A Colorado federal judge dismantled a collective action brought by DaVita nurses and technicians alleging the kidney care giant forced them to work through unpaid meal breaks, finding Friday that the roughly 1,300 workers' vastly different experiences made collective treatment impossible.
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Employment
TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

DaVita Wins Bid To Decertify 1,300-Member Collective

By MJ Koo

A Colorado federal judge dismantled a collective action brought by DaVita nurses and technicians alleging the kidney care giant forced them to work through unpaid meal breaks, finding Friday that the roughly 1,300 workers' vastly different experiences made collective treatment impossible.

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7th Circ. Backs Arbitrator's Finding That Ill. Hotel Flouted CBA

By Emily Brill

A Chicago hotel can't duck an arbitrator's finding that it needed to employ union workers while operating as a migrant shelter, a Seventh Circuit panel ruled, rejecting the hotel's argument that the arbitration award wasn't grounded in the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.

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EEOC Faults Judge's 'Idiosyncratic' Views In 10th Circ. Appeal

By Benjamin Morse

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission urged the Tenth Circuit to reverse a Kansas federal judge's refusal to enter a $300,000 consent decree resolving claims that Walmart failed to accommodate two deaf workers, arguing he relied on personal views instead of governing approval factors.

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Amazon Seeks To Escape Pay, Promotion Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

Amazon urged a Washington federal court to toss a proposed class action alleging it paid women less than male colleagues and limited their career opportunities, arguing the lawsuit is short on details and many of the claims belong in New York or California rather than the Evergreen State.

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Meta Avoids Workers' Bid To Block Allegedly AI-Tainted Cuts

By Rae Ann Varona

A California federal judge Friday denied a group of current and former Meta employees' bid to swiftly block the company from disturbing the benefits of certain employees it allegedly selected for termination using artificial intelligence, but requested more information on how Meta selected four employees on company-sponsored employment visas.

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Roundup

Employment Authority: The Nuanced Tip Credit Debate

Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with coverage on how advocates for and against eliminating the tip credit believe their arguments are gaining momentum, how a recent Tenth Circuit decision sharpens the frameworks governing hostile work environment claims and developments to watch as unions target the burgeoning legal cannabis industry.

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DISCRIMINATION

Software Co. Settles Gay Bias Suit By Ex-Sales Rep

By Corey Rothauser

An educational software company has settled a lawsuit by a former sales representative who alleged he was subjected to discrimination and retaliation because of his sexual orientation before being fired, according to a joint notice filed in Georgia federal court.

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Hanes, Ex-Worker Reach Deal Over COVID Vax Refusal Suit

By Abigail Harrison

Hanesbrands Inc. and an ex-employee have settled his discrimination action stemming from what he alleges was Hanes' refusal to provide a religious exemption for its COVID-19 vaccine mandate, according to a notice in North Carolina federal court.

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Ex-Worker Says Walmart Fired Him Due To Knee Injury

By Corey Rothauser

A former Walmart employee has sued the retail giant in Georgia federal court, alleging the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing to accommodate his request for a temporary modified work assignment and firing him just hours after he requested one following two hospital visits for a painful leg condition.

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WAGE & HOUR

UPS Pushes Back On Drivers' Sick Leave Class Bid

By MJ Koo

UPS has urged a Colorado federal court to deny class certification in a sick leave suit brought by a package driver, arguing the claims turn on too many individual questions to proceed as a class action and that the court should first resolve the company's pending motion for summary judgment.

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Analysis

Top Transportation Rulings: Midyear 2026 Report

By Linda Chiem

U.S. Supreme Court rulings determining that freight brokers can face state-based negligence lawsuits and that last-mile drivers can also be exempt from arbitration are among the biggest court decisions of the first half of 2026 affecting the transportation industry. Here, Law360 highlights a few of the biggest transportation-related rulings of 2026 so far.

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LABOR

Ex-Raven Fights NFL Union's Bid To Toss Grievance Row

By Katherine Smith

A former Baltimore Ravens linebacker has asked a Texas federal court to keep his lawsuit alleging that the National Football League Players Association and its attorney dropped his knee injury dispute with the team without his consent, arguing that he was never told his grievance in the disagreement had been withdrawn.

