Analysis

Whistleblower 'Gold Rush' Might Strain DOJ, Experts Warn

By Phillip Bantz

A new federal program offering cash for tips that result in criminal fraud charges is poised to set off a whistleblower "gold rush" that could uncover more fraudsters, but might also invite a high number of low-quality claims that burden businesses and strain limited U.S. Department of Justice resources, experts say.

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Maurene Comey Illegally Fired, Entitled To Pay, Judge Holds

By Pete Brush

Former New York federal prosecutor Maurene Comey was unlawfully fired by President Donald Trump's administration, a federal judge in Manhattan held Monday, granting back pay and potentially legal fees to the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey.

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Colo. Staffing Cos. Settle Travel Nurses' OT Suit For $7M

By Rachel Konieczny

Two Colorado travel nurse staffing companies and thousands of travel nurses have reached a $7 million settlement to end a class and collective action accusing the companies of underpaying their workers.

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Hewlett Packard Hits Exec With AI Trade Secret Suit

By Adam Lidgett

Hewlett Packard Enterprise says in a Colorado federal court suit that an executive it has placed on administrative leave is improperly in possession of trade secrets covering an artificial intelligence tool he oversaw the development of.

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Ex-Exec's Bias Suit Says BofA Penalized Him For Family Care

By Grace Elletson

Bank of America penalized a white ex-executive in his 50s for working from an office closer to his sick mother, while allowing non-white and younger employees to utilize similar flexible work arrangements without issue, according to a bias suit filed in North Carolina federal court.

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Colo. Wind Tower Maker Shorted Workers On OT, Suit Says

By MJ Koo

A wind turbine tower manufacturer has been accused in Colorado federal court of shaving minutes off factory workers' paid time by rounding their clock-in times, leaving them without overtime pay for work they did before their 12-hour shifts started.

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Farmworker Seeks Higher Atty Fees, Citing 9th Circ. Ruling

By Katherine Smith

A farmworker and a union urged a Washington federal court to increase a previous attorney fee award to nearly $430,000 following a recent Ninth Circuit decision in their favor, arguing they are entitled to more fees due to their success in challenging the federal government's agricultural wage survey methodology.

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Federal Unions Urge Court To Scrap Arbitration Restrictions

By Benjamin Morse

Four federal employee unions urged a D.C. federal judge to overturn new restrictions on obtaining arbitration panels, arguing that a federal labor agency illegally abandoned its decades-old practice of honoring unions' requests without requiring their employers' consent.

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Teachers Union Meme Fight Targets Legal Opinion, Court Told

By Lauraann Wood

The Chicago Teachers Union should not be allowed to pursue defamation claims over two "meme tweets" that criticized its untimely financial auditing, and the union should be ordered to pay the legal fees involved in tossing its complaint taking aim at constitutionally protected opinions, the Liberty Justice Center argued.

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NBCUniversal Sued Over Alleged Leak Of Employee Data

By Craig Clough

An NBCUniversal employee filed a proposed class action in New York federal court over the company's alleged "incompetent" security measures that led to a cybercriminal organization hacking sensitive personal records of around 35,000 workers.

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Conn. Justice Insists PTSD A 'Physical' Injury In Comp Case

By Brian Steele

A Connecticut Supreme Court justice told counsel for the town of East Hartford on Monday that post-traumatic stress disorder is a physical injury, even though it is not observable with X-rays and other medical detection methods, and it is "nonsense" to suggest otherwise amid workers' compensation litigation.

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2nd Circ. EFAA Ruling Shifts Employer Litigation Strategy

In Diaz-Roa v. Hermes Law, the Second Circuit recently held that, under the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, employers can't carve out nonharassment claims and send them to arbitration, which has implications for discovery, litigation costs and resolution strategy in EFAA-covered disputes, say attorneys at Krevolin Horst.

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At 4th Circ., DOJ Admits But Downplays Goldstein Trial Errors

By Jeff Overley

The U.S. Department of Justice late Tuesday acknowledged that it confused key statutory terms related to jury instructions at famed appellate advocate Tom Goldstein's criminal trial, while also insisting "the government's mistake here was understandable" and shouldn't upend a jury's guilty verdict.

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Brief

Fenwick & West To Match $235K Salary Scale For Associates

By Tracey Read

Fenwick & West LLP is reportedly the latest firm that will raise associate pay in the new year.

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Ex-Fla. Bar Prez Accused Of Botching $350M Estate Claim

By Carolina Bolado

The widow of a Miami real estate investor is suing a former president of the Florida Bar for malpractice, claiming his botched representation left her without a claim to her late husband's $350 million estate.

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Analysis

3 Federal Circuit Clashes To Watch In November

By Ryan Davis

A high-stakes case that will determine whether the U.S. government should face patent infringement claims over Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines and Labcorp's appeal of a nine-figure patent verdict against it are among the arguments the Federal Circuit will hear in November.

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4th Circ. Says W.Va. Daniel's Law Is Unconstitutional

By Rose Krebs

The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed a district court determination striking down as unconstitutional West Virginia's law restricting the publication of the home addresses and phone numbers of law enforcement and judicial officials, saying the district court applied "well-established" First Amendment principles.

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