11th Circ. Voids Injunction Shielding Trans Teacher's Job

By Patrick Hoff

The Eleventh Circuit struck down an order allowing a transgender public school teacher to keep her job while she challenges a Florida law regulating workplace pronouns, ruling Wednesday that she wasn't likely to succeed on claims that the statute violates her free speech rights.

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Analysis

Amid DEI Uncertainty, Cos. Face Pressure From All Sides

By Sarah Jarvis

Attorneys have been analyzing the Trump administration's many pronouncements against diversity, equity and inclusion programs over the past several months, only to be left with questions as to what exactly "illegal DEI" is and what the government will do to police it.

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9th Circ. Limits Cracker Barrel Collective To In-State Workers

By Emmy Freedman

A nationwide collective of Cracker Barrel servers in a wage and hour case is too vast, the Ninth Circuit ruled, saying members who worked for the restaurant chain outside Arizona, where the suit was launched, should not have been permitted to join.

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Judge Tosses NJ Law Prof's Free Speech Suit For Good

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal judge has thrown out for good a law professor's free speech suit against Kean University over alleged controversial statements made in class, finding her twice-amended complaint contained no claims that state workplace policy infringes on her First Amendment rights.

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Detroit Court Settles With Atty Denied Transfer, Remote Work

By Carolyn Muyskens

Detroit's Wayne County Circuit Court and a former staff attorney have settled the lawyer's claims that she was pushed into retirement because the court wouldn't accommodate her health-related request to work from home or transfer office locations.

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Feature

The Funniest Moments Of The Supreme Court's Term

By Jeff Overley

After justices and oral advocates spent much of an argument pummeling a lower court's writing talents, one attorney suggested it might be time to move on — only to be told the drubbing had barely begun. Here, Law360 showcases the standout jests and wisecracks from the 2024-25 U.S. Supreme Court term.

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11th Circ. Won't Revive Disney Workers' COVID Vax Bias Suit

By Gina Kim

The Eleventh Circuit refused to revive a discrimination suit by former Disney employees over the company's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and augmented protocols requiring unvaccinated workers to socially distance and wear masks, ruling Wednesday the appellants never made religious objections to those protocols and never sought religious-based accommodations. 

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EEOC Can Press ADA Claim In Disabled Nurse's Transfer Case

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Michigan hospital must face the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's claim that it violated federal disability law by not transferring a nurse who suffers from a metabolic disorder to a less-demanding role, a federal judge ruled Wednesday.

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Segal McCambridge Hit With Age Bias, Retaliation Suit

By Jake Maher

A former secretary is suing Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney Ltd. in New York federal court alleging that the firm excluded her from work emails, falsely accused her of failing to perform her work duties and ultimately fired her based on her age.

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Inspire Brands Sued For Firing Director After Bias Complaint

By Kelcey Caulder

The company that owns and franchises restaurant chains like Arby's, Baskin-Robbins, Buffalo Wild Wings, Dunkin' and Jimmy John's has been sued in Georgia federal court by an ex-employee who alleges she was fired after threatening to report a manager for discrimination.

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Ex-Director Claims Seminary Made False Diversity Promises

By Matthew Santoni

A Pittsburgh Presbyterian seminary promised to fight discrimination and promote diversity, but the promise was hollow, according to a former interim director who claims her bosses ignored her complaints about discrimination and responded to litigation by insisting the seminary fell under a "ministerial exemption" to antidiscrimination laws.

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TikTok Can Arbitrate Most Sales Reps' Claims Of Unpaid OT

By Emmy Freedman

A lawsuit by a group of sales representatives accusing TikTok of incorrectly classifying them as exempt from earning overtime can largely be sent to arbitration, a California federal judge ruled, saying all but one worker signed an agreement that mandates employment disputes stay out of court.

