Deloitte Strikes $21.5M Deal With Feds Over DEI Policies

By Patrick Hoff

The U.S. Department of Justice said Tuesday that Deloitte will pay $21.5 million to resolve allegations that its diversity, equity and inclusion policies discriminated against workers because of their race and sex and violated the False Claims Act.

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NY Times Says EEOC Dragging Feet On Anti-White Bias Info

By Grace Elletson

The New York Times Company has sued the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming the anti-discrimination watchdog flouted federal law by failing to respond to requests for records of communications with conservative legal groups and agency efforts to investigate claims of bias against white workers.

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11th Circ. Won't Upend Ex-Deputy's $250K Retaliation Suit Win

By Patrick Hoff

The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday upheld a jury's $250,000 award to a former sheriff's deputy who claimed he was fired for filing a bias charge against a Florida county sheriff's office, ruling statements in the charge were protected even if the sheriff believed they were false.

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NAACP Warns Justices Colo. Pre-K Exemption Risks Bias

By Benjamin Morse

The NAACP and NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund urged the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Colorado's nondiscrimination rules for its universal preschool program, warning that allowing religious schools to receive public funds while excluding students based on sexual orientation or gender identity would undermine civil rights protections.

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Missouri Drops Bid To Block Minority Contracting Program

By Madeline Lyskawa

Missouri Attorney General Catherine L. Hanaway has withdrawn her attempt to block Kansas City's contracting program for minority- and women-owned businesses after the city passed an ordinance repealing the program.

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Colo. School District Says Ex-Coach's Bias Suit Lacking

By Jonathan Capriel

A Colorado school district is urging a federal court to dismiss a discrimination lawsuit brought by a Black assistant basketball coach who claims he was forced to resign after raising concerns about racism in the district, arguing that the coach's claims are legally deficient because he fails to identify a single similarly situated non-Black coach.

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Mass. Eatery Workers Sue Chain Over Tip, Wage Violations

By MJ Koo

A former server and bartender at a Massachusetts restaurant chain is accusing the company in a state court suit of improperly paying tipped workers the subminimum service rate for nontipped side work, sending workers home early without their full wages and unlawfully deducting fees from employees' tips.

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BofA Looks To Crush Mortgage Officers' Collective In OT Suit

By Hayley Fowler

Bank of America told a North Carolina federal judge on Tuesday that the individualized nature of a group of mortgage loan officers' jobs makes collective certification impossible in their overtime suit, saying there are multiple exemptions that could apply to any given officer.

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Potato Processor Fights Collective Bid In Break, OT Suit

By Benjamin Morse

A Washington potato processor urged a federal judge to reject a former forklift driver's bid to conditionally certify a statewide collective of hourly workers who say they were denied pay for automatically deducted meal breaks and pre-shift work.

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Health Exec Says CFO, Atty Knew Wage Claim Was Wrong

By MJ Koo

A former corporate officer has sued his ex-colleague and the colleague's attorney in Connecticut state court, alleging they named him as a personal defendant in a federal wage lawsuit without any factual basis and with the intent to pressure his company into settling claims it disputed.

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Trucordia, Ex-Producers Fight Over Arbitration Clause

By Jarek Rutz

Counsel for former insurance producers Arthur and Kirk Maberry urged the Delaware Chancery Court on Tuesday to send Trucordia's client-poaching lawsuit to arbitration, arguing that a broad arbitration clause in 2022 retention agreements still governs the dispute despite later employment and equity agreements.

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Genesis Says Ex-Brass Used Trade Secrets To Build Rival

By Emily Lever

Genesis Healthcare on Tuesday filed an adversary complaint against a former executive of Genesis subsidiary LTC ACO LLC accusing her of stealing company documents and trade secrets to form a rival company.

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Oura Ring Maker Says Ex-CEO Must Arbitrate Stock Claims

By Joyce Hanson

The manufacturer of the Oura Ring personal health and fitness tracking device has asked a Delaware federal court to order its ex-CEO to arbitrate claims accusing his former company and related entities of orchestrating a scheme to strip him of voting power.

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Vedder Adds Benefits And Exec Comp Pro From Winston Taylor

By Kellie Mejdrich

Vedder has added a seasoned employee benefits and executive compensation partner from Winston Taylor LLP to join its practice as a new shareholder in Chicago, where she will advise clients on a wide range of retirement, health and welfare benefits issues, the firm announced Tuesday.

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Greenberg Traurig Adds Morgan Lewis Employment Attorney

By Madison Arnold

A veteran Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP employment attorney in Miami has moved her practice to Greenberg Traurig LLP, the firm announced Tuesday.

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Navigating Rising AI Use In Pro Se Employment Suits

As federal pro se employment filings climb, largely due to increased use of artificial intelligence, defense attorneys can combat AI misuse by building AI-specific protective order language, screening documents for hidden prompt injections and seeking sanctions over fabricated citations, says Ashley Prickett Cuttino at Ogletree.

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What To Know As Legal Duty To Consider AI Takes Shape

While the U.K. Jurisdiction Taskforce’s recent statement on liability for artificial intelligence harms is nonbinding for both U.K. and U.S. lawyers, it highlights the importance of being able to distinguish between the availability of a tool and a professional obligation to use it, say Jonny Frank and Michael Costa at StoneTurn.

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Calif. Bill Curbing PE Role In Litigation Heads To Newsom

By Lauren Berg

A California bill to ban corporate investors from influencing litigation strategy is heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk after passing with bipartisan support from the state Legislature.

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Pillsbury Settles Ex-Recruiting Director's Pregnancy Bias Suit

By Grace Elletson

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP has settled a Black former director's suit claiming the law firm fired her weeks after she shared that she was pregnant and would need accommodations, according to a Tennessee federal court filing.

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DOJ Flags Breach Of Internal Policies In Apple Suit

By Bryan Koenig

The U.S. Department of Justice told a New Jersey federal judge Tuesday that its staffers breached internal policies when they shared personally identifiable information with an outside discovery vendor that was hired not by the department, but instead by the DOJ's state attorneys general partners, in the monopolization case against Apple.

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Prosecutors Say Goldstein Must Stay Behind Bars

By Jared Foretek

Federal prosecutors told the Fourth Circuit on Tuesday to keep convicted Supreme Court attorney Thomas Goldstein behind bars while he appeals his conviction, arguing that he remains a serious flight risk with wealthy overseas connections and "an ongoing danger" whose tax crimes continued "even after conviction."

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Arizona Atty Reprimanded For Series Of AI Errors

By Matt Perez

An Arizona federal judge has formally reprimanded a lawyer who admitted to filing four briefs that contained errors including false quotes and a faulty case summary generated with artificial intelligence amid an employment discrimination suit, noting the lawyer previously faced sanctions on two separate occasions for violating court rules.

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House Committee Wants DOL IG To Widen Info-Sharing Probe

By Benjamin Morse

Top House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans urged the U.S. Department of Labor's watchdog Wednesday to expand its review of information-sharing arrangements with outside groups, asking whether three additional agencies improperly disclosed confidential investigative material during the Biden administration.

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