1st Circ. Won't Upend City's Win In Firefighters' Bias Dispute

By Patrick Hoff

The First Circuit on Wednesday upheld a jury's verdict in favor of Springfield, Massachusetts, in a suit brought by two Black firefighters who claimed the city stymied advancement opportunities because of their bias complaints, saying it found no issue with the way the lower court handled the trial.

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'Shrinking' Crew Member Says Exec Producer Groped Her

By Craig Clough

A former crew member on the Apple TV+ show "Shrinking" has sued Warner Bros. Television and one of the series' executive producers in California state court, alleging she was wrongfully terminated after raising complaints about alleged wage theft and sexual misconduct.

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Calif. AI Law Requires Ads To Disclose 'Synthetic Performers'

By Rae Ann Varona

Advertisements shown in California that feature artificial intelligence-generated actors must explicitly disclose that such "synthetic performers" were used under a new SAG-AFTRA-backed bill that California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Wednesday.

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NJ Judge Likens Hospital's NDA Rule To Soviet Policy

By Carla Baranauckas

A New Jersey state judge on Wednesday signaled uncertainty about whether a state-owned hospital can lawfully direct employees to keep quiet during internal investigations, at one point suggesting the nondisclosure agreement at issue looked like something written by a Cold War-era Soviet leader.

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11th Circ. Leaves Softball Coach's Sex Bias Win Intact

By David Aaro

The Eleventh Circuit on Wednesday upheld a $300,000 verdict for a women's softball coach who said Alabama State University suspended her due to sex discrimination, unpersuaded by the school's argument that the suspension wasn't an adequate basis for a bias claim.

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US Backs Geo's Challenge To Washington Wage Law Ruling

By Tom Lotshaw

The Trump administration told the U.S. Supreme Court it backs The Geo Group Inc.'s challenge to a ruling that allowed Washington state to impose its minimum wage on a voluntary work program at the company's immigrant detention facility in Tacoma.

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10th Circ. Won't Revive Doctor's Age, Sex Bias Suit

By Katherine Smith

The Tenth Circuit has backed a Utah medical clinic and hospital's win in an emergency trauma physician's lawsuit claiming she was fired because of her age and sex, ruling that the physician failed to show the clinic's reason for terminating her was pretextual.

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Target Beats NY Warehouse Walking-Time Wage Suit

By Benjamin Morse

Target won't have to face a proposed class action accusing it of shorting warehouse workers for time spent walking to and from their time clocks, after a New York federal judge found Wednesday that state wage law incorporates federal restrictions that make the pre- and post-shift travel noncompensable.

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Nike Worker Seeks Pay Records In Proposed Class Wage Suit

By MJ Koo

A Nike retail worker has asked a Washington federal court to order the company to produce pay and scheduling records for its entire workforce before a class certification fight, arguing Nike has no basis to withhold the data and that a court-filed privacy agreement adequately protects workers' personal information.

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Alaska Airlines Can Move To Appeal Sick Leave Suit Ruling

By MJ Koo

A California federal court has allowed Alaska Airlines to immediately appeal a ruling that the state's sick leave protection law covers its flight attendants, pausing a proposed class action while the Ninth Circuit considers a question that could determine whether the case can proceed at all.

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Brief

Oil Parts Co. Moves To Settle Suit Over Trimmed Wages

By MJ Koo

About 2,500 offshore oil and gas workers have asked a Texas federal court to approve a settlement resolving claims that their employer failed to include quarterly retention bonuses in overtime pay calculations, according to court filings seeking collective certification and settlement approval.

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1st Circ. Hints Trump Admin Sought To Skirt Review Of Cuts

By Julie Manganis

The First Circuit on Wednesday repeatedly suggested that the Trump administration had sought to evade court review by intentionally failing to issue written guidance before it began shuttering federal programs targeted by the president in an executive order last year.

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Ex-Treasurer Of Postal Worker Union Admits To Embezzlement

By Emily Brill

The former secretary-treasurer of a postal workers' union local in Pennsylvania has pled guilty to embezzling roughly $50,000 from the union over the course of three years, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

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NFL Players Union Settles Trading Card Licensing Dispute

By Hailey Konnath

The National Football League Players Association has reached a settlement with a Texas-based trading card manufacturer accused of producing and selling NFL-themed trading cards featuring players' likenesses without a license from the union, according to an order filed in Virginia federal court.

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11th Circ. Asked To Overturn $184K ACA Employer Penalty

By Zak Kostro

A commercial laundry services company asked the Eleventh Circuit to reverse a Florida federal court's ruling that upheld a $184,000 payment to the IRS under the Affordable Care Act's employer shared responsibility provisions, saying it didn't receive notice of the penalty soon enough to lodge an effective appeal.

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Fox, Ex-Detroit Anchor Settle Noncompete Dispute

By Susan Smiley

A former news anchor for Detroit's Fox 2 WJBK-TV who is suing the Fox affiliate in Michigan federal court on sex discrimination and retaliation claims can seek employment elsewhere while her suit proceeds after the sides agreed Monday to dismiss a claim that the network was unlawfully enforcing a noncompete agreement.

