The Third Circuit seemed receptive Tuesday to Drexel University's bid for a new trial in a professor's pay discrimination suit, with the judges hinting a trial court may have gone too far by imposing Equal Pay Act liability on the school for not complying with an order to turn over salary information.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

3rd Circ. Seems Open To Drexel's Bid For New Pay Bias Trial

By Vin Gurrieri

The Third Circuit seemed receptive Tuesday to Drexel University's bid for a new trial in a professor's pay discrimination suit, with the judges hinting a trial court may have gone too far by imposing Equal Pay Act liability on the school for not complying with an order to turn over salary information.

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Amazon Fumbled Employee's Rape Report, Suit Claims

By Ben Adlin

Amazon.com Services LLC failed to adequately investigate an employee's report that a senior manager raped her during a 2023 business trip, and the company then forced her to interact directly with the man after she lodged formal complaints, according to a suit filed Tuesday in Washington state court.

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No PTSD, Expert Says In Ex-SF DA Worker's Racial Slur Trial

By Bonnie Eslinger

A Stanford medical school psychiatry professor testifying in a California state trial on Tuesday refuted claims of post-traumatic stress disorder from a Black San Francisco prosecutor's office worker who says she was left debilitated when the city failed to take appropriate action after a co-worker called her a racial slur.

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11th Circ. Rejects Ex-3M Worker's COVID Vax Refusal Suit

By Gina Kim

The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday declined to revive a Title VII religious discrimination suit by a former 3M healthcare business division employee who was terminated after refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 because of her beliefs, finding that her own statements show that there's no conflict between her beliefs and 3M's policy. 

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Vrdolyak Call-Recording Suit Can't Proceed As Class Action

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois federal judge has denied class certification in a lawsuit accusing the Vrdolyak Law Group of secretly recording employees' and clients' phone calls, finding that inadmissible hearsay and limited recordings couldn't establish a firmwide practice, leaving the plaintiffs to prove individually whether their conversations were recorded.

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DISCRIMINATION

Capital One Didn't Provide Sign Language Help, Worker Says

By Gina Kim

A former Capital One data analyst filed a $1 million suit in Virginia federal court Monday alleging the bank holding company retaliated against her for complaining that it failed to consistently provide a qualified American Sign Language interpreter during work meetings or provide other reasonable accommodations so she could do her job effectively. 

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Brokerage Can't Shake Ex-Worker's Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Benjamin Morse

An insurance brokerage must face claims that it fired a former employee because of her pregnancy and complaints about discrimination, a North Carolina federal judge ruled, finding that questions remain about whether the company's stated performance concerns were legitimate.

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Ga. Firm Aims To Keep Nearly $100K Arbitration Win Over Atty

By Madison Arnold

John Foy & Associates PC has pushed back on an attempt by one of its former attorneys to have a Georgia federal judge vacate a nearly $100,000 arbitration award in the firm's favor with respect to her retaliation and harassment claims against it.

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Ga. Law Claim Cut From Sex Harassment Suit Against Arena

By David Aaro

An Atlanta federal judge on Tuesday trimmed a lawsuit against State Farm Arena filed by a security guard who says a coworker touched her inappropriately during a concert while on the job, nixing a claim under a Peach State statute that requires businesses to provide a safe environment for workers.

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Tech Co. Must Face Ex-Worker's Discrimination Claims

By Melanie Dorsey

A former Telesoft LLC sales director can proceed with claims that she was fired because of her age, sex and disability after 21 years with the technology company, a Michigan federal judge ruled, finding that conflicting explanations for her termination and evidence that younger male employees with worse sales records kept their jobs raised questions for a jury.

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WAGE & HOUR

Calif. Eyes Updating Pregnancy Leave, Workplace Protections

By Benjamin Morse

Pregnant workers in California could gain expanded protections for taking leave and receiving workplace accommodations, including remote work, under proposed regulations announced by the state's Civil Rights Council.

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DOL Recovers $800K For 339 Employees Denied OT Pay

By MJ Koo

A home appliance company has agreed to pay $800,000 to 339 workers to resolve U.S. Department of Labor claims that it did not pay them overtime for all their worked hours.

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Recruiter Accused Of Dodging H-2A Ban To Exploit Workers

By Elaine Briseño

Three Mexican workers accused a North Carolina labor recruiter of skirting debarment from the H-2A temporary agricultural visa program while exploiting the migrants with exorbitant fees and forcing them to work during the 2024 harvesting season.

