A National Labor Relations Board attorney urged an en banc Ninth Circuit to overrule a 6-year-old precedent that recognized a "work preservation" defense for unions accused of unlawfully pressuring an employer for disputed work, saying there was good reason that "no other case" ever applied the defense.
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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 25, 2026 Law360 iOS App Law360 Android App Follow Law360 on Facebook Follow Law360 on LinkedIn Follow Law360 on Twitter

TOP NEWS

Kinder Morgan Is An Anomaly, NLRB Tells En Banc 9th Circ.

By Rae Ann Varona

A National Labor Relations Board attorney urged an en banc Ninth Circuit to overrule a 6-year-old precedent that recognized a "work preservation" defense for unions accused of unlawfully pressuring an employer for disputed work, saying there was good reason that "no other case" ever applied the defense.

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Fla. Judge Tosses Fired Reporter's Vaccine Suit Against PGA

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge has ruled in favor of the PGA Tour in a lawsuit brought by a reporter who claimed she was fired for not complying with COVID-19 protocols, saying she couldn't claim a religious exemption. 

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Calif. Oil Co. To Pay $9M To End Standby Shift Dispute

By Irene Spezzamonte

An oil company agreed to pay $9 million to settle 750 workers' claims alleging they were not compensated for their 12-hour standby shifts, the employees told a California federal court, seeking the final approval for the deal.

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Judge Allows Some Claims Against DOGE To Proceed

By Jared Foretek

A D.C. federal judge ruled that four nonprofit groups can continue to pursue their claims that Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency violated the Constitution's appointments clause and acted outside their legal authority while dismissing other Administrative Procedure Act and separation of powers claims.

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Ex-NRA Head Faces Sanctions Bid For Throwing Water At Atty

By Emily Johnson

The National Rifle Association asked a Florida federal judge to dismiss a suit from a former association president as a sanction because the former leader cursed at and threw water from her glass at the association's counsel when she was deposed this month.

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Jewish Worker's Time Off Need Got Him Demoted, EEOC Says

By Kelcey Caulder

Dolgencorp LLC, the operator of Dollar General stores, violated federal law by demoting a Jewish assistant store manager due to his efforts to secure time off to observe his Sabbath, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said Tuesday.

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DISCRIMINATION

11th Circ. Backs Florida A&M's Win In Professor's Bias Suit

By Chart Riggall

The Eleventh Circuit affirmed Florida A&M University's early win in a suit from a former law professor who said her loss of a promotion was racially motivated, finding no evidence to subvert the university's stated reasons for denying her a full professorship.

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Reed Smith's Silence On Depo 'Speaks Volumes,' Ex-Atty Says

By Jake Maher

A former Reed Smith LLP attorney suing the firm for underpaying her based on her gender criticized the firm for its "inexcusable delay and attempted meandering" in seeking to resume deposing her years after her last deposition date.

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Ex-Atlanta Building Inspector's Age Bias Suit Headed For Trial

By Patrick Hoff

Atlanta must face a former building inspector's lawsuit claiming he was denied a promotion because he was nearly 60, a Georgia federal judge ruled, rejecting the city's assertion that a magistrate judge shouldn't have considered testimony that an outgoing chief inspector made ageist comments.

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Sealy Slams Worker's $2.7M Fee Request After $5M Verdict

By Rachel Riley

Mattress brand Sealy Inc. is urging a Washington federal judge to slash a worker's bid for nearly $3 million in legal fees and expenses after a jury awarded her $5 million in an employment discrimination trial in February, arguing the plaintiff's lawyers have overbilled and proposed exorbitant rates.

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Fired Ipsen Director Accuses The Pharmaceutical Co. Of Bias

By Julie Manganis

A researcher and pharmaceutical executive brought in to help "right the ship" at an Ipsen Pharmaceuticals subsidiary says after a change in management, she was subjected to gender, age and racial bias and then fired.

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WAGE & HOUR

Chicago Cannabis Co. Inks $250K Tip Theft Settlement

By Jonathan Capriel

Chicago-area budtenders are asking a federal judge to approve a $250,000 deal that would end a proposed class action accusing their employer of unlawfully taking tips meant for them and giving the money to managers and supervisors.

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Lowe's Says Ex-Worker's Moonlighting Class Action Falls Flat

By Ben Adlin

Lowe's urged a Seattle federal judge to reject a putative class action accusing it of wrongfully barring low-wage workers from taking extra jobs elsewhere, arguing in a filing Monday that the named plaintiff in the suit made too much money and admitted never seeing the retailer's policy documents she said prohibited outside work.

