Controversial DOJ Civil Rights Division Leader Steps Down

By Alison Knezevich

Harmeet K. Dhillon, a U.S. Department of Justice official who instituted dramatic changes as leader of the Civil Rights Division, has stepped down from her role.

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Ga. Atty Fights Sanctions Bid For Sharing Severance Talks

By Andrea Keckley

An attorney for a woman suing the investment firm that laid her off told a Georgia federal judge Wednesday that a defense lawyer's bid to sanction him for causing "reputational harm and professional embarrassment" by publicizing comments made during confidential severance negotiations suggests the firm knew those comments amounted to illegal retaliation.

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Feds Say Union, Groups Can't Stop Wash. Ballot Demands

By MJ Koo

President Donald Trump's administration urged a Washington federal court not to block federal officials from asking the state to set aside ballots cast by suspected noncitizens, arguing that a union and two voter advocacy groups challenging the effort have not been harmed because the state has already declined the request.

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Analysis

Racing Against Whistleblowers Could Cost Companies

By Phillip Bantz

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud threatens to ramp up the pressure on companies to hurry internal investigations and quickly report suspected misconduct to the government before whistleblowers do, which could backfire in some cases, according to experts.

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Analysis

New Tech, Diluted Noncompetes Drive Up Trade Secret Cases

By Elliot Weld

Artificial intelligence tools are making it easier for employees to take off with valuable trade secrets when they switch employers, while noncompete agreements are becoming more difficult to enforce, a combination that is spurring an increase in trade secret cases, experts told Law360.

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NC Facility Can't Relitigate Pay Question At Damages Trial

By Emily Brill

A residential mental health facility can dispute how much it owes its workers, but it can't argue that it owes them nothing, a North Carolina federal judge said Thursday, setting the ground rules for a Dec. 7 trial after a jury found that the facility underpaid its workers.

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DOJ Can't Appear Over Meat Plant Wage-Fixing Deal Concerns

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice will not be allowed to participate in an upcoming approval hearing for $200 million in wage-fixing settlements that beef and pork plant workers reached with major meat processors, a Colorado federal judge ruled Thursday, but the court will consider enforcers' concerns.

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Mission Foods Affiliate Seeks Arbitration Of Wage Suit

By Benjamin Morse

A Texas-based affiliate of Mission Foods urged a California federal judge to send a former employee's proposed wage class action to individual arbitration, arguing that he repeatedly signed arbitration agreements with the food manufacturer and waived his right to pursue class claims over alleged violations of state law.

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Pot Grower Accused Of Retaliation, Worker Misclassification

By Jonathan Capriel

Two cannabis workers claim they were fired after repeatedly warning their employer about mold, electrical and fire hazards at a Los Angeles cultivation site, according to a lawsuit filed in a California state court.  

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Port Workers Urge Court to Keep Union Nepotism Claims Alive

By Katherine Smith

Port of Savannah workers have asked a Georgia federal court to reject an International Longshoremen's Association local's bid for an early win in their class action alleging it divided a hiring list and funneled jobs to union leaders' family and friends, claiming officials lied about the reasons driving the split.

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Federal Workers Seek To Halt Gender-Affirming Benefits Ban

By Patrick Hoff

Two federal employees urged a D.C. federal court to block President Donald Trump's administration from eliminating coverage for gender-affirming care from their 2027 health benefits, arguing thousands of people will be harmed unless the court steps in before open enrollment ends.

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Ill. Firm Accused Of Pushing Workers' Comp Deal On Client

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois woman who says she suffered permanent spinal injuries while working in healthcare has sued Chicago law firm Gordon Gordon & Centracchio, alleging it pressured her into accepting an inadequate workers' compensation settlement rather than pursuing permanent total disability benefits and failed to investigate potential medical malpractice claims.

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Colo. Panel Clarifies Reach Of Noncompete Statute

By Rachel Konieczny

Colorado employers may face penalties if they try to enforce a void noncompete agreement entered into before a recent law change on these restrictive covenants, a state appellate court held Thursday in a ruling of first impression.

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Research Firm Sues To Enforce Ex-Analyst's Noncompete

By Julie Manganis

Advisory firm Forrester Research says a former principal analyst violated a decade's worth of noncompete and other provisions in employment and stock award agreements to jump to a vice president role at a direct competitor, then tried to hide his new position for months.

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Ex-Sales Leader Violated 'Secrecy' Pact, J&J Ortho Unit Says

By George Woolston

Johnson & Johnson's orthopedic device unit DePuy Synthes alleged in New Jersey federal court that a former national sales leader's move to a rival violates several of his employment agreements, asking the court to order expedited discovery and block him from contacting any of its customers.

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Pa. AG Held Immune In Row Over Ex-Agent's Separation Deal

By Matthew Santoni

A former narcotics agent for the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General can't sue his ex-employer for breaking his separation agreement because breached employment contracts don't fall under the exceptions to the office's sovereign immunity, a state appellate panel regretfully concluded Thursday.

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Diminished 'Kings' Chain Looks To Liquidate Over Atty Fees

By Matthew Santoni

A Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge had qualms Thursday about plans to wind down the last two restaurants in the formerly regional Kings Family Restaurant chain, worrying the involuntary bankruptcy was driven by lawyers seeking to collect fees from an unpaid wages suit rather than current and former employees.

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Maynard Nexsen Adds 9 Constangy Attys Across 3 States

By Christine DeRosa

Maynard Nexsen PC said Thursday the firm has added nine labor and employment attorneys from Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLP, expanding its presence in New York, New Jersey and Missouri.

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Opinion

Justices Must Protect Enforcement In DOL Fine Power Case

In deciding whether the U.S. Department of Labor’s in-house court has the power to decide monetary penalties arising from H-2A violations, the U.S. Supreme Court must preserve a practical route to relief for workers and a constitutional forum for employers to contest liability, say Michelle Dromgold-Sermen, Jessica Vasquez-Luna and Julissa Barrera at George Mason University.

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Series

Open-Water Swimming Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Swimming long distances in open waters is not necessarily an escape from my intellectual property practice, but a complementary discipline that similarly rewards sustained attention, intellectual curiosity, resilience and the ability to pursue a distant objective without losing command of the immediate task, says Christina MacDougall at Morgan Lewis.

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Sullivan & Cromwell Brings On Weil Capital Markets Leader

By Isaac Monterose

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP has hired the co-leader of Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP's capital markets team for a capital markets partner role in its New York City office, the firm announced Thursday.

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Judge Albright's Do's And Don'ts For Patent Trials

By Dani Kass

Two months after former ​U.S. District Judge Alan Albright returned to private practice, he regaled a room of attorneys at the University of Texas School of Law on Thursday with lessons from his time on the bench.

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Trump's Hush Money Conviction Examined By Wary NY Panel

By Frank G. Runyeon

A New York State appellate court Thursday quizzed attorneys for President Donald Trump and state prosecutors over his hush-money conviction, exploring defense counsel's claims that the district attorney trespassed into federal jurisdiction by charging election violations and trampled on presidential immunity in a case "infected with multiple fatal errors."

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