Judge Tosses DOJ's Antisemitism Case Against Harvard

By Carolyn Muyskens

A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday threw out the Trump administration's suit alleging Harvard University failed to address antisemitism, finding the government lacked evidence of current civil rights violations on campus.

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9th Circ. Says U. Of Wash. Is Immune From Vax Firing Suit

By Rachel Riley

A Ninth Circuit panel declined on Thursday to reinstate former University of Washington employees' claims that they were wrongfully fired after refusing the COVID-19 vaccination on religious grounds, concluding the university qualifies as an arm of the state that cannot be sued for civil rights violations under the relevant federal law.  

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Anti-DEI Group Asks FTC To Probe Law Fellowship Program

By Dorothy Atkins

An advocacy organization against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives filed an antitrust complaint with the Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, accusing Sponsors for Educational Opportunity of engaging in anticompetitive practices by allegedly colluding on DEI metrics and falsely advertising its program.

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Mount Sinai Beats Retaliation Claim But Faces OT Trial

By MJ Koo

A New York federal court tossed a fired Mount Sinai West security supervisor's retaliation claim, ruling that 13 months between his complaint about pay and his termination were too long to establish a causal link, while sending his overtime and weekly wage claims toward trial.

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United Asks Justices To Void 'Destabilizing' Vax Bias Class

By Linda Chiem

United Airlines has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review a "destabilizing" Fifth Circuit ruling preserving class certification for workers who sued the airline for religious discrimination after they opposed United's COVID-19 vaccine mandate and were placed on unpaid leave.

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DOL To Pay Atty Fees To End Demographic Data Fight

By Benjamin Morse

The U.S. Department of Labor will pay $225,000 in attorney fees and costs to end a news organization's suit over access to federal contractors' workforce diversity reports, after the Ninth Circuit affirmed an order requiring the data's disclosure, according to a California federal court filing.

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Walgreens Faces Pregnancy Bias Suits From 2 Ex-Workers

By MJ Koo

Two former Walgreens corporate employees sued the pharmacy chain in Illinois federal court, alleging the company fired them both on the same day while they were on approved family leave, targeting them because of their pregnancies in violation of federal and state anti-discrimination and family leave laws.

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Former Colo. Hospital Director Claims Age Discrimination

By Rachel Konieczny

Operators of a Colorado behavioral health hospital discriminated against a 69-year-old former director of the facility by subjecting her to "excessive" scrutiny and retaliating against her for filing a grievance, the employee alleged in Colorado federal court.

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John Deere Workers Fight Bid To Toss Severance Claims

By Benjamin Morse

Former John Deere workers urged an Illinois federal judge Thursday to preserve proposed class claims alleging the company manipulated performance ratings to reduce severance payouts, arguing its severance program is governed by federal benefits law and that they plausibly alleged they were entitled to benefits.

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Brief

GEO Takes Immunity Delay To 10th Circ. In Forced Labor Suit

By Benjamin Morse

Private prison operator GEO Group Inc. has filed a notice of appeal seeking Tenth Circuit review of a Colorado federal judge's failure to rule on its qualified immunity bid in a forced-labor suit by detainees, arguing further delay would effectively deprive it of that protection.

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Brief

NJ Takes Labor Peace Pact Fight In Pot Case To 3rd Circ.

By Sam Reisman

New Jersey cannabis regulators filed a notice Thursday that they would appeal a federal court's recent ruling that a state rule requiring marijuana businesses enter into labor peace agreements with unions in order to secure a license is preempted by federal law.

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CFPB Brass Accused Of 'Sham' Probe Of Union Leader

By Emily Brill

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is conducting a "sham" investigation into an employee who is active in the staff's union, the union's president said, taking the agency's new leader to task for its probe of the data scientist and National Treasury Employees Union local activist.

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7th Circ. Won't Revive Popcorn Shop Worker's Retaliation Suit

By Hailey Konnath

The Seventh Circuit on Thursday refused to resurrect a retaliation suit filed by a former assistant research and development director for Chicago's Garrett Popcorn Shops, finding she failed to back up her argument that a jury erred in siding with her former employer.

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Ohio High Court Reinstates $1.9M Farmworker Injury Verdict

By Mike Curley

The Ohio Supreme Court has revived a $1.9 million verdict in favor of a farmworker over injuries he sustained on the job, finding the appeals court wrongly required that he prove that his employer had deliberately not reattached a safety guard on the tractor that injured him.

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Katz Banks Adds Partner From Sanford Heisler In DC

By Patrick Hoff

Katz Banks Kumin LLP has bolstered its ranks in the nation's capital by adding a former co-managing partner of Sanford Heisler Sharp McKnight LLP's Washington, D.C., office, bringing on a lawyer whose experience includes government service as well as landing multmillion-dollar recoveries in private lawsuits.

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Series

Going To Hardcore Shows Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While government contracts law and the hardcore scene may seem entirely unrelated, in my experience, both are about community, focus, being prepared for the unexpected and managing chaos, says Isaac Natter at Fluet.

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Baker Botts Atty Cleared Of Defamation In Inventor's Suit

By Carolina Bolado

A Florida federal judge on Thursday tossed a defamation claim against a Baker Botts LLP patent attorney after agreeing with a magistrate judge's conclusion that an inventor had not shown that the lawyer's comments to a reporter were defamatory.

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NYC Bar Committee Calls For Nationwide AI Rules Framework

By Andrea Keckley

A New York City Bar Association committee concluded in a policy paper published Wednesday that artificial intelligence tools "may assist legal work but cannot substitute for professional legal judgment," calling for a national framework to be built into the Model Rules of Professional Conduct governing its use.

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Trump Picks Ex-Arkansas SG, Walmart Lawyer For 8th Circ.

By Courtney Bublé

President Donald Trump has announced that he's looking to elevate Judge Lee Rudofsky of the Eastern District of Arkansas to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

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State Farm Attys Admit Filing Motions Full Of AI Hallucinations

By Jonathan Capriel

A law firm representing State Farm has admitted that its pretrial motions contained citations to nonexistent cases and legal quotes, errors that were seemingly "hallucinations" generated by AI software designed for lawyers and caught by the plaintiff's attorneys as they prepared for trial in a California state court case about fire damage coverage.

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Brief

DOJ Fraud Division To Reach 500 Staffers This Month

By Courtney Bublé

By the end of the month, there will be about 500 attorneys and staff in the U.S. Department of Justice's new fraud division, with more to come as time goes on.

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JP Ward Attorney Exodus Delays Pa. Labor Trafficking Suit

By Matthew Santoni

A "staffing disruption" at the Pittsburgh law firm J.P. Ward & Associates led the firm to request a stay of a labor-trafficking case against hotels in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, after the firm was reduced to one attorney and two staff members, according to court filings.

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