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Brief

Moving Help Co. Accused Of Misclassifying Drivers

By Emmy Freedman

An on-demand moving and delivery service classifies workers as independent contractors — despite exercising substantial control over their work — and refuses to reimburse drivers for the costs they incur from buying gas and paying tolls, according to a proposed class action filed in California state court.

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Unions Say Halt Of Parole Is Spreading Chaos In Workplaces

By Britain Eakin

A coalition of labor unions has told the First Circuit that the abrupt termination of Biden-era humanitarian parole programs is generating "chaos in American workplaces," as workers lose their work authorization and employers are left in the lurch.

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Union Secures Award At Chicago Hotel In Migrant Shelter Row

By Beverly Banks

A Chicago hotel must comply with an arbitration award finding it failed to employ union-represented workers while it was used as a migrant shelter, an Illinois federal judge ruled, upholding conclusions that the employer tried to evade bargaining obligations.

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Teamsters Say Kroger Must Arbitrate Health Insurance Dispute

By Beverly Banks

A Teamsters local sought to nix Kroger's attempt to dismiss allegations that the grocery giant won't arbitrate a grievance about health insurance coverage for a worker's family members, telling a Kansas federal judge the company can't raise claims about arbitrability at this point in the proceeding.

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NC Furniture Manufacturer Sanctioned For 'Frivolous' Appeal

By Hayley Fowler

A North Carolina state appeals court on Wednesday sanctioned furniture manufacturer TCS Designs Inc. for repeatedly trying to force jurisdiction before a state tribunal where no jurisdiction exists in a wrongful death case involving one of its employees, calling its appeal of a tribunal denial "frivolous."

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Bermuda Firm Wants US Co. To Honor Arbitration Summons

By Joyce Hanson

A Texas federal court has ordered U.S. consumer credit company Americor to respond to allegations that it's refusing to comply with an arbitrator's summons in a Bermuda-based financial firm's dispute involving an ex-employee and a noncompete agreement.

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Marsh Says Brokerage Poached Employees, Client

By Ganesh Setty

Insurance brokerage Marsh told a New York federal court that a competing brokerage orchestrated a scheme with former Marsh employees to steal clients in its surety business, noting that the competitor has faced over 70 other similar lawsuits.

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Energy Firm Says Tribal Nonprofit Trade Secret Suit Too Vague

By Madeline Lyskawa

An energy infrastructure consulting firm called on an Oregon federal judge to throw out a Native American nonprofit's lawsuit alleging the firm's founder and tribal liaison misappropriated its trade secrets, saying the nonprofit has failed to identify the trade secrets with any particularity.

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Judge Sanctions Building Makers Over Withheld Evidence

By Elliot Weld

A Tennessee federal judge has sanctioned a group of building manufacturing employees and ordered them to pay their former employers' attorney fees, finding they'd intentionally withheld and spoiled evidence during discovery.

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Ad Tech Co. Fired Worker Who Questioned AI Tool, Suit Says

By Katryna Perera

A former employee of advertising technology company The Trade Desk Inc. is seeking $2 million in damages in a suit alleging he was fired after reporting that the company was misleading investors about its artificial intelligence capabilities and products.

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Seaman Can't Seek Punitive Damages In Hand Injury Suit

By Mike Curley

A Florida appeals court on Wednesday found that an injured seaman can't amend his complaint against his employer alleging that it mistreated him following his injury to add a punitive damages claim, saying he has failed to allege that the company engaged in callous, egregious or lax conduct.

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Ex-Worker Says Sto Corp. Fired Him After Hospitalization

By Chart Riggall

A former Georgia worker for construction materials manufacturer Sto Corp. accused the company in a Tuesday disability discrimination lawsuit of showing him the door after he was hospitalized with a heart condition.

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New Law May Reshape Fla. Employer Noncompete Strategy

With Florida's CHOICE Act taking effect this week, employers should consider the pros and cons of drafting new restrictive covenant agreements with longer noncompete or garden leave periods and enhanced enforcement mechanisms, say attorneys at Vedder Price.

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Justices' Review Of Fluor May Alter Gov't Contractor Liability

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to review Hencely v. Fluor, a case involving a soldier’s personal injury claims against a government contractor, suggests the justices could reconsider a long-standing test for determining whether contractors are shielded from state-tort liability, says Lisa Himes at Rogers Joseph.

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High Court ACA Ruling May Harm Preventative Care

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Kennedy v. Braidwood last week, ruling that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services secretary has authority over an Affordable Care Act preventive care task force, risks harming the credibility of the task force and could open the door to politicians dictating clinical recommendations, says Michael Kolber at Manatt.

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8 Ways Lawyers Can Protect The Rule Of Law In Their Work

Whether they are concerned with judicial independence, regulatory predictability or client confidence, lawyers can take specific meaningful actions on their own when traditional structures are too slow or too compromised to respond, says Angeli Patel at the Berkeley Center of Law and Business.

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GOP Reps. Want Probe Of RI Judge Blocking Funding Freeze

By Jack Karp

Two Republican U.S. House members have asked the First Circuit to investigate a Rhode Island federal judge who blocked a Trump administration spending freeze, claiming the judge's link to a funding recipient constitutes a conflict of interest, one of those congressmen's office confirmed to Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.

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Trump Announces 1st And 9th Circ. Nominees

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump announced nominations for judges on the First and Ninth circuit courts on Wednesday evening.

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Girardi Asks To Remain Free During Fraud Appeal

By Lauren Berg

Disbarred attorney Tom Girardi asked a California federal judge on Wednesday to remain free on bond while he appeals his wire fraud conviction, saying he's not a flight risk or danger to the community and there are several issues on appeal that could result in reversal or resentencing.

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Ill. Judge Asks Deere Rivals To Stop Pestering Court Staff

By Nadia Dreid

The judge overseeing the FTC's antitrust enforcement action against farm machinery maker Deere & Co. has penned a light-hearted order calling out another judge and asking equipment manufacturers to stop calling his staff to ask for advice.

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Amazon Judge Presses FTC On Bid For 'Bad Faith' Finding

By Rachel Riley

As the Federal Trade Commission insisted Wednesday that Amazon should be punished with a bad faith finding for mislabeling documents as privileged in a case over the company's Prime subscription practices, a Washington federal judge questioned why the agency wasn't "made whole" when the court granted its sanctions bid.

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DOJ, HHS Form New False Claims Act Enforcement Group

By Gianna Ferrarin

Lead attorneys at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Justice Department will head a working group focused on enforcement of the False Claims Act, government officials announced Wednesday.

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Wisconsin High Court Narrowly Blocks 1849 Abortion Ban

By Dan McKay

The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowly struck down an 1849 statute criminalizing abortion, finding that the law has been effectively replaced by more modern legislation regulating the procedure.

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DOJ, Defenders Alums Chosen As EDNY Magistrate Judges

By Andrea Keckley

The Board of Judges of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York has announced the appointment of two new magistrate judges: a former federal prosecutor and a Federal Defenders of New York alum.

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Litigation Funder Seeks Exit From NJ Suit Over Crash Funding

By Emily Sawicki

A litigation funder has asked a New Jersey state court to remove it from a suit alleging it worked with two law firms to unlawfully steer a former client into high-interest loans amid a vehicle injury suit, arguing its funding agreements are not loans and therefore are not governed by the Consumer Fraud Act.

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Calif. Man Charged In Plot To Murder Fed. Judge, Senator

By Lauren Berg

A California man allegedly belonging to an online-based terrorist group is accused of soliciting the murders of a federal judge, a U.S. senator, a former U.S. attorney and other officials the organization deemed to be obstructing their white supremacist aims, according to a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday.

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Roundup

Hub Hires: Crowell & Moring, Greenberg Traurig, Kirkland

By Chris Villani

There will be more than a few Boston-area attorneys celebrating new jobs while attending Fourth of July cookouts this year.

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