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Longshoreman Union Asks Fla. Court To Toss Harassment Suit

By Katherine Smith

An International Longshoremen's Association local has asked a Florida federal court to toss a worker's lawsuit alleging that the union failed to investigate her sexual harassment allegations and blacklisted her from jobs, arguing that she failed to adequately support her claims.

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Public Defenders Go On Strike In New York City

By Andrea Keckley

Hundreds of public defenders and social workers in Brooklyn and Queens have gone on strike, with the possibility of more walkouts to come as legal aid providers continue to negotiate with their unions.

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BENEFITS

PBGC Aims To Settle Union Trustees' $132M Bailout Fight

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. and trustees of a union bakery drivers' pension fund told a New York federal judge Friday that they're working to settle a dispute over the agency's denials of $132 million in bailout funds from a program that Congress enacted during the coronavirus pandemic.

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TRADE SECRETS

Analysis

The Biggest Trade Secret Rulings Of 2026: A Midyear Report

By Ivan Moreno

The Federal Circuit issued two of the year's most consequential trade secret rulings within days of each other, wiping out Insulet's victory in a wearable insulin patch pump case while reopening a software company's path to potentially larger damages in a dispute with Ford Motor Co. Here, Law360 highlights the biggest trade secret decisions so far this year.

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EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Real Estate Firm Owes Consultant Nearly $438K, Suit Says

By Benjamin Morse

A consultant accused a Colorado investment firm and its founder of withholding more than $114,000 and reneging on promises to pay roughly $324,000 in deal fees after he helped secure a planned $108 million acquisition, according to a state court filing.

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Del. Says Counter-Counterclaims Are Allowed In Crypto Case

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court has recommended denying a cryptocurrency holding company's bid to throw out a former executive's breach of contract claim, concluding that Delaware's procedural rules permit so-called "counter-counterclaims" and rejecting arguments that the claim was barred by res judicata or was untimely under the doctrine of laches.

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WRONGFUL TERMINATION

2nd Circ. Backs Public Defender's Firing For Computer Misuse

By Andrea Keckley

The Second Circuit has backed a district court's dismissal of a former public defender's lawsuit against Oneida County, New York, for firing him after he used his work computer to work on his private practice on county time, agreeing that the county did not violate his privacy rights or breach their contract.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Remote Work Rulings Show ADA Fights Hinge On Process

Two opposite outcomes in recent Fifth Circuit and D.C. federal court cases underscore that the legality of denying employees' disability accommodation requests for remote work depends less on broad policy and more on how it's applied, says Paul Sweeney at Ice Miller.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

How Competitive Is Your Compensation? Take Our Survey

Is your compensation keeping pace with the rate of inflation? Do you know what your colleagues made last year? Help Law360 Pulse answer these questions and more in this year's Law Firm Compensation Survey.

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Trump Admin Wants Susman Godfrey DQ In ABA's EO Suit

By Adrian Cruz

Over a year into a suit by the American Bar Association challenging 2025 executive orders targeting law firms, the Trump administration is looking to have Susman Godfrey LLP disqualified as plaintiffs' counsel, alleging the firm can't act as counsel in a case where it's also a key witness.

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Simpson Thacher Points To Audit Issues In Malpractice Trial

By Cara Salvatore

A corporate founder seeking more than $100 million in a malpractice case against Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP endured a withering cross-examination in Florida state court Monday over his companies' money flows and an auditor's refusal to certify their financial statements two years after the fundraising transaction he believes the firm botched.

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Jackson Walker, US Trustee Denied Delay In Romance Dispute

By Emma Cueto

Jackson Walker LLP and the U.S. Trustee's Office, grappling with the aftermath of a romantic relationship between one of the firm's former partners and a then-bankruptcy judge, will not be able to delay pretrial proceedings to continue negotiating a possible settlement, a judge ruled Monday.

