A California federal judge appeared open Thursday to tossing a proposed class action alleging Tesla discriminates against American workers by favoring allegedly underpaid H-1B visa holders, telling counsel repeatedly during a hearing the allegations seem to be "speculation."
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Employment
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Tesla Applicants Fight Uphill To Keep H-1B Visa Bias Suit Alive

By Dorothy Atkins

A California federal judge appeared open Thursday to tossing a proposed class action alleging Tesla discriminates against American workers by favoring allegedly underpaid H-1B visa holders, telling counsel repeatedly during a hearing the allegations seem to be "speculation."

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Trump Admin Finalizes Rule Facilitating Federal Worker Firings

By Tim Ryan

The Trump administration Thursday announced a final rule to create a new category of federal workers who would have fewer job protections and be easier to fire, implementing an executive order from early last year that could affect 50,000 employees at federal agencies.

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2nd Circ. Won't Stop NLRB Nursing Home Case

By Katherine Smith

The Second Circuit on Thursday refused to halt pending National Labor Relations Board proceedings against a nursing home and a group of affiliated facilities accused of federal labor law violations, finding that the companies failed to show they'd suffer irreparable harm if the proceedings continued.

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Arbitration Pact Doesn't Block Race Bias Suit, 6th Circ. Says

By Grace Elletson

The Sixth Circuit backed a trial court's ruling that an arbitration agreement didn't apply to a Black ex-security officer's suit claiming Detroit's Renaissance Center failed to address concerns that white officers mistreated their Black co-workers, ruling a grammatical decision in the pact keeps his case in court.

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Law Firms Back NFL In Arbitration Clause Suit Before Justices

By Caroline Simson

Two nonprofit public interest law firms are pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to review a Second Circuit opinion finding the National Football League's arbitration process unenforceable, saying the opinion encourages judges to issue "subjective and arbitrary" decisions on arbitration clauses.

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Law360 Seeks Members For Its 2026 Editorial Boards

Law360 is looking for avid readers of our publications to serve as members of our 2026 editorial advisory boards.

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DISCRIMINATION

NJ Panel Backs Treasury Dept. Win In Discrimination Suit

By George Woolston

A New Jersey appellate panel has backed the New Jersey Department of Treasury's win in a disability discrimination suit by one of its employees, ruling her claims are either time barred or lack the necessary evidence to show severe enough conduct by the department.

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Texas Atty Must Explain AI 'Misuse' In Employment Case

By Lauren Berg

A prominent civil rights attorney representing a University of Texas at Austin nurse in an employment discrimination case must explain why he shouldn't be sanctioned "for his apparent misuse of artificial intelligence" to research and write a brief, a Texas federal judge ruled.

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WAGE & HOUR

Amazon Screenings Are 'Hours Worked,' Conn. Justices Rule

By Aaron Keller

Amazon security screenings count as "hours worked" under Connecticut state employment law, and no legal exception permits the retailer to withhold pay for time spent on minimal matters at the end of a worker's shift, the state supreme court ruled unanimously on Thursday.

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Elevance Fights Nurses' '11th Hour' Class Expansion

By Abigail Harrison

Health insurer Elevance told a North Carolina federal court that it should deny a former nurse's attempt to expand a class definition in her overtime-exempt misclassification lawsuit, arguing that the reworked definition would entirely upend the litigation and prejudice the insurer.

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DOL Must Pay Retaliation Suit Atty Fees, Farm HR Head Says

By Irene Spezzamonte

The U.S. Department of Labor should pay attorney fees and expenses that a human resources manager at a Tennessee pork farm incurred to defend the agency's retaliation suit, the manager told a federal court Thursday, saying the department failed to investigate the claims against her before suing.

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Aircraft Service Co. Denied OT, Full Pay, Ex-Worker Tells Court

By Benjamin Morse

An aircraft services company stiffed workers on overtime and pay for all hours worked, a former employee alleged in a proposed collective action complaint filed in Texas federal court.

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Red Lobster Wants Worker's Wage Suit Sent To Arbitration

By Benjamin Morse

A Red Lobster worker must pursue her Illinois wage claims in arbitration rather than federal court because she agreed to arbitrate employment disputes when she was rehired, the restaurant chain said Thursday.

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Brief

NYC Issues Proposed Rules On Upcoming Sick Time Changes

By Grace Elletson

The public has until March 2 to comment on recently proposed amendments to New York City's sick leave law, changes that will expand employees' rights to take paid time off for reasons that go beyond illnesses.

