Jury Clears UNC Of Race Bias Against Black Grad Student

By Hayley Fowler

A federal jury has cleared the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill of wrongdoing in a Black former graduate student's lawsuit alleging she was booted from her Ph.D. program because of her race after she complained of discrimination internally.

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Paralegal Says Fla. Injury Firm Fired Her Over OT Complaints

By Benjamin Morse

A Florida personal injury firm misclassified a paralegal and other workers as independent contractors, denied them overtime and fired the paralegal after she complained, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. 

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Mich. County Sheriff Can't Shake Ex-Aide's Harassment Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan county sheriff can't escape a former civilian employee's suit accusing him of sexually harassing her for years and then firing her after learning she had an audio recording of his alleged advances, as a federal judge found Thursday there are factual disputes yet to be resolved.

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Starbucks Settles Fla. AG's 'Race-Based Quota' DEI Claims

By Hailey Konnath

Starbucks Corp. has agreed not to use race- or sex-based goals in hiring and promoting its employees and to not "participate in any organizations that require increasing the racial diversity of its board of directors" as part of a settlement with Florida's attorney general, according to an announcement made Thursday.

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Brief

NY AG Seeks Tips From Workers On AI Firms' Unsafe Activity

By Vin Gurrieri

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday urged workers who know about "dangerous" or potentially unlawful conduct by companies in their development of artificial intelligence technology to report their concerns to the state.

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Mich. School District Beats Former Worker's Race Bias Suit

By Melanie Dorsey

A Michigan federal judge has tossed an employment discrimination suit brought by a Black former Eastpointe Community Schools worker who claimed the district repeatedly passed her over for promotions and later denied her a COVID-19 relief bonus because of her race.

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Childcare Center Seeks To Ax Fired Director's Pregnancy Suit

By MJ Koo

A Colorado childcare center asked a federal court to dismiss a former director's pregnancy discrimination suit, arguing she failed to exhaust her legal remedies on several claims and that allegations concerning her high-risk pregnancy do not establish a disability under federal law.

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Ex-Manager Accuses USA Hockey Of Disability Discrimination

By Rachel Konieczny

A former manager for USA Hockey Inc. alleged in Colorado federal court that the organization discriminated against him after he had been seriously injured in a car accident by revoking his disability work accommodations without explanation and later terminating his employment.

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EEOC Says Hospital Spurned Applicant Over Heart Condition

By Kelcey Caulder

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit Thursday against a Maryland-based healthcare nonprofit and one of its acute care facilities, claiming they violated disability bias law by pulling a job offer due to a candidate's heart condition.  

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Brief

Hearing Aid Co., Execs Owe $105K In Wage Suit

By Benjamin Morse

A Georgia federal judge awarded four former workers for a hearing aid company $105,000 in unpaid wages and other damages after finding the company and two executives liable for failing to pay them for weeks of work.

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Fla. Tech Co. Says Ex-Execs Stole Web Browser Code

By David Minsky

A technology company has brought a Florida federal lawsuit accusing its former executives of quitting and running off with its trade secrets, alleging they went on to form a business that builds a competing web browser with stolen computer code. 

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Kennedy Taps 8 For Panel Guiding ACA Preventive Care

By Mark Payne

Eight new members have been appointed to a key federal health task force that determines which preventive healthcare services insurers must cover, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Thursday. 

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Appeals Court Skeptical Biz Court Is Wrong Place For Perot Suit

By Spencer Brewer

Texas appellate judges seemed skeptical Thursday of a Dallas businessman's claim that the Texas Business Court doesn't have jurisdiction over his multimillion-dollar suit against Ross Perot Jr., saying the money at stake seems to make the case a fit for the Business Court.

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Crowell & Moring Hires Employment Atty From Ballard Spahr

By Gina Kim

Crowell & Moring announced Thursday that it has hired a former Ballard Spahr lawyer to join its labor and employment group, bringing years of experience handling wage-and-hour class actions and other complex employment-related issues on behalf of some of the biggest companies in the country.

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9th Circ. Ruling Marks New Chapter In Risk Factor Tug-Of-War

The Ninth Circuit's recent dismissal of a securities fraud class action against SunPower is the latest in a growing line of cases addressing whether, if ever, a company's risk factor disclosures can give rise to potential liability, an area where the law remains unsettled, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.

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Senior Lawyers Survey: Tell Us About Your Career

How are senior lawyers adapting to evolving career paths and emerging technologies? Share your perspective in this five-minute survey.

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Analysis

Attys 'Itching' To Join Congressional Probes Of Trump Admin

By Phillip Bantz

Efforts to recruit high-powered lawyers to Capitol Hill to potentially lead congressional committee probes into the various dealings of President Donald Trump's administration are gaining momentum as Democrats push to retake control of Congress in the quickly approaching midterm elections.

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Ex-DOJ Chief Lambastes 'Abuses Of Power' In Goldstein Case

By Jeff Overley

The U.S. Department of Justice constantly made false statements in its criminal case against famed appellate advocate Tom Goldstein, and his convictions must be erased because "prosecutorial misconduct pervaded every stage of the proceedings," a former DOJ prosecutor told the Fourth Circuit.

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Roundup

Taxation With Representation: Davis Polk, Latham, Sullivan

By Zak Kostro

In this week's Taxation With Representation, a group backed by Michael Dell's family office and Sequence Holdings acquires a majority interest in The Baldwin Group, May Mobility merges with a blank check company, and Infineon Technologies sells its memory chip business to Winbond Electronics.

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Ex-Wis. Judge Keeps License Amid ICE Conviction Appeal

By Ryan Boysen

The ex-Wisconsin judge convicted of obstructing an ICE arrest will remain an attorney in good standing while she appeals, after the Supreme Court of Wisconsin declined to suspend her law license.

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Richards Layton Litigator Selected For Chancery Seat In Del.

By Rose Krebs

A Richards Layton & Finger PA attorney has been nominated by Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer to serve on the bench of the nationally important Chancery Court, a venue that adjudicates some of the biggest corporate law cases.

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Judge Questions Whether 'Lawfare' Fund Fight Is Really Moot

By Jared Foretek

A Virginia federal judge seemed unlikely to toss a challenge to the Trump administration's nixed "Anti-Weaponization Fund" and tax audit immunity for the Trump family Friday, saying she worries the fund could be revived in a different form down the road.

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Chief US District Judge In SC To Take Senior Status Oct. 1

By Courtney Bublé

Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy Cain of the District of South Carolina has informed the president that he will be taking semiretired status on Oct. 1, according to an update posted Friday by the federal judiciary.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

Starbucks settled a high-profile discrimination suit with Florida over its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, agreeing not to use race- or sex-based goals in hiring and promoting. And the SEC floated changing how publicly traded companies seek shareholder input, including promising to end one pathway for shareholders to place their proposals on corporate ballots. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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Reed Smith Defends Docs Production In Ex-Atty's Bias Suit

By Jake Maher

Reed Smith LLP urged a New Jersey court on Thursday to reject an "impulsive" motion from a former attorney suing it for gender discrimination seeking to strike its answer and affirmative defenses.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Schemery Zicolello leads this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after a Third Circuit panel ruled that police cannot conduct warrantless strip searches outside of jails or prisons absent consent or an emergency.

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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.

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