Ill. Justices Say Wage Law Doesn't Bar COVID Screening Pay

By Celeste Bott

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state's minimum wage law doesn't incorporate the limitations on compensable preshift activities found in federal law, answering the Seventh Circuit's call for help determining whether Amazon must pay workers for time they spent undergoing preliminary COVID-19 screenings.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NJ Justices Say Wage Laws Protect Unauthorized Workers

By Irene Spezzamonte

New Jersey wage and hour protections require employers to pay employees regardless of their immigration status, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday, finding that state law doesn't clash with federal immigration law prohibiting the employment of immigrants living in the country without legal permission.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Del. High Court Revives Banker's Pay Claims Against Firm

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Supreme Court has revived key claims brought by a former investment firm banker, ruling that a lower court went too far in blocking his case based on earlier findings that he was not a partner at the firm.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Del. Supreme Court Revives Payscale's Noncompete Suit

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Supreme Court on Thursday revived Payscale Inc.'s lawsuit seeking to enforce an 18-month noncompete agreement and related restrictive covenants against a former sales executive, ruling that a lower court dismissed the case too early by improperly weighing facts and drawing inferences against the company.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

11th Circ. Says Black Cop's Race Bias Suit Thin On Evidence

By Grace Elletson

The Eleventh Circuit on Thursday backed the dismissal of a Black ex-cop's suit claiming Miami-Dade County disciplined and fired him for calling out systemic race discrimination in its police department, shutting down a case the appeals court revived in 2020.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Quashes Subpoena Of 5 Firms That Repped Twitter

By Rae Ann Varona

A Delaware federal court ruled Thursday that six former Twitter employees cannot subpoena five law firms that represented the social media company in connection with its acquisition by Elon Musk, rejecting the employees' "conclusory allegations" that the company and Musk used the firms to make false promises of severance benefits.

Opinion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Hit With Gender Bias Action

By Craig Clough

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative LLC run by Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan discriminated against women by routinely paying them less than men and promoting them with less frequency, according to a proposed class and collective action removed Wednesday to California federal court.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Plaintiff's Attys Withdraw From Michigan Atty Retaliation Case

By Emily Sawicki

Counsel for an attorney pursuing sexual harassment discrimination and retaliation claims against her former firm and ex-mentor have filed to withdraw their representation, citing a "breakdown in the attorney-client relationship."

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Adult Webcam Performers Certified As Conn. Wage Class

By Brian Steele

Performers accusing an adult livestreaming site of misclassifying them as independent contractors and underpaying them can proceed as a class, a federal judge has ruled, and attorneys with McOmber McOmber & Luber PC and Hayber McKenna & Dinsmore LLC will serve as class counsel.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Ohio Home Health Co. Settles OT Suit For $975K

By Benjamin Morse

A Columbus-area home health services company will pay $975,000 to end a lawsuit accusing it of misclassifying its program managers as exempt from overtime, according to an Ohio federal court filing.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

$30K Wage Settlement Too Vague To Approve, Judge Says

By Emily Brill

An Ohio federal judge rejected a proposed $30,000 settlement to a wage and hour suit against a group of home care staffing agencies Thursday, saying the settlement paperwork isn't clear enough to determine whether the deal is fair.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Trucking Co. Can't Get Drivers' Misclassification Suit Tossed

By Mike Curley

An Illinois federal judge on Thursday declined to dismiss a suit from drivers alleging Risinger Bros. Transfer Inc. misclassified them as independent contractors, saying the complaint sufficiently alleges they had an employer-employee relationship.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Judge Certifies Military Reservist Class In Differential Pay Suit

By Madeline Lyskawa

A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge certified a class of military reservists who sued the U.S. government to recover the difference between active duty pay and pay received for their federal civilian jobs, finding there are enough reservists with common claims.

Decision attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Sandwich Co.'s Wage Disclosure Coverage Suit Gets Tossed

By Hope Patti

A sandwich chain can't proceed with a suit seeking coverage for a class action claiming it violated Washington's Equal Pay and Opportunities Act, a Washington federal court ruled Thursday, saying the underlying allegations do not fall within the policy's definition of discrimination.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NC Justices Shouldn't Ax Severance Fight, Ex-CEO Says

By P.J. D'Annunzio

North Carolina's long-arm statute means its business court had jurisdiction to decide a lawsuit filed by the former CEO of a cybersecurity and IT firm over its alleged failure to buy out his equity interest as part of a severance agreement, he has argued to the state's high court in opposition to the company's appeal of a ruling keeping the case in the Tar Heel State.