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TRADE SECRETS

Deel Loses Bid To DQ Quinn Emanuel In Trade Secrets Fight

By Lauren Berg

Payroll and human resources company Deel Inc. cannot have Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP disqualified from representing its competitor Rippling in a trade secrets fight, a Delaware judge ruled Thursday, saying there is no "clear conflict" that would require booting the BigLaw firm.

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IMMIGRATION

J-1 Visa Worker Urges Class Cert. In Marriott RICO Suit

By Irene Spezzamonte

Marriott International Inc. shouldn't prevent class certification in a suit claiming it engaged in racketeering to secure cheaper labor through the J-1 visa program, the worker leading the suit told a Colorado federal court, saying he has enough evidence to support a class claim. 

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

What To Know As Courts Rethink McDonnell-Douglas

Although the U.S. Supreme Court declined the latest opportunity to address the viability of the McDonnell-Douglas burden-shifting framework used in employment discrimination and retaliation claims, two justices and courts around the country are increasingly seeking to abandon it, which could potentially lead to more trials and higher litigation budgets, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

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Ambiguity Remains On Anti-DEI Grant Conditions

Although a recent decision in City of Chicago and City of Saint Paul v. U.S. Department of Justice temporarily halts enforcement of anti-DEI conditions in federal grant applications, and echoes recent decisions in similar cases, companies remain at risk until the term “illegal DEI” is clarified, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

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Series

Teaching Logic Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Teaching middle and high school students the skills to untangle complicated arguments and identify faulty reasoning has made me reacquaint myself with the defined structure of thought, reminding me why logic should remain foundational in the practice of law, says Tom Barrow at Woods Rogers.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

Meet New Paul Weiss Chairman Scott Barshay

By Anna Sanders

New Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP chair Scott Barshay is a rainmaker who most recently led the corporate department, guiding clients through some of the largest transactions in recent history after joining the firm's New York office a decade ago.

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Judge Who Resigned To Criticize Trump Had Faced Inquiry

By Chris Villani

Former Massachusetts U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf was the subject of an inquiry into potential misconduct when he announced his November resignation, a decision he said at the time was motivated by a desire to speak out against the Trump administration, according to a source familiar with the matter.

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Judge Says AI Errors Show Atty Can't 'Learn' From Mistakes

By Ivan Moreno

A New York federal judge concluded that an attorney who repeatedly submitted filings with false AI-generated citations must be punished with case-terminating sanctions against a client he was defending in a trademark lawsuit, saying Thursday that the lawyer "has not, and apparently cannot, learn from his mistakes."

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NY Times Article Excerpts Admitted In Goldstein Trial

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors pressing their case against SCOTUSblog co-founder Thomas Goldstein for tax evasion and misleading statements on mortgage applications were finally able on Thursday to present jurors with key statements the U.S. Supreme Court lawyer made to legal journalist Jeffrey Toobin for a long New York Times Magazine article.

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Ex-Alex Jones Atty Asks Conn. Justices To Nix Suspension

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut attorney who formerly represented conspiracy broadcaster Alex Jones in a $1.4 billion defamation case has asked the state's highest court to consider whether it was proper for a judge to suspend his law license for violating a protective order governing Sandy Hook families' personal information.

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State Bar Of Texas Declines To Open Grievance On Ramey

By Emily Sawicki

The State Bar of Texas has declined to open a grievance against patent litigator William P. Ramey III after a San Francisco federal court sanctioned him and his firm, Ramey LLP, for practicing law in California without a license.

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Wash. Lawyer Faces Sanction Threat Over Alleged AI Errors

By Ben Adlin

A federal judge has ordered an attorney in Washington state to submit a sworn declaration explaining why she shouldn't be sanctioned for what opposing counsel claimed are dozens of artificial intelligence "hallucinations" across multiple case filings.

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Fake Case Pulled From Toshiba Malicious Prosecution Suit

By Bryan Koenig

A former printer toner salesman is trying to salvage his lawsuit against Toshiba after the company flagged nonexistent citations, apologizing to the California federal court in a corrected brief Thursday defending claims that the electronics company manufactured a criminal case against him and others to maintain an illegal monopoly.

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McCarter & English Wants To Torpedo $22M Malpractice Suit

By Aaron Keller

McCarter & English LLP on Thursday asked a Connecticut Superior Court judge to sink a $22.3 million professional negligence lawsuit by two struggling insurers, saying failures to provide documents or knowledgeable people to testify during pretrial depositions warrant a "harsh" end to the nearly decade-old case.