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Mass General Accused Of Shaving Time From Workers' Pay

By Benjamin Morse

Boston-based healthcare system Mass General Brigham shaved as much as 14 minutes a day from employees' pay by rounding their clock-in and clock-out times, according to a proposed class and collective action filed in federal court.

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Brief

Apple Flouting Mass. Law With Late Pay, Suit Says

By Carolyn Muyskens

A former Apple Store manager says the tech giant consistently paid her and hundreds of other Massachusetts workers later than permitted by state law, according to a proposed class action filed in state court.

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LABOR

NLRB Urges Judge To Declare Members, Judges Fireable

By Braden Campbell

The National Labor Relations Board has moved to surrender its members' and judges' job protections, urging a Texas federal judge to strike language restricting their removals so the agency can restart a blocked suit accusing a pipeline company of retaliating against a worker.

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Union Fails To Shut Down Suit Over Retirement Plan Roster

By Patrick Hoff

A carpenters union and its retirement plan manager failed in an early bid to defeat a class action claiming they violated federal benefits law by investing retirement plan assets in risky funds that lost more than $250 million, with a Washington federal judge saying the Ninth Circuit already determined that the workers have a viable claim.

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Union Fund Asks High Court To Preserve 2nd Circ. Win

By Emily Brill

The U.S. Supreme Court shouldn't disturb a union pension fund's win in a multimillion-dollar dispute with the federal agency that bails out struggling pension funds, the fund's trustees have argued, asking the justices to reject the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.'s petition for review of a Second Circuit ruling.

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School Bus Co. Says Teamsters' Strike Threat Violates CBA

By Katherine Smith

A threatened strike by a Teamsters local representing bus drivers in two Massachusetts public school districts would violate the terms of their collective bargaining agreement, a school transportation company claimed, asking a federal court Tuesday to stop the drivers from going through with the work stoppage.

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NONCOMPETES

Clark Hill Says No Conflict Exists In Health Noncompete Fight

By George Woolston

Clark Hill PLC urged a New Jersey federal court to deny a disqualification bid from a health consulting company in litigation against one of its former employees, arguing that there is no conflict under the Rules of Professional Conduct.

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$18M Deal Sparks Noncompete Fight In Del. Chancery

By Jarek Rutz

Enviracore Services Group LLC has sued the former owner of an environmental services company it bought for about $18 million, accusing him of flouting a noncompete agreement, diverting business and withholding key assets in a dispute now before the Delaware Court of Chancery.

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TRADE SECRETS

No Trade Secrets In Allegedly Stolen Docs, Ex-Employee Says

By Ganesh Setty

A field engineer accused by his former employer of stealing competitively sensitive information urged a Virginia federal court to toss its claims under federal and state trade secrets laws, saying the government contractor failed to identify particular trade secrets.

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BANKRUPTCY

Genesis Gets OK For $7.3M Employee Bonus Plan

By Rick Archer

A Texas bankruptcy judge Tuesday gave Genesis Healthcare permission to pay up to $7.3 million in bonuses to executives and other employees, agreeing with the nursing home chain that the workers are needed to keep the business running until its Chapter 11 sale closes.

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EXPERT ANALYSIS

Employment Cases Offer Arbitration Clause Drafting Lessons

Two recent federal court decisions granting employers' motions to compel arbitration highlight that companies can improve their chances of avoiding court by approaching arbitration clauses as a series of related drafting choices, anticipating disputes on the arbitral seat, hearing location and governing law, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

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Witness AI Usage Is The Next Privilege Battle In Civil Litigation

Fact and expert witnesses now have immediate access to artificial intelligence systems capable of simulating deposition questioning, recommending answers and more, but this preparation occurs privately, invisibly and frequently under the mistaken assumption that it is harmless, says Bill Kanasky at Courtroom Sciences and Billy Davis at Taylor Nelson.

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What To Watch At The 2026 ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting

Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition among developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

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LEGAL INDUSTRY

DOJ Says Gov't Attys Can't Be Punished Over ICE's Actions

By Ryan Boysen

The Trump administration says a Minnesota federal judge erred by holding a government attorney in contempt after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flouted a court order, claiming the lawyer was "wrongfully held captive to induce ICE's compliance."

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Judicial Conference Backs Latest Judge Newman Suspension

By Jack Karp

The federal judiciary on Tuesday upheld the latest extension of Federal Circuit Judge Pauline Newman's suspension and the decision not to transfer her case to another circuit, finding neither to be unconstitutional.

