Ex-Immigration Judge Says Bias Drove Firing In Anti-DEI Push

By Britain Eakin

A former immigration judge appointed during the Biden administration said she was fired because she is a woman, a registered Democrat and Hispanic, claiming in a new lawsuit that dozens of similarly situated judges were also fired or denied permanent positions.

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Chapman Law School Dean Says He Was Fired For Being Gay

By Hailey Konnath

The former dean of Chapman University's Dale E. Fowler School of Law says the university unlawfully fired him because he's gay and married to a man, according to a complaint filed in California state court.

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Reed Smith Can Resume Atty Depo After Meeting Conditions

By Jake Maher

A New Jersey state judge has ruled that a former Reed Smith LLP attorney suing the firm for gender discrimination can be deposed nearly two years after her deposition left off, but only after the firm provides long-sought-after discovery documents and completes defendant depositions.

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7th Circ. Says Hotel Must Rehire Worker Fired Over Knife

By Celeste Bott

The Seventh Circuit on Friday affirmed an arbitration award requiring a Chicago hotel group to reinstate a union employee fired for displaying a knife at work, saying the arbitrator deemed the incident nonviolent and that courts can't second-guess an arbitrator's factual conclusions.

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American Airlines Escapes Flight Attendants' OT Suit

By Matthew Santoni

Federal law preempts a proposed class action over American Airlines flight attendants' allegedly unpaid overtime before and after flights, since the time flight attendants are paid for is governed by their collective bargaining agreements, a Pennsylvania federal judge ruled Monday.

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Seattle Fights Uber, Instacart Bid To Undo 9th Circ. Gig Ruling

By Benjamin Morse

The city of Seattle urged the Ninth Circuit not to revisit a panel decision backing its app-based worker deactivation ordinance against a First Amendment challenge from Uber and Instacart, arguing the companies are trying to turn an ordinary worker protection law into a speech case.

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9th Circ. Seems Inclined To Reinstate EEOC Pain Med Suit

By Vin Gurrieri

The Ninth Circuit appeared willing Monday to revive a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission disability bias suit accusing a company of spurning an applicant who took prescribed pain medication, with one judge saying the trial court had a muddled view of the evidence.  

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High Court Won't Hear Ex-GM Worker's Disability Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to take up a former General Motors employee's suit alleging the company wouldn't move her to a different position after an on-the-job injury, leaving in place a Fifth Circuit ruling that found she hadn't shown she could perform an open role.

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NFL, Teams Deny Retaliating Against Flores Over Bias Suit

By David Steele

The National Football League has told a New York federal court that former head coach Brian Flores cannot support his "kitchen-sink" of racial hiring discrimination claims against the league and its teams, including his recent allegation of retaliation.

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Ex-Dietary Aide Says Harassment Report Led To Demotion

By Susan Smiley

A onetime dietary aide at a rehabilitation facility is suing her former employer in Michigan federal court, claiming she was repeatedly sexually harassed by a kitchen worker, then demoted when she complained to management.

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Former Electric Utility Exec Can Continue With Bias Suit

By Emily Brill

A North Carolina electric utility must continue facing claims that it passed over a Black executive for company president because of his race, a North Carolina federal judge ruled, trimming the former executive's suit in response to the utility's dismissal motion but preserving the central allegations.

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White Editor Leans On Ames In EEOC's New York Times Suit

By Patrick Hoff

A white former New York Times editor joined the EEOC's suit alleging he was unlawfully denied a promotion, asserting Monday that the paper "boldly and badly" ran afoul of a recent U.S. Supreme Court holding that federal antibias law offers equal protection to majority and minority groups.

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Okla. Firm Urges Dismissal Of EDNY Misclassification Suit

By Andrea Keckley

Oklahoma-based Arnold & Smith Law PLLC on Friday asked a New York federal judge to dismiss a New York attorney's lawsuit accusing the firm of misclassifying employees as contractors to avoid paying benefits, saying there is no reason to believe any of the alleged misconduct happened in New York.

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Caesars Beats Ex-Worker's Bonus Overtime Class Claims

By MJ Koo

A former casino manager's overtime claims against a Virginia casino were tossed by a federal judge, who found that a sign-on bonus with a repayment condition did not need to be factored into his overtime rate calculations.

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Brief

Colo. Restaurant, Owner Default In Tip Pool Retaliation Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado federal court entered a default judgment Monday against a Colorado restaurant and its owner that had been accused of operating an unlawful tip pool and retaliating against a server who complained to the U.S. Department of Labor.

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Payment Co. Omitted Pay Info From Job Posts, Suit Claims

By Ben Adlin

Payment processor Vendara routinely omitted pay and benefits information from job postings in violation of Washington state law, an applicant has claimed in a proposed class action, alleging the missing information wasted his time and negatively impacted his earnings.

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Southwest Asks Texas Judge To Ground Pilot Union's Suit

By Spencer Brewer

Southwest Airlines told a Texas federal judge that a pilot union's lawsuit can't advance under the Railway Labor Act, saying it had the right to discipline a pilot who fell short of standards. 

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Cybersecurity Worker's Early Win Bid Premature, Court Says

By Benjamin Morse

A Colorado federal judge has denied a former cybersecurity worker's bid to knock out several affirmative defenses raised by a U.S. Department of Defense contractor against his whistleblower retaliation suit, saying the worker filed the bid before giving the court a chance to weigh in on pre-motion letters.

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7-Eleven Sued After Dumpster Accident Severs Worker's Finger

By Y. Peter Kang

A Pennsylvania man has sued 7-Eleven Inc. after he severed his finger while emptying trash in a dumpster at a Philadelphia location, alleging the convenience store chain fostered a dangerous workplace condition.