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Trump's Seattle US Atty Stays On For Now Via Title Swap

By Rachel Riley

Trump administration appointee Charles Neil Floyd will continue to be the Western District of Washington's top federal prosecutor for now, under the new title of "First Assistant U.S. Attorney," after the deadline passed Wednesday for the U.S. Senate to confirm the interim appointment.

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Klobuchar Alarmed By Exodus Of Prosecutors In Minnesota

By Courtney Bublé

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on Thursday said she was alarmed by the surge of resignations by federal prosecutors in her state following the shooting deaths of two Minnesotans by immigration agents.

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Judiciary Backs Bill To Let Judges Carry Concealed Guns

By Courtney Bublé

The federal judiciary has come out in support of a Republican-led bill to allow judges and prosecutors to carry concealed firearms across state lines, according to a letter obtained by Law360.

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Ex-Prosecutors Call For Independent Probes Of ICE Killings

By Rose Krebs

A coalition of former federal prosecutors and civil rights attorneys is urging U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to ensure that the U.S. Department of Justice allows for "transparent, unbiased and impartial" investigations into the killings in Minneapolis last month of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement agents.

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Promo that reads 2025 Practice Groups of the Year

LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Arete Law Group

Bohrer Brady

Cravath Swaine

DLA Piper

Dalton & Associates PA

Duane Morris

Elefterakis Elefterakis

Feldman & Associates PLLC

FordHarrison

Fradin Law

Goldstein & Russell

Gordon Rees

Hayber McKenna

Jackson Lewis PC

Jackson Shields Yeiser

Kasowitz LLP

Koffsky Schwalb

Kotchen & Low

Kroger Gardis

Leach & Walker

Manning Gross

Marshall Dennehey

Martenson Hasbrouck

Maschoff Brennan

McCarter & English

McLaughlin Stauffer

Moore & Van Allen

Morgan Lewis

Munger Tolles

Murphy Ball Stratton

Nichols Kaster

Paul Weiss

Quinn Emanuel

Ramey LLP

Reed Smith

Seila Law

Seyfarth Shaw

Silver Golub

Simon Law Co

Skadden Arps

Todd & Weld

Wigdor LLP

Wiggin & Dana

Woods Rogers

Ziemer Stayman

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

3G Capital

Allied Universal Corp.

Amazon.com Inc.

Amentum Services Inc.

American Bar Association

Amerigroup Corp.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

Anheuser-Busch Inbev SA/NV

Apollo Global Management LLC

Apple Inc.

Atlantic Legal Foundation Inc.

Barron's

Bayer AG

Burke Inc.

Centerra Group LLC

Chevron Corp.

Connecticut Business & Industry Association Inc.

Deel Inc.

Democracy Forward Foundation

Denver Broncos Football Club

Elevance Health Inc.

FedEx Corp.

G4S

Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman

Google LLC

Harris Health System

Houston Texans

International Business Machines Corp.

Jana Partners LLC

Marriott International Inc.

McDonald's Corp.

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings Football LLC

Morgan State University

NFL Enterprises LLC

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

National Association of Manufacturers

National Federation of Independent Business

National Retail Federation Inc.

New York Football Giants Inc.

Noble Energy Inc.

Outliers Inc.

Overstock.com Inc.

Pershing Square Capital Management LP

Prisma Health

Red Hat Inc.

Red Lobster Hospitality LLC

Renesas Electronics Corp.

Renewable Energy Group Inc.

SABMiller

Shaklee Corp.

Starbucks Corp.

State Bar of Texas

Tesla Inc.

The Kraft Heinz Co.

The New York Times Co.

The State University of New York

TikTok Inc.

Toshiba Corp.

Twitter Inc.

Ultimate Fighting Championship Ltd.

Unilever PLC

United Airlines Holdings Inc.

Verizon Communications Inc.

Walmart Inc.

Washington Legal Foundation

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Connecticut Insurance Department

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Labor Relations Authority

Federal Trade Commission

Internal Revenue Service

Judicial Conference of the United States

Minnesota Attorney General's Office

National Labor Relations Board

New Jersey Court

New Jersey Department of Treasury

Texas Attorney General's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

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 Fourth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. Department of Labor

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 Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota

U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina

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

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama

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

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

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

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

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 Tennessee

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

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

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Office of Personnel Management

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

United States District Court for the District of Colorado

United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama

United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana

Wage and Hour Division