Brief attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

CVS, Caremark Pocket Money Meant For Rebates, Suit Claims

By Emily Brill

CVS charges drug manufacturers "exorbitant" fees in exchange for pushing their products, then pockets the money instead of funneling it toward customer rebates as it promises, a federal lawsuit alleges, accusing the company of collecting billions of dollars at customers' expense and violating the anti-racketeering statute.

Complaint attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Drug Co. Can't Claim Most Docs Contain Trade Secrets At Trial

By Elliot Weld

A Manhattan federal judge ruled Thursday that a pharmaceutical consulting company won't be allowed to argue to a jury that thousands of documents it did not enter into evidence contain trade secrets amid an ongoing misappropriation trial.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

TriZetto Wants To Expand IP Claims Against Infosys

By Elliot Weld

Cognizant TriZetto Software Group has asked a Texas federal judge to allow it to amend its trade secret suit against Infosys Ltd., saying a recent discovery has revealed that Infosys' alleged misconduct "goes much deeper."

Motion attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

NYC Leave Law Expands Compliance Beyond Written Policies

Following recent amendments to New York City's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act that expand its uses, give employees 32 hours of immediately available time off and create a right to request schedule changes, compliance now turns on whether employees can use time off without facing barriers or discipline, say attorneys at Polsinelli.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Series

Coaching Soccer Makes Me A Better Lawyer

Coaching youth soccer for my 7-year-old son's team has sharpened how I communicate with clients, prepare witnesses, work within teams and think about leadership, making me a more thoughtful and effective lawyer in many ways, says Joshua Holt at Smith Currie.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

HSF Kramer Hires Axinn Antitrust Lawyer In DC

By Jack Rodgers

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP has hired a former Axinn Veltrop & Harkrider LLP partner, who represented Google in an antitrust investigation into its advertising technology, and who has represented other global companies in competition and related matters.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

UK Litigation Roundup: Here's What You Missed In London

By Laura Stewart Liberty

The past week in London has seen an ex-professional footballer revive a dispute with Charles Russell Speechlys, Virgin Media face a group data protection claim after hundreds of thousands of customers' personal details were exposed online for months, and Mishcon de Reya sued by a real estate private equity firm founded by a former Morgan Stanley executive.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Major shareholder groups sued the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, claiming the agency violated the Administrative Procedure Act. In the meantime, some attorneys think the sanctions that judges are issuing to lawyers over AI-generated errors won't be enough to stop the problem. These are some of the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

DOJ Rebuked Over Lack Of Candor For 'Imperious Client'

By Jack Karp

A Florida federal judge has rebuked government attorneys for failing to be up-front about legal authority that contradicts their position in a habeas case, warning them not to let their "imperious client" get between them and their ethical obligations.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Beasley Allen Can't Halt DQ Ruling In J&J Talc Litigation

By George Woolston

A New Jersey state appeals court has refused to pause its decision disqualifying the Beasley Allen Law Firm from representing plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, according to a court order.

Order attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Where Calif. State Courts Landed On Generative AI Use Rules

By Emily Sawicki

The majority of California's 58 superior courts — together making up the country's largest trial court system — have decided to greenlight the use of generative artificial intelligence in their work this year, a Law360 investigation found.

25 documents attached | Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Baron & Budd PC, Walden Macht Haran & Williams LLP and Powers Pyles Sutter & Verville PC lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the Ninth Circuit revived a major hospital chain's False Claims Act suit accusing large pharmaceutical companies of massive overcharges in a prominent drug discount program.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Top SEC Enforcer Signals Continuity After Ryan Departure

By Sarah Jarvis

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's acting enforcement chief said Friday that the agency will continue to "focus on quality over quantity" when it comes to the cases it brings, projecting continuity with his predecessor's approach after her abrupt departure from the agency earlier this week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Roundup

Balancing The Scales: $3M Jury Verdict, GEO Appeal Denial

By Orlando Lorenzo

A Philadelphia federal judge rejected bids to disturb a $3 million jury award and impose sanctions on plaintiff's counsel arising from proceedings he described as "near-daily Festivus celebrations, where everyone got to air their grievances 'for the sake of the record'" and a Detroit man saw his murder conviction vacated after 27 years due to the case's reliance on a coerced confession and a lack of physical evidence, among other access to justice stories you may have missed.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

Bondi Keeps Ousted Wisconsin US Atty With New Title

By Lauren Berg

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi swapped Brad D. Schimel's title from interim U.S. attorney to first assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in order to keep him in charge of the office after his tenure expired earlier this week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »

In Case You Missed It: Hottest Firms And Stories On Law360

For those who missed out, here's a look back at the law firms, stories and expert analyses that generated the most buzz on Law360 last week.

Read full article » | Save to favorites »