DLA Piper Defeats Fired Associate's Claims Of Pregnancy Bias

By Pete Brush

A federal jury in Manhattan declined to award damages Monday to a former associate who says DLA Piper unlawfully fired her after she announced she was pregnant, absolving the BigLaw firm hours after tense closing arguments.

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Trump Picks DOL Workers' Comp Official For NLRB Seat

By Braden Campbell

President Donald Trump tapped a U.S. Department of Labor workers' compensation official Monday to serve on the National Labor Relations Board in a move that could avert another quorum lapse and facilitate a shift away from the labor-friendly policy of the last administration.

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6th Circ. Says 'Nothing Technical' About Co.'s Union Snub

By Tim Ryan

A Michigan construction company violated federal labor law by withdrawing recognition from and refusing to bargain with a union, the Sixth Circuit held Monday, rejecting the company's attempt to have the court review a National Labor Relations Board official's dismissal of a petition to decertify the union.

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11th Circ. Rejects Fired Fla. Law Prof's Reinstatement Bid

By Jake Maher

The Eleventh Circuit on Monday denied a bid from a former professor fired from Florida A&M University College of Law to be reinstated via a preliminary injunction, ruling the trial court correctly found that she will not suffer irreparable damage without the injunction.

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Oracle Wins TRO Against Ex-Worker Threatening Secrets Sale

By Lauren Berg

A North Carolina federal judge Monday issued a temporary restraining order barring a recently laid-off Oracle sales employee from disclosing trade secrets that the software firm alleges he has threatened to sell to the "highest bidder" unless he receives an "unreasonable" fee.

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Brief

Penn Appealing Order To Give Jewish Employee Info To EEOC

By Craig Clough

The University of Pennsylvania said Monday it is appealing to the Third Circuit a federal judge's order that it must comply with a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission subpoena for information on Jewish members of its campus community as part of the EEOC's investigation into allegations of antisemitism.

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Brief

EEOC To Produce Law Firm DEI Letter Records By May 15

By Kelcey Caulder

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission told a federal court Monday that it would give two law professors documents related to 20 letters the agency sent to law firms over their purported diversity, equity and inclusion practices by May 15.

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Atty Says Ogletree Can't Litigate Against Her In 2 Similar Cases

By Adrian Cruz

A Georgia attorney said Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart PC should be disqualified from serving as defense counsel in a discrimination suit she's working on while simultaneously litigating against her on behalf of her ex-employer in a similar matter.

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Anti-Native Taunts Made Engineer 'Feel Less Than,' Suit Says

By Bonnie Eslinger

A member of a Native American tribe has filed a lawsuit in Michigan federal court against two real estate companies that provide "hotel-style" apartments, saying the "dehumanizing" racial abuse he was subjected to when he worked as the companies' chief engineer left him unable to perform his job.

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Discovery Ordered In Retaliation Suit By Ex-Public Defender

By Emily Sawicki

A former public defender suing a Detroit-area district court, two judges and administrators alleging discrimination and harassment over her identity as a Muslim Palestinian American has been ordered to respond to discovery requests, with a federal judge finding that the attorney failed to answer interrogatories and provide complete documents in a timely manner.

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DOD Education Unit Says Bias Suit Rehashes EEO Claims

By Abigail Harrison

The Department of Defense Education Activity told a North Carolina federal court Monday that a former assistant principal's sex and race discrimination lawsuit can't survive, as her claims are either too skeletal or have not yet been administratively exhausted.

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Ex-Twitter Executive Ends $20M Suit Against X Corp., Musk

By Kellie Mejdrich

Twitter's former chief marketing officer has agreed to drop her $20 million severance suit, which defendants X Corp. and Elon Musk had appealed to the Ninth Circuit seeking to force arbitration, after parties reported a settlement of their dispute late last month.

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Brief

Restaurants, DOL Ink $750K Deal To End Pay, Child Labor Suit

By Benjamin Morse

A group of Washington state restaurants will pay $750,000 to resolve a U.S. Department of Labor lawsuit alleging unpaid wages, child labor violations and retaliation, according to a consent judgment entered in federal court.

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Wash., Detainees Urge High Court To Reject GEO Wage Appeal

By Benjamin Morse

The state of Washington and a class of immigration detainees urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reject GEO Group's bid to overturn a Ninth Circuit ruling requiring the prison operator to pay Washington's minimum wage to detainee workers, filing separate briefs arguing the decision does not merit further review.

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Calif. High Schools Resume Court Fight Against Athlete NIL

By David Steele

California's high school sports governing body has told a California federal court that the athletes demanding name, image and likeness rights again failed to prove that the state's ban eliminates competition for their talents.

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Mich. Judge Mulls Settlement For Fiat Chrysler OT Suit

By Susan Smiley

An estimated 68,000 Fiat Chrysler employees would receive an average $100 payout under a settlement agreement presented at a hearing Monday in Michigan federal court that would end a 2023 suit accusing the carmaker of not paying workers correct overtime.

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DOE Contractor Urges Court To Nix Award Reinstating Worker

By Katherine Smith

A contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy at a nuclear decontamination site urged an Ohio federal court Monday to undo an arbitration award ordering it to reinstate an employee who was fired after testing positive for drugs, arguing that the award violates federal law.

