 'No Recovery' Ruling In Ponzi Fallout

By Emily Sawicki

Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC on Thursday asked a Mississippi federal court to issue a single check-box form ruling that states the firm does not owe a monetary judgment stemming from a jury's verdict finding it committed negligent supervision amid a timber company's nine-figure Ponzi scheme, which was perpetrated in part by two of the firm's then-partners.

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

Calif. Bar Accuses More Attys In Unlicensed Practice Scheme

By Lauren Berg

Three more attorneys at the Los Angeles personal injury firm facing investigation for its involvement in a record $4 billion sex abuse settlement against Los Angeles County are facing disciplinary charges by the State Bar of California, alleging the firm illegally practiced law outside the state.

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

NY AG Must Preserve Cohen Docs In Trump's Civil Fraud Case

By Frank G. Runyeon

The New York state trial court judge overseeing President Donald Trump's civil fraud case granted his request to preserve notes from private meetings between state litigators and Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen after the key witness said he felt "pressured" to testify.

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

SEC Disgorgement Powers Stay Intact After High Court Fight

By Jessica Corso

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could collect ill-gotten gains from alleged fraudsters without having to identify victims who were financially harmed by the fraud, declining to place further limits on the agency's disgorgement powers six years after it last did so.

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

Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Robbins Geller's David Knotts

By Sydney Price

Right after graduating from Cornell University Law School, David Knotts, a native of Kansas City, Missouri, landed at one of the world's largest corporate defense firms.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »