5th Circ. Faults NLRB's Take On Starbucks Worker's Language

By Braden Campbell

The Fifth Circuit has ordered the National Labor Relations Board to rethink a ruling that Starbucks unfairly fired a union backer who sent profane messages and opened its mail, saying the board did not grapple with evidence showing his "extreme" words were an outlier in a workplace that tolerated some profanity.

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EEOC Poised To Scuttle EEO-1 Reporting Requirement

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is close to ending its annual collection of workplace demographic data now that a proposed rule that would rescind employers' reporting requirements has been sent to the White House for approval.

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Judge Permanently Blocks NLRB In Constitutionality Case

By Braden Campbell

A Texas federal judge on Friday permanently blocked the National Labor Relations Board from prosecuting a social services platform, saying agency officials' job protections are unconstitutional and inseparable from federal law, and that the board's pursuit of novel remedies flouts its targets' jury rights.

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6th Circ. Backs Machinery Dealer In Fired Worker's FMLA Suit

By Grace Elletson

The Sixth Circuit declined to revive a worker's suit claiming a heavy machinery dealer fired him for seeking leave to manage his mental health and that his union failed to challenge his termination, ruling he lacked evidence that prejudice informed his firing rather than his performance issues.

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Mistrial In Weinstein Case As NY Jury Splits 9-3 To Acquit

By Frank G. Runyeon

A Manhattan judge declared a mistrial Friday on a rape charge against Harvey Weinstein following a deadlock where most jurors voted to acquit the once-powerful Hollywood producer, ending a three-week trial that leaned heavily on the credibility of a single accuser and put questions of consent at the center of the case.

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Fla. Agency Boss Hit With Sanctions In Suit Over Kirk Meme

By David Minsky

A Florida federal judge penalized a state wildlife agency supervisor with attorney fees and ordered parts of her sworn statement removed, saying she misled the court to deny a preliminary injunction in a former worker's lawsuit alleging wrongful termination for posting a meme satirizing slain right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk.

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Roundup

Employment Authority: Circuits Sketch Boundaries On DEI

By Benjamin Morse

Law360 Employment Authority covers the biggest employment cases and trends. Catch up this week with coverage on how federal appellate courts are shaping the boundaries of workplace diversity initiatives amid rising legal challenges, how organized labor is ramping up efforts to influence the use of artificial intelligence on the job and the uncertainty surrounding future overtime rulemaking after the U.S. Department of Labor opted to restore a prior salary threshold rather than introduce a new one.

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Atlanta Court Clerk Says City Fired Her After Maternity Leave

By Benjamin Morse

A former court clerk sued the city of Atlanta and several officials in Georgia federal court, alleging she was fired less than a month after returning from maternity leave in retaliation for whistleblowing, taking leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act and complaining about workplace misconduct.

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Ex-HR Director Drops FMLA Suit Against Telehealth Co.

By Kelcey Caulder

A former human resources manager who alleged she was not given the chance to take paid leave and was fired by Iris Telehealth after suffering a miscarriage last summer has voluntarily dismissed her suit, according to Georgia federal court records.

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CSU Cuts $12M Deal To End Fired Admins' Sex Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

Two female former California State University administrators announced Friday that CSU will pay them $12 million to resolve their suit claiming they were fired for protesting gender bias and pay discrimination, after a jury awarded one of the women $6 million on her harassment claims.

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Spokane Firefighters Denied Early Win In Vax Exemption Suit

By Patrick Hoff

A federal court refused Friday to hand a quick win to a group of firefighters who said the city of Spokane, Washington, refused to accommodate their religious objections to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate, ruling they hadn't provided enough information about their beliefs.

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Brief

Bag Maker Settles Workers' Race Bias Suit As Trial Looms

By Brian Steele

About two months after losing a summary judgment bid, a plastic and paper bag manufacturer has settled a lawsuit claiming it punished two Black workers for complaining about colleagues' racist comments, Connecticut federal court records show.

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Former Google Employee Alleges Racial Bias Behind Firing

By Celeste Bott

A former Google employee sued the tech giant in Illinois state court, claiming he suffered pervasive racial discrimination from his direct supervisor that ultimately culminated in his termination, purportedly for poor productivity, even when he was at a pace to meet or exceed his revenue targets.

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Brief

Soda Bottler Strikes Deal To End EEOC Disability Bias Suit

By Patrick Hoff

A North Carolina soft drink bottling company has agreed to settle a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission lawsuit alleging it refused to permanently hire a probationary employee with multiple sclerosis, according to a federal court filing.

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Texas Oil Co. Defeats Race And ADHD Bias Claims

By José Luis Martínez

A Texas federal judge on Friday ended a former Apache Corp. employee's race and disability discrimination suit before jurors could deliberate, granting motions for judgment by the company and its parent that said the ex-employee was not able to offer evidence on any of her claims.

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Restaurant Group Gets Final OK For $800K Wage Settlement

By Rachel Konieczny

A Colorado state judge on Friday approved a Denver restaurant group's $800,000 settlement of a class action by workers who accused it of failing to fully compensate employees and firing a worker who refused to sign a form barring him from joining a class action.

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Brief

Realty Co. Workers Lose Bid To Fight Collective Cert. Denial

By Abigail Harrison

A North Carolina federal court declined to let employees alleging a property management company shortchanged them on overtime wages haul a recent order denying a bid for collective certification into the Fourth Circuit. 

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Brief

DOL Wants English Standard In Labor Certs For Drivers

By Tom Lotshaw

The U.S. Department of Labor said new guidance clarifies that employers must include an English proficiency standard in job orders and labor certification applications for positions that would have foreign workers operate commercial motor vehicles.

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6th Circ. Won't Rehear Kellogg, FedEx Mortality Table Suits

By Kellie Mejdrich

The Sixth Circuit on Friday refused to rethink a panel's earlier decision that revived two proposed class actions against cereal giant Kellogg and transportation company FedEx in which retirees allege that their pension payments were lowballed due to outdated mortality tables used in conversions.

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McKesson Settles Trade Secrets Suit Against Former Exec

By Zach Dupont

A healthcare services company and the former senior executive it accused of disclosing confidential information and trade secrets reached a settlement, dismissing the case less than two months after the company filed its complaint, according to a joint stipulation for dismissal filed Friday in Colorado federal court.

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9th Circ. Won't Revisit Wash. Professor Free Speech Ruling

By Crystal Owens

The Ninth Circuit won't revisit a decision saying the University of Washington violated a computer science professor's First Amendment rights after he voiced opposition to the school's policy that acknowledges Indigenous tribes as the traditional caretakers of the campus' land.

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Nursing Home Ch. 11 Trustee Sues Ex-Execs Over Lost Funds

By Matthew Santoni

The trustee for a group of bankrupt Western Pennsylvania nursing homes says four former Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services executives improperly drained the companies of assets that should have been available to creditors, and asked a federal bankruptcy court to claw some of the money back.

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Startup Founder Disputes Increasingly Turn On Governance

Recent Delaware developments suggest that as courts place increasing emphasis on board process, independence and oversight in founder-led startups, the growing intersection of governance, technology risk and investor oversight is accelerating both the emergence and escalation of founder disputes, says mediator Frank Burke.

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Model Jury Instructions Provide Next Step In Aligning DTSA

As the Defend Trade Secrets Act turns 10, new model jury instructions published by the Sedona Conference map emerging issues and jurisdictional splits, representing a significant step toward harmonizing DTSA trial practice, says Amy Candido at Simpson Thacher.

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What Jury Holdouts Can Teach Trial Lawyers About Strategy

Though a hung jury can be a disappointment, a psychological understanding of jury holdouts can help trial lawyers shape their damages arguments and understand leadership and group composition as a function of jury selection, says Clint Townson at Townson Litigation.

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3 AI Adoption Mistakes GCs Should Avoid

The pressure in-house legal teams face to quickly adopt artificial intelligence tools, combined with budget constraints and the need to evaluate a crowded market of options, sets the stage for implementation mistakes that are often difficult to undo, says former 23andMe general counsel Guy Chayoun.

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ABA Section Votes To Scrap Law School DEI Standards

By Emma Cueto

The American Bar Association's legal education section on Friday voted to eliminate its requirements that law schools show a commitment to diversity in their student body in order to remain accredited, a policy that has been under fire since a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action in higher education.

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Fed. Circ. Drops A Theme Song, Talks Guest Judges

By Dani Kass

The Federal Circuit's full lineup came together Friday to provide practitioners with insight about their experience sitting on other courts, in a conference where the chief judge dropped the court's first (and only) single.

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Alston & Bird, Banks Sued Again Over $328M Goliath Scam

By Jack Karp

Another proposed class of investors sued Alston & Bird LLP and a trio of financial institutions Friday over their alleged roles in a $328 million cryptocurrency scam orchestrated by Goliath Ventures Inc.

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Fed. Circ. Urges Justices To Reject Newman Suspension Case

By Ryan Davis

The Federal Circuit has urged the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear Judge Pauline Newman's appeal targeting a suspension imposed on her by the court's other judges, arguing that a lower court correctly held that her challenges to the order are not subject to judicial review.

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week

By Kevin Penton

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP and Haynes Boone lead this week's edition of Law360 Legal Lions, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal courts that have sent disputes to arbitration have jurisdiction to confirm or vacate subsequent awards.

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Brief

Colorado Passes Bill Banning Fee Sharing With Nonlawyers

By Emily Sawicki

The Colorado Legislature has approved a bill to bar attorneys and law firms operating in the state from sharing fees and revenue with non-attorney-owned firms, known as alternative business structure firms, making Colorado the latest state to tamp down the practice.

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Girardi Trial Judge Josephine Staton To Take Senior Status

By Ryan Boysen

The California federal judge who sentenced disgraced trial attorney Tom Girardi to prison for wire fraud last year has announced that she'll be taking senior status in the fall, allowing President Donald Trump to appoint her successor.

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Roundup

Balancing The Scales: Justices To Revisit Sentencing Rules

By Orlando Lorenzo

The U.S. Supreme Court will take a closer look at a circuit split over the deference that should be allotted to U.S. Sentencing Commission commentary, and a man convicted in the killing of an infant has been released after 27 years served over evidence that points to pneumonia as the likely cause of death.

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Atty Tied To Trump Pardon Headed For August Extortion Trial

By Stewart Bishop

A New York federal judge on Friday set an August trial date for a South Carolina attorney and lobbyist on extortion charges tied to his work as a purported go-between for people with serious legal troubles seeking clemency from President Donald Trump.

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Roundup

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

By Megan Norcott

The past week in London has seen singer Rita Ora be sued by her management company, the billionaire Gertner brothers file a part 8 claim and Stephenson Harwood lodge a debt claim against a member of the Bulgari jewelry dynasty. Here, Law360 looks at these and other new claims in the U.K.

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Roundup

GC Cheat Sheet: The Hottest Corporate News Of The Week

By Michele Gorman

PayPal settled with the DOJ to end a probe into what the government agency said was a discriminatory investment program for Black- and minority-owned businesses. Meanwhile, Meta's global head of legal operations during a panel discussion predicted that the billable hour will be the exception — not the rule — in five years. These are among the stories in corporate legal news you may have missed in the past week.

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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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