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Joe Gibbs Racing Accuses Ex-Director Of Defying Injunction

By Hayley Fowler

Joe Gibbs Racing's former competition director has continued to do work for another NASCAR team that mimics his old job duties in violation of court orders restricting his employment responsibilities, the superteam has alleged in a bid to have him and his new employer held in civil contempt.

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Goldman Unit Funded Compass Lexecon Raid, Suit Says

By Katryna Perera

FTI Consulting Inc. and its subsidiary Compass Lexecon have asked a Maryland federal judge to add a Goldman Sachs unit to a long-running suit alleging two former Compass Lexecon employees broke away from the firm and founded a competitor that unlawfully poached clients and talent from the FTI subsidiary using capital from Goldman.

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Software Execs Sank Nike Deal Before Joining Rival, Suit Says

By Julie Manganis

Event software company JRNI Inc. says two former executives conspired to steer its biggest client, Nike, to a rival, then left to join that competitor, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in Massachusetts state court. 

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DTE Faces Suit Alleging Retaliation Over Fermi 2 Safety Data

By Susan Smiley

A longtime employee of utility DTE Electric Co.'s Fermi 2 nuclear energy plant has said he was forced out of his job because he reported safety data discrepancies to upper management and human resources, accusing the company of retaliation in Michigan federal court.

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Conn. Judge Trims Claims In 3M Firefighter PFAS Suit

By Katherine Smith

A Connecticut federal judge has dismissed some "forever chemicals" allegations lodged against 3M Co. by state firefighter unions and firefighters in a Minnesota multidistrict litigation concerning municipalities that purchased firefighting turnout gear, ruling that the unions lack associational standing over certain claims in the case.

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Wash. University Says It Had No Duty To Stop Idaho Murders

By Ben Adlin

Washington State University urged a federal judge Tuesday to dismiss a lawsuit from families of four University of Idaho students killed by a WSU teaching assistant, arguing that the university had no obligation to stop Bryan Kohberger from committing the murders while he was off duty and across state lines.

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Michael Best Combines With NY-Based Kane Kessler

By Kevin Penton

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP announced Wednesday that it is combining with New York-based firm Kane Kessler PC, adding 36 attorneys and a Big Apple presence to a firm that ranked 143rd on Law360's list of the nation's largest law firms.

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Burford Exec, Holland & Knight Adviser Open AI-Native Firm

By Andrea Keckley

Two veterans of the legal industry announced on Wednesday that they have teamed up to launch FairPlay Law, an AI-native firm based in Manhattan and focused on representing employees.

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Seyfarth Shaw Adds Veteran Employment Atty In Century City

By Gina Kim

Seyfarth Shaw announced on Wednesday it has hired the general counsel of The Mancini Foundation, a nonprofit focused on mental health awareness and advocacy, to join the firm's labor & employment practice in Los Angeles.

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Illinois Domestic Violence Law Expands Employer Obligations

With a new Illinois law expanding domestic violence protections by redefining harassment for the digital age and making protective orders more accessible, employers should review their policies and training programs as they will likely encounter more orders and a wider range of workplace restrictions, say attorneys at Nixon Peabody.

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2nd Circ. Tylenol MDL Ruling Clarifies Court Gatekeeper Role

The Second Circuit’s recent decision in multidistrict litigation over alleged links between Tylenol and developmental disorders, holding that the trial court improperly excluded expert witnesses, preserves meaningful judicial gatekeeping while making clear that judges may not resolve legitimate scientific disputes themselves, say attorneys at Lowenstein Sandler.

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Harvard Morgue Deal Shows Stakes Of Good Faith Immunity

Harvard's recent $53 million payment to settle lawsuits concerning body part thefts from its medical school morgue spotlights the state’s Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, which only extends good faith immunity to anatomical donation stakeholders if certain conditions are met, says Christina Strong at Dilworth Paxson.

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Series

Law School's Missed Lessons: Cultivating Good Judgment

Law schools generally overlook the role that solid judgment skills play in real-world practice, but attorneys can bridge the gap by strengthening their abilities to assess a case’s strengths and weaknesses, develop and execute effective strategies, and provide clear recommendations to clients, says Manny Caixeiro at Venable.

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Protesters Say Feds' Fight Shows Need For Misconduct Probe

By Lauraann Wood

The U.S. government's opposition to a special investigation of prosecutorial misconduct that "poisoned" a now-dismissed criminal conspiracy case suggests Chicago prosecutors are still shielding critical details regarding the extent of official communications preceding the prosecution, underscoring the probe's necessity, protesters argued Tuesday.

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Apple Backs Its $132K Fee Ask Over 'Bad Faith' Subpoenas

By Bonnie Eslinger

Apple has urged a California federal magistrate judge to grant its $132,700 attorney fee request as a sanction against plaintiff consumers' lead lawyer in antitrust litigation claiming Google muscles out rival search engines, but said Apple's counsel doesn't want to disclose their "highly and competitively sensitive" negotiated legal rates.

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Newman Saga Prompts Bill To Limit Judicial Suspensions

By Courtney Bublé

The long-running saga over Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's fitness to remain on the court has exposed "major flaws" in the judicial accountability system, according to a Republican member of the House who introduced a bill Wednesday to reform it.

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Brief

Senate Panel Weighs 6 Trump Judicial Picks From Red States

By Courtney Bublé

Six nominees for U.S. district judge appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday for their nomination hearing.

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