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DOJ Says Maurene Comey's Firing Was Constitutional

By Adrian Cruz

Following an April ruling that cleared former New York federal prosecutor Maurene Comey's suit challenging the legality of her firing, the U.S. Department of Justice reiterated its position Friday that her firing was constitutional based on the executive powers of the president.

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Window Co. Hits Ch. 11 With $10M Debt, $875K Union Claim

By Matthew Santoni

Pennsylvania window company Graboyes LLC has filed a Chapter 11 petition citing more than $10 million in liabilities, including $2.1 million in disputed loans and an $876,000 "note payable" to the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 21.

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Green Card Memo Warps Long-Standing Adjustment Process

A recent policy memorandum that treats a nonimmigrant visa holder’s decision to seek adjustment of status in the U.S., rather than at a U.S. consulate, as an adverse factor reinterprets existing discretionary frameworks, compounds risks for applicants required to apply abroad and changes practitioner approaches to application preparation, says attorney Jack Jrada.

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Foot Locker Fine Illustrates SEC's Whistleblower Priorities

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent fining of Foot Locker for its separation agreements is a reminder that the commission remains serious about maintaining open channels for reporting whistleblower concerns and that provisions can violate Rule 21F-17(a) without specifically barring communications with the SEC, says Jonathan Richman at Brown Rudnick.

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Gibson Dunn, PE Firm Pay Charity $1M For Knicks VIP Seats

By Dorothy Atkins

Gibson Dunn and private equity firm Veritas Capital split the $1 million winning bid for two "Celebrity Row" seats in a Knicks fundraiser ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs, the team's parent company announced Monday.

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Groom Law Joins Firms Matching New Milbank Associate Pay

By Tracey Read

Washington, D.C.-based Groom Law Group is the latest firm to match a new pay scale for associates that was set earlier this month by Milbank LLP, according to media reports Monday.

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9th Circ. Judge Faces Inquiry, Charges After Idaho Altercation

By Lauren Berg

The Ninth Circuit on Monday identified a judicial misconduct complaint against U.S. Circuit Judge Ryan D. Nelson after he was charged with misdemeanor battery stemming from an argument in an Idaho Falls parking lot that ended with him allegedly stomping a man's eyeglasses on the asphalt.

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Analysis

How A Texas Pastor Beat Mark Zuckerberg In Landmark Trial

By Craig Clough

Jurors who reached a landmark $6 million verdict in March finding Meta Platforms Inc. and Google liable for harming a teen's mental health didn't find Mark Zuckerberg credible, an impression that the plaintiff's attorney Mark Lanier credited to putting the well-prepared executive off his guard.

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King & Spalding May Be Sanctioned In $300M Fraud Lawsuit

By Aaron Keller

Two King & Spalding LLP partners face a sanctions hearing in a $300 million fraud lawsuit to determine whether they violated a rule requiring candor to the tribunal by falsely claiming attorneys for other parties were copied on letters to two Connecticut jurists, according to two state court orders.

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Another Lawmaker Joins Impeachment Push For Ga. Judge

By Courtney Bublé

A Republican House member on Monday introduced articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross of the Northern District of Georgia after she was reprimanded for having sex with a police officer in her chambers within earshot of staff.

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Colorado Gov. Signs Bill Banning Fee Sharing With Non-Attys

By Emma Cueto

Colorado has enacted a ban on lawyers sharing fees with nonlawyer-owned firms, such as alternative businesses in Arizona, as well as a prohibition on deals with managed services organizations that involve paying a percentage of firm income.

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Brief

Todd Blanche Officially Nominated To Be AG

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump on Monday officially nominated Todd Blanche to be attorney general.

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Trump Taps DC Appeals Court Picks To Fill Final Vacancies

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced two picks for the D.C. Court of Appeals, which will fill the remaining vacancies on the District of Columbia's top court.

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Mich. Dems Back Trump Judicial Pick After Blue-Slip Review

By Courtney Bublé

Michigan's Democratic U.S. senators, Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, announced on Monday they've returned their blue slips for the nomination of Michael Martin, a veteran career prosecutor, to be a judge in the Eastern District of Michigan.

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NJ Senators Advance Litigation Funding Disclosure Bill

By Carla Baranauckas

New Jersey state senators on Monday advanced legislation that would require disclosure of third-party litigation funding agreements over the objections of trial lawyers and litigation finance representatives, who warned that the bill could discourage funding for plaintiffs involved in costly cases.

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Law Student's Kirk Comment Discipline Stays During Appeal

By Spencer Brewer

A Texas federal judge on Monday kept intact a reprimand against a law student who allegedly celebrated following the death of Charlie Kirk during an appeal, saying that the student "again seeks the wrong remedy" in her request.

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100+ Ex-Prosecutors Question Chicago US Atty's Leadership

By Celeste Bott

More than 100 former Illinois federal prosecutors issued a statement Monday saying there's been a "failure of leadership" in the U.S. attorney's office in Chicago and that "once-forbidden political considerations are infecting prosecutorial decisions" in the wake of an Illinois federal judge accusing the office of mishandling grand jury proceedings in a case against six immigration activists.

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SCOTUSblog Founder Goldstein's Sentencing Delayed To July

By Jared Foretek

A Maryland federal judge has agreed to push SCOTUSblog founder Thomas Goldstein's sentencing to July, after federal prosecutors speculated that his defense attorneys might come to the previously scheduled June hearing and declare that they aren't ready to proceed.

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Titan Of The Plaintiffs Bar: Lieff Cabraser's Elizabeth Cabraser

By Emily Field

When Elizabeth Cabraser began working with Robert Lieff as a clerk at his small practice in Northern California in the late 1970s, fresh out of law school, her job was to help him dispose of his remaining cases so he could retire early and become a winemaker.

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