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Staffing App Will Pay $2.3M, Treat Drivers As Employees

By MJ Koo

A gig staffing company has agreed to pay $2.3 million and treat all its California workers as employees to end San Francisco's lawsuit in state court claiming it wrongly labeled delivery drivers as independent contractors, the city's top lawyer announced Tuesday.

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Wayne County, Mich., Workers Allege Overtime Shortfalls

By Katherine Smith

Three former Wayne County, Michigan, employees have accused the county of engaging in "systematic and widespread underpayment" of overtime pay for hundreds of workers by excluding bonuses, shift premiums and other pay when calculating overtime wages, according to a proposed federal class and collective action.

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LABOR

Starbucks Seeks Full 5th Circ. Review Of NLRB Union Ruling

By Katherine Smith

Starbucks has urged the full Fifth Circuit to rehear a recent panel decision finding that the coffee chain engaged in multiple federal labor law violations to suppress a union campaign in Upstate New York, claiming the decision conflicts with U.S. Supreme Court and circuit court precedent.

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Albertsons Says It Offered $800M To Save Kroger Deal

By Jarek Rutz

Albertsons Cos. Inc.'s general counsel testified Tuesday that The Kroger Co. passed on proposed store divestitures that could have helped save their $24.6 billion merger, while Kroger's lawyers pointed to information shared with Albertsons and challenged its complaints about the process.

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BENEFITS

Comcast Says Workers Can Avoid Tobacco Surcharge  

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Comcast has asked a Pennsylvania federal judge to dismiss a proposed class action accusing it of violating federal benefits law by imposing a surcharge for tobacco use, saying its health and welfare benefit plan is "more generous" than required.

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WHISTLEBLOWER

Ex-Holtec CFO's Atty Asks Jury To Think Like 'Judge Judy'

By George Woolston

Counsel for the former chief financial officer of nuclear services company Holtec International told jurors Tuesday to use common sense when evaluating the credibility of witnesses who testified in the two-week trial on his client's whistleblower claim, quoting the star of TV's "Judge Judy."

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WORKER PRIVACY

Judge OKs NASCAR Team Data Breach Deal Citing Weak Case

By Elaine Briseño

A North Carolina federal court has granted final approval to a settlement featuring $132,000 in cash payouts to a NASCAR team's employees over a data breach, with the judge casting doubt on whether the plaintiffs could have won their case.

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PEOPLE

Snell & Wilmer Expands Mexico Presence With 7-Atty Team

By Tracey Read

Snell & Wilmer LLP has opened a Mexico City office with four new partners and three associates with expertise in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, real estate and labor and employment matters.

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Hunton Adds Husch Blackwell Commercial Litigator In Dallas

By Nate Beck

Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP said it has added a nationally recognized litigator with nearly two decades of experience to its commercial litigation practice.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

A Nuanced Reading Of DOL's Mental Health Parity Guidance

Though a recent U.S. Department of Labor bulletin may suggest that agency enforcement pressure on group health plans with respect to mental health parity is easing, the takeaways are more complex, and plan sponsors should not relax compliance efforts, say attorneys at Proskauer.

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How Rule 45 Update May Change Remote Trial Subpoenas

The Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure's recently recommended update to Rule 45 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure would expand trial courts’ subpoena power for remote testimony, but it would not alter the standard for authorizing remote testimony and may prompt unresolved questions for foreign witnesses, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

The Law360 Pulse Leaderboard: A Look At The Top Firms

By Rachel Reimer

What makes a firm stand out in the ever-changing legal landscape? Here's a peek at the 2026 Law360 Pulse Leaderboard — the firms that can demonstrate excellence on measures of prestige and the reach and capability of their legal practice.

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Watchdog Can Pursue Jackson Walker Fees, Judge Says

By Clara Geoghegan

The U.S. Trustee's Office has standing to pursue millions of dollars in fees paid to Jackson Walker LLP in cases assigned to a judge who was in an undisclosed romantic relationship with one of the firm's ex-partners, a Texas bankruptcy court has concluded.

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6th Circ.'s Sutton Floats Class Action Limits At Judiciary Panel

By Jeff Overley

An influential federal judge is proposing new restrictions on class actions that aim to broadly block government policies, judiciary advisers heard at a Wednesday gathering, which also explored transparency ideas affecting legal finance and hard-to-access court records in the red-hot realm of immigration litigation.