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Bus Cos. Drop $2M Pension Suit Against Teamsters Fund

By Emily Brill

Three New York City school bus companies have dropped their $2 million Employee Retirement Income Security Act lawsuit against a Teamsters pension fund after the Second Circuit issued a decision supporting their argument, telling a New York federal judge Monday they no longer need to pursue litigation.

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Roundup

NC High Court Snapshot: State Retirees Fight To Retain Class

By Hayley Fowler

The North Carolina Supreme Court in April will tackle a long-simmering fight over the state's obligations to provide health insurance to retired public employees, who are battling to keep their class status.

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Brief

Ex-Med Spa Workers Settle Conn. Poaching Claims

By Aaron Keller

A Connecticut medical spa has settled a state court lawsuit accusing two former employees of luring clients and a colleague to a similar facility less than six miles away, court records show.

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United Rentals Wants Ex-Worker Sanctioned Over Erased Files

By Aaron Keller

United Rentals Inc. wants a former North Carolina sales representative punished for allegedly deleting computer files the same day he received a lawsuit accusing him of taking trade secrets to a new employer, arguing a judge or jury should assume the worst about the alleged file transfer and purported cover-up.

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AI Cardiac Imaging Co. Hits Ex-Consultant With IP Suit

By Elliot Weld

Artificial intelligence-powered cardiac imaging company Heartflow Inc. filed patent infringement and trade secret misappropriation claims on Monday against a competitor founded by a former consultant who, the company says, lifted technological trade secrets while he was under contract.

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Green Roofing Co. Says Ex-Employee Stole Clients, Trade Secrets

By Elliot Weld

A green wall and roofing company has accused a former employee of siphoning trade secrets and clients through misrepresentations and using them to start a competing company before making efforts to cover her tracks.

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Engineers Ask To Add Whistleblower To TikTok Sale Case

By Jared Foretek

Software engineers from Alphabet and Meta are asking the D.C. Circuit for permission to update their petition challenging the Trump administration's handling of the TikTok U.S. divestiture, saying whistleblower allegations from a former ByteDance employee bolster their claim that the deal doesn't comply with Congress' mandate.

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Atlantic City Says Lifeguards Aren't Whistleblowers

By George Woolston

The Atlantic City Beach Patrol has urged a state court to toss a whistleblower suit from two lifeguards alleging they endured retaliation for speaking up about decrepit conditions, arguing that they failed to allege they performed any whistleblowing activity.

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Morgan & Morgan Sued Over Firing Amid Nevada Expansion

By Emily Sawicki

Personal injury titan Morgan & Morgan is facing allegations from a former firm attorney in California state court alleging the Golden State lawyer was pressured to file suits in neighboring Nevada despite having an inactive law license and no experience practicing there, and was then harassed and wrongfully fired over the filings.

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Fisher Phillips Adds Littler Occupational Safety Co-Chair

By Jack Rodgers

Fisher Phillips has added Littler Mendelson PC's occupational safety and health practice group co-chair to its team of attorneys in Pittsburgh, the firm announced Monday.

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Opinion

State Bars Need To Get Specific About AI Confidentiality

Lawyers need to put actual client information into artificial intelligence tools to get their full value, but they cannot confidently do so until state bars offer clear, formal authority on which plan tiers of the three most popular generative AI tools are safe to use when sharing specific client details, says attorney Nick Berk.

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Artemis II Highlights Earthbound Employment Law Risks

The recent Artemis II launch marks a milestone in human spaceflight and expanding commercial participation, but as companies race to the stars, their compliance practices must address the workforce needs on the ground, as extraordinary operational achievements will be evaluated under ordinary legal standards, say attorneys at Seyfarth.

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Q&A

Former Pardon Atty Says Trump's Clemency Grants Hurt DOJ

By Phillip Bantz

Former U.S. Department of Justice pardon attorney Liz Oyer spoke recently with Law360 about how the pardon process has changed, the impact the shift might have on the DOJ and how the system could be reformed.

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DOJ Urges DC Circ. To Revive Trump EOs Targeting Firms

By Alison Knezevich

The D.C. Circuit should individually review each section of President Donald Trump's executive orders targeting four law firms, allowing certain portions to stand if others are blocked, the U.S. Department of Justice argued in a new filing urging the court to revive the measures.

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Analysis

The Justices Had Their Say On Immunity. Is A DC Jury Next?

By Chris Villani

The limits of presidential immunity are once again set to be tested after a D.C. federal judge ruled President Donald Trump must face civil claims over the Jan. 6, 2021, riots, clearing the way for trial and potentially another high-stakes appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Meta Pulls Some Attys' Social Media Addiction Ads

By Rachel Rippetoe

After losing a bellwether trial last month in one of a slew of cases from plaintiffs who claim to have been harmed by social media, Meta has begun removing ads from attorneys seeking clients with similar claims.

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NJ Man Who Sought To DQ US Atty Leadership To Plead Guilty

By Gina Kim

A criminal defendant who joined a pending bid to disqualify assistant U.S. attorneys overseeing the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey and escalated a constitutional challenge to its leadership structure told a federal judge Saturday he plans to plead guilty in his drug case. 

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Catching Up With Delaware's Chancery Court

By Jarek Rutz

The Delaware Chancery Court's docket this past week featured a mix of high-stakes settlements, fast-moving deal litigation, governance disputes and a notable post-trial ruling involving fraud-tainted loans.

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