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AGs Say DOJ Suit Would 'Upend' Atty Discipline System

By Phillip Bantz

Attorneys general in 20 states have raised alarms over the U.S. Department of Justice's "unprecedented effort" to halt a disciplinary case in D.C. against former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Clark, warning the Trump administration is trying to "upend a centuries-old system of attorney discipline" and put federal government lawyers beyond the reach of local disciplinary authorities.

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Tennessee Lawyer Disbarred For Doxxing Judge, Hiding Client

By Rachel Rippetoe

The Supreme Court of Tennessee on Monday upheld a decision to permanently disbar a family law attorney for harassing a juvenile court judge online and illegally hiding a client and their child from police officers in her home.

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Trump Demands Review Of Judges' Science Manual

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has escalated a recent controversy over a scientific manual for federal judges that has been around for over three decades. 

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Another NYC Public Defense Union Sets Strike Deadline

By Andrea Keckley

The Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem union became the latest New York City-area legal aid union to set a strike deadline this week, announcing Monday that its over 230 members will walk off the job if they don't reach a deal with their managers by Friday at 8 a.m.

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Atty Says Firm Used Info From Merger Talks Against Him

By Christine DeRosa

A Florida-based attorney and accountant has accused DeWitt LLP of retaliating against him after he declined to merge his estate practice with the firm by representing a woman he sued for defamation in a separate case after he had shared confidential information with DeWitt.

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NYC Judiciary Advisory Committee Executive Steps Down

By Andrea Keckley

The executive director of New York City's Mayor's Advisory Committee on the Judiciary has resigned, a City Hall spokesperson confirmed Monday, as the committee's near-total vacancy continues.

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court last week tackled disputes involving intellectual property, corporate control, fiduciary duties, artificial intelligence, trust administration and cryptocurrency litigation.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Allison Slutsky

Arnold & Porter

Ashurst Perkins

Bibiyan Law Group

Burns Charest

Conrad & Scherer

Cooley LLP

DeWitt LLP

Dortch Lindstrom

FBT Gibbons

Forester Haynie

Frank Freed

Frascona Joiner

Gibson Dunn

Hall Estill

Holland & Knight

Ice Miller

Jackson Walker LLP

Jones Day

Kellogg Hansen

Laner Muchin

Littler Mendelson

Livingston Law Group

Lowrey Parady

Lumen Law Center

McCollom D'Emilio

Meritz Reddy

Morgan & Morgan PA

Morgan Lewis

Norton Rose

Ogletree Deakins

Orrick Herrington

Outten & Golden

Richards Layton

Ropes & Gray

Ross Aronstam

Rusty Hardin

Shellist Lazarz

Shook Hardy

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

Siri & Glimstad

Stearns Weaver

Sugarman & Susskind

Susman Godfrey

Taylor & Sharp

Varnum LLP

Wheeler Trigg

Williams & Connolly

Winston Taylor

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Amazon.com Inc.

American Bar Association

American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations

American Property Casualty Insurance Association

American Tort Reform Association

Appian Corp.

BDO LLP

Baltimore Ravens Inc.

Brooklyn Defender Services

C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc.

CLEAResult Consulting Inc.

Center for Family Representation Inc.

Center for Justice

DaVita Inc.

Fifth Third Bancorp

Flowers Foods Inc.

Ford Motor Co.

General Mills Inc.

Getty Images Holdings Inc.

Grindr LLC

Hanesbrands Inc.

Hostess Brands Inc.

Instagram Inc.

Insulet Corp.

Insulet Corporation

International Longshoremen's Association

Meta Platforms Inc.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority

National Academy of Sciences

National Football League Players Association

Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem

Patriot National Inc.

Pegasystems Inc.

Quince

Rivian Automotive LLC

Skydance Media LLC

Southwest Airlines Co.

Syntel, Inc.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

Tesla Inc.

The Bronx Defenders

The District of Columbia Bar

The UPS Store

TriZetto Corp.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

UNITE HERE

United Auto Workers

United Parcel Service Inc.

WK Kellogg Co

Walmart Inc.

Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Delaware Court of Chancery

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Executive Office of the President

Federal Aviation Administration

Federal Judicial Center

National Labor Relations Board

New York State Unified Court System

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

U.S. Army

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Transportation

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

West Virginia Attorney General's Office