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Ex-Employee Of Seyfarth Client Drops Suit Over Data Breach

By Craig Clough

A Texas woman who filed a proposed class action against Seyfarth Shaw LLP over a data hack voluntarily dropped the claims Tuesday without prejudice, according to a filing in Illinois federal court. 

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DOJ Moves To Remove Minn. Judges From Immigration Cases

By Britain Eakin

A top U.S. Department of Justice official has moved to disqualify two Minnesota federal judges from immigration cases, arguing that interviews they gave to The New York Times about the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts suggest they can't be impartial.

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FBI Says Fired Agents Acted in Politicized Manner

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Lawyers for the government argued in a Washington, D.C., federal court Wednesday that an unfair firing suit from two former FBI agents should be tossed because they worked in a politicized manner on the "Arctic Frost" investigation into President Donald Trump's attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss.

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Sen. Blackburn Clears Path For Trump's Tenn. Court Nominee

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., has returned her blue slip for a judicial nominee for the Eastern District of Tennessee after an apparent delay.

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​​​​​​​Mamdani Taps Top Judicial Adviser Amid New Ethics Reforms

By Andrea Keckley

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Tuesday that he has appointed a lawyer from the New York University School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice to lead his judicial advisory committee as the mayor's office unveils new reforms to the city's judicial selection process.

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McCarter Beats Estate's Bid To Start $9.75M Interest Clock

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut state court judge has blocked a mall developer's family from filing a formal offer to settle a malpractice suit against McCarter & English LLP for $9.75 million, standing by a November 2025 decision to pause the case while similar litigation proceeds to trial.

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Alan Lescht & Associates

Aylstock Witkin

Barnes & Thornburg

Brian J. Foley Law

Cole & Van Note

Cooley LLP

Cooper & Kirk

Deats Durst

Dechert LLP

Elliot Morgan Parsonage

Gibson Dunn

Greenberg Traurig

Gregory Moore Brooks

HKM Employment Attorneys

Hayes Dolce

Holland & Knight

Hunton Andrews

Husch Blackwell

Jackson Walker LLP

Javerbaum Wurgaft

John Foy & Associates

Jones Day

Kirkland & Ellis

Kopelowitz Ostrow

Koskoff Koskoff

Kotchen & Low

Lamb McErlane

Latham & Watkins

Law Office of Daniel Ray Bacon

Law Office of Jason H. Coffman

Littler Mendelson

McCarter & English

Morgan Lewis

Norton Rose

Ogletree Deakins

Proskauer Rose

Rhine Law Firm PC

Richards Layton

Robinson Bradshaw

Ross Aronstam

Rusty Hardin

Selendy Gay

Seyfarth Shaw

Sidley Austin

Siri & Glimstad

Skadden Arps

Snell & Wilmer

Spragens Law

Stites & Harbison

Strauss Borrelli

Sweeney Scharkey

Taft Stettinius

Tucker Disability Law

Vrdolyak Law Group

Weil Gotshal

White and Williams

Wiggin & Dana

Williams & Connolly

WilmerHale

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

3M Co.

Albertsons Cos. Inc.

Amazon.com Inc.

American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees

American Psychiatric Association

Atlanta Hawks

Brennan Center for Justice

Burford Capital LLC

C&S Wholesale Grocers

CRA International Inc.

Capital One Financial Corp.

City Attorney of San Francisco

Comcast Corp.

DoorDash Inc.

Drexel University

Holtec International Inc

International Legal Finance Association

Johnson & Johnson

Lawyers for Civil Justice

Legal Aid of North Carolina

MetLife Inc.

NASCAR Digital Media LLC

NFL Enterprises LLC

New York City Bar Association

New York University

Parabellum Capital LLC

Ryan LLC

Sorenson Communications LLC

Stanford University

Starbucks Corp.

The ERISA Industry Committee

The Kroger Co.

The New York Times Co.

Uber Technologies Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

California Attorney General's Office

California Civil Rights Department

Delaware Court of Chancery

Employee Benefits Security Administration

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Trade Commission

Judicial Conference of the United States

National Labor Relations Board

New York City Police Department

San Francisco Employees' Retirement System

Social Security Administration

Texas Attorney General's Office

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

U.S. Department of the Treasury

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

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

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

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

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

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

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Supreme Court

Wayne County, Michigan

World Health Organization