11th Circ. Rules Qui Tam Provisions Don't Violate Constitution

By Madeline Lyskawa

The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday held that the False Claims Act's qui tam provisions do not violate the appointments clause of the U.S. Constitution, maintaining private citizens' ability to sue entities on behalf of the United States for allegedly defrauding the federal government.

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10th Circ. Revives Aviation Workers' Arbitration Fight

By MJ Koo

The Tenth Circuit reversed a district court ruling exempting aviation customer service workers from arbitration, finding Tuesday that the lower court misread the Supreme Court's framework for determining when workers fall outside the Federal Arbitration Act by focusing on individuals rather than their job class as a whole.

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NLRB Urges Full DC Circ. To Respect Its Policy Views

By Braden Campbell

The National Labor Relations Board urged the full D.C. Circuit on Tuesday to rethink a recent panel decision limiting the court's regard for the agency's legal positions in a vigorous defense of the board's policymaking power after the U.S. Supreme Court scrapped a sweeping deference doctrine.

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Mich. Judge Tosses Autistic Man's Bias Suit Against Sheriff

By Melanie Dorsey

A man with autism has lost his Michigan federal lawsuit accusing an Upper Peninsula county and its sheriff of refusing to hire him for law enforcement and volunteer positions because of his disability, with a judge finding Tuesday that he failed to plausibly link the decision to his autism or anxiety.

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Ex-Warriors GC, DEI Exec Say Bias Complaints Led To Firings

By Lauren Berg

The Golden State Warriors' former associate general counsel and its former vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion allege they were unlawfully fired in retaliation for speaking up about enduring a workplace marked by gender and race-based discrimination.

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11th Circ. Backs Emory In Worker's Age Bias Suit

By David Aaro

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed a win for Emory University in a dispute with a former administrator who claimed she was fired due to her age, saying she waived her challenge by not objecting to a magistrate judge's report and didn't meet the heightened standard for plain error review.

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Safelite Says EEOC Can't Support Nationwide Sex Bias Claims

By Patrick Hoff

Auto glass repair company Safelite urged a Georgia federal court to trim the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's lawsuit alleging the company refused to hire women as technicians, arguing the claims of a company-wide practice are too flimsy to stay in court.

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Mich. Court Upholds City In Worker Racism Retaliation Suit

By Susan Smiley

A split Michigan Court of Appeals panel rejected whistleblower and civil rights claims filed by a former employee of a Detroit suburb, finding insufficient evidence to show a connection between a city councilman's alleged racist comments and her firing.

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NJ College Absolved Of Gender Bias For Not Reinstating Prof

By George Woolston

A New Jersey federal jury sided with The College of New Jersey over a professor who alleged the college's finance department was run like an old boys' club, finding the college did not discriminate or retaliate against the professor over her reappointment.

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11th Circ. Sends Coal Workers' Race Bias Suit To Trial

By Grace Elletson

The Eleventh Circuit reinstated a suit Tuesday from two Black workers who claimed a coal company fired them out of race bias, stating the court can't overlook evidence that a white worker fired the same day for the same conduct was allowed back while the Black employees remained terminated.

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Manufacturer Must Face Fired Manager's FMLA Retaliation Suit

By MJ Koo

A manufacturing company can't escape a plant manager's Family and Medical Leave Act retaliation suit, a Michigan federal judge ruled, finding the company failed to explain why it chose to fire him and not a colleague in a nearly identical role who was not on medical leave.

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Lizzo's Touring Co. Beats Designer's Bias, Retaliation Suit

By Craig Clough

A California federal judge Tuesday tossed a former wardrobe assistant's remaining employment discrimination claims against singer Lizzo's touring company, finding the plaintiff may have witnessed some "inappropriate and unprofessional" conduct, but it was not sufficiently severe or pervasive enough to create a hostile work environment.

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McLane Model Keeps Drivers Overtime-Exempt, 9th Circ. Says

By Ben Adlin

A Ninth Circuit panel on Tuesday affirmed a lower court's ruling that truck drivers behind a proposed class action against food distributor McLane Foodservice Inc. are exempt from overtime pay, holding that the employees engaged in interstate commerce despite driving only in California.

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LVMH Says It Didn't Employ Ex-Stella McCartney Exec

By Benjamin Morse

LVMH urged a New York federal judge to toss eight discrimination, equal pay, retaliation and wage claims brought by a former Stella McCartney executive, arguing its minority investment and ties to the fashion brand do not plausibly make it his employer.

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Securitas Can't Arbitrate Wage Class Action, Wash. Panel Says

By Ben Adlin

A former Securitas worker's proposed wage-and-hour class action against the guard service will move forward following a Washington appeals panel's ruling Monday that upheld a lower court's rejection of the company's bid to force the ex-employee into arbitration.

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GEO Seeks Split Trial In Colo. Detainee Labor Suit

By Benjamin Morse

Private prison operator The GEO Group Inc. urged a Colorado federal judge to split an upcoming trial over allegations that it unlawfully profited from detainee labor, saying financial evidence should either stay out of the case entirely or be reserved for a later phase on the amount of punitive damages.

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Brief

Dunkin' Worker Drops Suit Over AI Tip Inquiry Firing

By MJ Koo

A Connecticut woman who alleged she was fired from a Dunkin' franchise after using artificial intelligence to research whether her employer could legally withhold tips has dropped her lawsuit, state court records show.

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Brief

Truck Modification Co.'s $1.6M OT Deal Nabs Initial OK

By MJ Koo

A North Carolina federal court gave an initial green light Tuesday to a $1.6 million class and collective action settlement resolving overtime claims brought by hourly workers against a vehicle modification company, conditionally certifying a nationwide collective and a Virginia state class for settlement purposes.

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Treatment Centers Cited Over Unpaid Work By Patients

By Julie Manganis

Massachusetts' attorney general on Tuesday announced a first-of-its-kind citation of over $1 million against a faith-based substance use treatment program for allegedly having hundreds of participants perform unpaid work, including landscaping and moving, for businesses.

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Colo. Judge Tosses DirecTV Bid To Void Union Award

By Zach Dupont

A Colorado federal judge Tuesday following oral arguments dismissed a complaint from DirecTV seeking to vacate an arbitration award over layoffs of union technicians after the court found that its "narrow" ability to review arbitration decisions bars the litigation.

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Teachers Union Wants In On CDL Data Fight

By Katherine Smith

The American Federation of Teachers is seeking to enter a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's bid to obtain a database containing information on 17 million commercial driver's license holders, telling a Virginia federal court Tuesday that the 24 states bringing the suit don't adequately represent the interests of the union.

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Former In-House Atty May Take Whistleblower Claim To Trial

By Emily Sawicki

An Illinois state appellate panel has revived a whistleblower claim a medical device company's former in-house counsel lodged alleging he was fired for refusing to "hide or park" money in the intellectual property division's budget, while upholding the company's early win on other claims.

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Copyright Chief Says Cook Ruling Bolsters Firing Challenge

By Ivan Moreno

The U.S. Copyright Office's Shira Perlmutter has asked the D.C. Circuit to reverse a federal judge's refusal to block her firing by the Trump administration, arguing that the U.S. Supreme Court's June decision protecting Federal Reserve Gov. Lisa Cook undercuts the lower court's reason for denying her preliminary relief.

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Thomson Reuters Cyberattack Hits North American Courts

By Bonnie Eslinger

A recent cyberattack on Thomson Reuters' court management software affected files associated with court systems in 11 states, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada, and may have exposed sealed documents and individuals' personal information, according to a Wednesday announcement from the technology and information services company.

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Calif. Bill Regulating Atty AI Use Heads To Newsom's Desk

By Emily Sawicki

A bill regulating attorneys' and arbitrators' use of generative artificial intelligence has unanimously passed the California State Legislature and is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk.

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'Astonished' Homebuyer Says Atty Email Lapse Caused Hack

By Pete Brush

A New York City law firm has been ordered to provide internet security and login information to a homebuyer who claims she was left in "shock" when an impostor with access to her lawyer's email tricked her into wiring away over $730,000.

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House Rejects Amendment To Fix Court At 9 Justices

By Courtney Bublé

The House failed to pass a proposed constitutional amendment on Wednesday that would keep the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices at nine.

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Dems Call Subpoenas' Secrecy Request 'Abuse Of Authority'

By Aneeta Mathur-Ashton

Democratic lawmakers Sen. Ron Wyden, Ore., and Rep. Pramila Jayapal, Wash., have called for an investigation into subpoenas issued from federal law enforcement to private companies that contain nondisclosure provisions and carry threats of legal consequences for noncompliance.

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Tyson's Price-Fixing Deal Merits $27.5M Atty Fees, Buyers Say

By Dorothy Atkins

Beef direct purchasers asked a Minnesota federal judge Tuesday to award class counsel $27.5 million in fees, or one-third of Tyson's $82.5 million price-fixing settlement, arguing that the deal was reached after six years of hard-fought antitrust litigation and adds to another settlement, bringing the total recovery to $135 million.

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JPMorgan Seeks Stay Of $20M Javice, Amar Fee Order

By Jarek Rutz

JPMorgan Chase & Co. urged the Delaware Chancery Court on Wednesday to pause enforcement of an order requiring it to advance more than $20 million in disputed legal fees to convicted Frank founder Charlie Javice and former executive Olivier Amar, arguing the bank could permanently lose the money before it gets a chance to challenge the ruling.

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ABA Outlines Attys' Duties To Clients With Intellectual Limits

By Jack Karp

Attorneys have the same obligations to clients with decision-making limitations, should abide by those clients' decisions regarding their representation and must work to maintain an ordinary client-lawyer relationship as much as possible, the American Bar Association said in an opinion released Wednesday.

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