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Goldstein Seeks New Trial, Citing 'A Series Of Legal Errors'

By Emily Sawicki

SCOTUSblog founder and appellate icon Thomas Goldstein has filed a lengthy motion for a new trial or acquittal after his conviction on a dozen criminal charges related to tax evasion, alleging his trial was marred by improper jury instructions, improper exclusion of evidence and inadequate evidence, among other things.

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Analysis

Fraud Task Force May Boost White Collar Defense Work

By Phillip Bantz

A new federal anti-fraud task force involving at least a dozen federal agencies could soon expose more state and local governments, contractors, companies and others to compliance risks, particularly in healthcare fraud and False Claims Act cases, experts say.

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Fla. Judge Faces Discipline For Remark About Shooting Attys

By David Minsky

A Florida state judge is facing a public reprimand after admitting to becoming frustrated with attorneys in an estate dispute and saying that he "would like to tell the deputy to pull his gun and shoot all three of you," according to records filed Tuesday in the state's high court.

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Senate Confirms Chief Of New DOJ Fraud Division

By Courtney Bublé

The U.S. Senate voted 52-47, along party lines, on Tuesday to confirm Colin McDonald to the newly created assistant attorney general for fraud role.

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Beasley Allen Says NJ Justices Review Of Talc DQ 'Essential'

By George Woolston

Beasley Allen urged the New Jersey Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a lower court's decision to disqualify it from representing plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over Johnson & Johnson's talc-based baby powder, arguing that the court's immediate review of the interlocutory order is "essential."

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LAW FIRMS IN TODAY'S NEWS

Anthony & Partners

Barnes & Thornburg

Beasley Allen

Bennett & Belfort

Carmagnola & Ritardi

Clark Hill

Coates Law Firm PL

Conforto Law Group

Cordatis LLP

DLA Piper

Dilworth Paxson

Emery Reddy

Employment Law Solution

Engstrom Lee

FBT Gibbons

Faegre Drinker

Fair Work PC

Foley Hoag

Fox Rothschild

Freshfields

Gibson Dunn

Gilbert & Sackman

Gordon Rees

GrayRobinson

Groom Law Group

Hadsell Stormer

Hartmann Doherty

Hogan Lovells

Hunton Andrews

Jackson Lewis PC

Klafter Lesser

Krevolin & Horst

Krizner Group

Lewis Brisbois

Marx & Marx

McDermott Will & Schulte

McGuireWoods

Meritz Reddy

Morgan Lewis

Munger Tolles

Nelson Mullins

O'Melveny & Myers

Ogletree Deakins

PilieroMazza

Reed Smith

Seyfarth Shaw

Sills Cummis

Skiermont Derby

Taylor Nelson Slattery Bernard

Thompson Hine

Vires Law Group

Weil Gotshal

Weinberg Roger

Workplace Law Partners

Zimmer Citron

COMPANIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

ABC News

Allianz Global Investors GmbH

Amedisys Inc.

American Bar Association

Anthropic PBC

Apple Inc.

Auburn National Bancorp

Axon Enterprise Inc.

Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica Inc.

Boston University

Brigham & Women's Hospital

Campaign Legal Center

Central States Funds

D.R. Horton Inc.

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc.

Delivery Hero

EQT Corp.

Energy Transfer LP

Epizyme Inc.

First Student Inc.

Found

Google LLC

Hostess Brands Inc.

Intel Corp.

International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

International Longshore & Warehouse Union

Ipsen SA

Johnson & Johnson

Kinder Morgan Inc.

Live Nation Entertainment Inc.

Lowe's Cos. Inc.

Marquis Health Services LLC

Mass General Brigham Inc.

McDonald's Corp.

Microsoft Corp.

National Rifle Association of America

New Civil Liberties Alliance

OhioHealth Corp.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

PGA TOUR Inc.

Pacific Maritime Association

Sierra Club

Stanford University

Tesla Inc.

The University of Alabama System

Union of Concerned Scientists

UnitedHealth Group Inc.

XCL Resources

YouTube Inc.

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN TODAY'S NEWS

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Competition and Markets Authority

Defense Information Systems Agency

Delaware Court of Chancery

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

European Commission

European Union

Federal Trade Commission

Florida Supreme Court

Food and Drug Administration

Judicial Conference of the United States

Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination

National Labor Relations Board

New Jersey Supreme Court

Oklahoma Department of Transportation

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.

Small Business Administration

U.S. Attorney's Office

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland

U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California

U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of California

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

U.S. Department of Justice

U.S. District & Bankruptcy Courts of Southern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Central District of California

U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia

U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland

U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts

U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington

U.S. Government Accountability Office

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board

U.S. Postal Service

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. Senate

U.S. Supreme Court

US Office of Management and Budget

United States District Court for the District of Nevada