Ex-Labor Secretary Acted Inappropriately, Watchdog Says

By Max Kutner

Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer failed to prohibit harassment in the workplace, had an inappropriate and unprofessional relationship with a member of her protective detail and combined personal and official travel, the U.S. Labor Department's internal watchdog said in a report following the secretary's resignation.

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Justices Again Refuse NY Health Workers' Fight Over Vax Rule

By Anne Cullen

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Friday to reconsider its decision to pass on a legal challenge by religious healthcare workers to a pandemic-era New York state vaccination policy, despite three conservative justices' previously stated interest in the case.

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Jury Says Norfolk Southern Owes $954K In Disability Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

A Pennsylvania federal jury said Friday that Norfolk Southern should pay nearly $954,000 to an electrician who claimed he was unlawfully kept out of work for almost a year because of his seizure disorder.

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Analysis

ERISA Recap: 5 Appellate Rulings To Know From August

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Seventh Circuit kept an Arkansas pharmacy benefit manager rule in place as not preempted by federal benefits law, the Fourth Circuit revived an Altria ex-worker's dispute over benefit plan documents, and the Eleventh Circuit reversed a pretrial win for Royal Caribbean in cruise workers' suit challenging 401(k) funds. Here, Law360 looks at those and two other major appellate decisions from August involving ERISA that benefits attorneys may want to know.

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Roundup

Employment Authority: Inside Va.'s Wage Protection Push

Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with coverage on details about Virginia's new wage protection division created by President Joe Biden's former wage chief, how a National Labor Relations Board memo depicts the limits of workers' political advocacy protections, and why government employee advocates are alarmed by a recent U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission policy shift. 

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Cannabis Co. Ayr Accused Of Wrongfully Firing New Parent

By Jonathan Capriel

Miami-based cannabis operator Ayr Wellness Inc. and associated companies were hit with a discrimination lawsuit by a former vice president who claims they pressured her to cut short her maternity leave, denied her breastfeeding accommodations and fired her weeks after she returned from giving birth.

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Turf Co. Laid Off Foreman Over Workplace Injury, Suit Says

By David Aaro

A landscaping company violated a foreman's disability rights by laying him off shortly after he returned from six weeks of medical leave following an on-the-job injury to his ankle, he said in a lawsuit filed in Georgia federal court.

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Elevance Health Settles Ex-Worker's Late Pay Class Claims

By Brian Steele

Elevance Health Inc. has agreed to a settlement in principle that would end a proposed class action claiming it failed to give discharged workers their final paychecks in a timely fashion under Connecticut and Massachusetts law, according to a filing in Connecticut state court.

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United Airlines Violates Wash. OT And Break Laws, Suit Says

By Gina Kim

United Airlines is accused of violating Washington labor laws by shorting overtime pay and denying compliant meal and rest breaks to hourly employees who held ground job positions for the carrier, according to a notice filed by the airline Thursday removing the case to the Western District of Washington. 

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Boeing OT Suit Says Incentive Pay Was Omitted From Rates

By Ben Adlin

Boeing shorted its workers in Washington state by failing to factor in bonuses and other nondiscretionary compensation when calculating overtime and sick leave payments, according to a proposed class action that the company removed to federal court Thursday.

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Dunkin' Donuts Operator Misclassified Managers, Suit Says

By Katherine Smith

A Dunkin' Donuts franchisee misclassified store managers as exempt from overtime and failed to pay them for work exceeding 40 hours per week, a former employee claimed in a proposed class and collective action filed Friday in Virginia federal court.

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Brief

Judge Asks Atty To Explain Absences In Nurses' Wage Suit

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado federal magistrate judge ordered Friday that an attorney for nearly 40 nurses in a wage lawsuit against Colorado-based U.S. Nursing Corp. explain why he has not appeared in the case for months and why the court should not therefore toss the suit.

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4th Circ. Backs SSI Denial Despite Disability Challenge

By Corey Rothauser

The Fourth Circuit has upheld the denial of disability benefits to a North Carolina woman who said her physical and mental impairments, including agoraphobia, prevented her from working, ruling in a divided published decision that substantial evidence supported the Social Security Administration's findings.

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Brief

Ill. Panel Affirms BIPA Exemption For Home Care Provider

By Celeste Bott

An Illinois appellate court has refused to revive a biometric privacy lawsuit against home-care provider Help at Home, finding the company was exempt from a state privacy law's reach as a government contractor when it collected employees' fingerprints for a required background check.

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Meta Layoff Suit Serves As Early Test Of AI Bias Claims

A lawsuit in California federal court alleging that Meta's use of artificial intelligence in recent layoffs negatively affected employees on protected leave provides insight for plaintiffs about what evidence to preserve and how to build these discrimination claims, says Manny Starr at Frontier Law Center.

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ABA Law School Accrediting Arm Repeals Diversity Standard

By Emma Cueto and Andrea Keckley

The American Bar Association council responsible for law school accreditation voted Tuesday to eliminate its diversity and inclusion standard, the final step in a process that the council hopes will ensure it remains an accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

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Ex-DLA Piper Partner Must Face Claim He Raped Associate

By Lynn LaRowe

A Massachusetts state court has ruled it has jurisdiction over an assault and battery claim alleging a former DLA Piper partner raped a former Boston-based associate in Delaware, finding that purported incident was part of "a larger course of conduct encompassing multiple torts across several states, all circling around plaintiff's residence and work in Massachusetts."

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5th Circ. Backs Ax Of $125M Judgment Over Judge Friendship

By Mike Curley

A split Fifth Circuit panel Tuesday affirmed the vacatur of a trial by a magistrate judge that resulted in a $125 million judgment against Port of Lake Charles, finding the district court correctly found that the magistrate judge didn't fully disclose her 40-year, "close, multifaceted, and personal friendship" with IFG Port Holdings LLC's attorney.

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AG Blanche To Speak At GOP Midterm Convention

By Courtney Bublé

Attorney General Todd Blanche will speak at the Republican midterm convention this week in his "personal capacity."

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court this past week saw disputes involving a former NFL star and a $2.5 million solar venture, Morgan Stanley's role in Fox Corp.'s planned $22 billion acquisition of Roku Inc., and JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s effort to pause more than $20 million in legal-fee payments to former Frank executives.

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