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Mealey's Employment

September 06, 2023
University Worker Seeks Rehearing After 6th Circuit Upholds Vaccine Mandate

CINCINNATI — A Michigan State University (MSU) worker suing on behalf of a putative class that opposes the school’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate filed a petition for rehearing en banc after a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that the mandate did not violate employees’ constitutional rights and was not preempted by federal law.
September 06, 2023
Eden Foods Will Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment Case For More Than $182,500

DETROIT — Eden Foods Inc. will pay more than $182,500 to settle a complaint filed in a federal court in Michigan by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that the president and owner of the company repeatedly touched female employees in inappropriate ways, made sexual innuendos, commented on females’ bodies and used derogatory names for women, the EEOC announced in a press release.
September 06, 2023
6th Circuit Affirms NLRB’s Ruling For Union In Spat With Starbucks

CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed a trial court’s temporary injunction requiring the reinstatement of seven Starbucks Corp. employees and relief issued at the request of the National Labor Relations Board while it decides whether Starbucks’ actions were an attempt to quash pro-union activities.
September 06, 2023
4th Circuit Denies Rehearing After Upholding Overtime, Damages For Sales Reps

RICHMOND, Va. — The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing en banc filed by an employer after a panel determined that three sales representatives who delivered their food products directly to stores and stocked shelves were properly awarded overtime wages plus liquidated damages within the standard two-year statute of limitations.
September 06, 2023
5th Circuit Agrees Staffing Agency Not Liable For Alleged Harassment

NEW ORLEANS — A staffing agency that placed two female workers with an offshore drilling contractor has not been shown to be liable for the alleged harassment that occurred at that workplace, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, affirming a trial court’s summary judgment ruling against the former workers who sued.
September 05, 2023
Judge Remands Fired ByteDance Engineer’s Suit, Dismisses Partial Copyright Claim

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Sept. 1 remanded to state court claims brought by a former engineer that ByteDance Inc., the owner of the TikTok social media app, violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by allegedly scraping other social media apps’ content and creating fake users to boost its platform, but dismissed the engineer’s claims against ByteDance to the extent they are preempted by federal copyright law.
September 05, 2023
Jury Awards $36M In EEOC Disability Bias Suit Against Werner Trucking

OMAHA, Neb. — A federal jury in Nebraska returned a $36 million verdict on Sept. 1 in a lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing Werner Enterprises Inc. and a subsidiary, Drivers Management LLC (together, Werner), of failing to hire and accommodate a deaf applicant in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
September 01, 2023
NLRB Overrules 2019 Test That Narrowed Concerted Activity Determination

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Labor Relations Board released a decision on Aug. 31 in a case by an employee fired after raising concerns about his employer’s protocols during the coronavirus pandemic overruling the 2019 decision in Alstate Maintenance, LLC that the majority says narrowly construed concerted activity and returning to the principle established in 1986 in Meyers Industries.
August 31, 2023
In 2-1 Decision, 9th Circuit Reverses On Threshold Question In Preemption Row

SAN FRANCISCO — In a 2-1 ruling concerning a threshold issue, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed and remanded a summary judgment order against a trade organization that argued that a city and county of San Francisco ordinance concerning health insurance benefits for airline employees is preempted by federal law including the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
August 31, 2023
California Appeals Court: School Controls Reimbursing Pandemic Work-From-Home Costs

LOS ANGELES — California State University (CSU) as a state agency had the discretion to set rules about work-from-home expense allowances during the coronavirus pandemic, a California appellate panel ruled, affirming a trial court’s judgment for the school in a putative class complaint by a professor.
August 30, 2023
Franchisor Seeks Emergency Stay While Appealing Ruling In Classification Class Case

SAN FRANCISCO — A cleaning service franchisor filed an emergency motion in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals seeking to completely stay proceedings in the trial court while it appeals denial of its motion to compel to arbitration absent class members in a misclassification case; the motion was filed one day after the trial court issued an order clarifying that the trial scheduled to commence Oct. 16 “will proceed as to all class members except the 125 and will include even the 125 if our court of appeals rules in time.”
August 30, 2023
Washington L&I As Amicus Says Immigration Detainees In Work Program Are Employees

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Federal immigration detainees who participate in a work program are employees within the meaning of the Washington Minimum Wage Act (WMWA), the Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) argues in an amicus brief filed in the state’s highest court addressing questions certified by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a wage-and-hour class dispute.
August 30, 2023
6th Circuit Denies Stay Sought By Doctor In Vaccine Challenge During Appeal

CINCINNATI — A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel denied an emergency motion for a stay filed by a doctor who is appealing the denial of his motion to intervene in a class lawsuit over a health care provider’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy.
August 30, 2023
2nd Circuit Upholds Forum Rule Application, Sanctions In WWE CTE Class, Mass Cases

NEW YORK — A trial court’s decisions to award World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and Vincent K. McMahon (together, WWE) sanctions and apply the forum rule to determine the amount in a class tort complaint and a mass action brought by the same attorney on behalf of allegedly injured wrestlers were upheld by a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel, which found that there was no abuse of discretion.
August 30, 2023
Sergeant To High Court: Disparate Treatment In Transfer Decisions Violates Title VII

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A St. Louis police sergeant who sued under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after she was forced into a job transfer that she alleges was based on her gender tells the U.S. Supreme Court in her petitioner brief that any disparate treatment in such a decision is outlawed and “does not require an additional showing of a ‘significant disadvantage’ or other heightened harm.”
August 29, 2023
Federal Employees, Union Argue Against High Court Hearing Vaccine Injunction Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should deny a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the federal government in a case challenging an executive order (EO) mandating the COVID-19 vaccine as granting United States v. Munsingwear relief “would be unprecedented and inequitable” and the case is not moot even though the mandate has since been revoked, federal employees and Feds for Medical Freedom, a federal employee union, argue in their opposition brief.
August 29, 2023
NLRB Reaffirms General Counsel’s Burden Under Wright Line

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A 2019 decision in Tschiggfrie Properties, Ltd. did not change the general counsel’s burden under Wright Line when attempting to establish whether a protected activity was a motivating factor in a challenged employment action, the National Labor Relations Board announced Aug. 28.
August 25, 2023
5th Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of Secretary’s Claims After Firing For Facebook Post

NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana court secretary who was fired after a co-worker complained about a comment she made, as well as her post on social media regarding a motorist who drove through a blockade of protestors, failed to show that her right to free speech outweighed the interests of the judicial district where she worked, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, affirming a trial court’s dismissal of her claims with prejudice.
August 25, 2023
NLRB Issues Union Election Procedures Final Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Labor Relations Board on Aug. 24 issued its final rule regarding procedures governing representation elections, largely reversing amendments made in 2019 and returning to procedures put in place in 2014.
August 24, 2023
Employees, Amazon File Notice Of Settlement In COVID-19 Screenings Case

FRESNO, Calif. — A notice of settlement was filed in a federal court in California by Amazon.com Services LLC and employees who filed a putative class complaint accusing the online retailer of failing to pay workers for time spent undergoing COVID-19 symptom screenings before their shifts.
August 24, 2023
NLRB Acting Regional Director Orders Union Election For University RAs

PHILADELPHIA — A National Labor Relations Board acting regional director issued a decision and direction of election, finding that all resident advisers (RAs) and graduate resident advisers (GRAs) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) “are employees within the meaning of the [National Labor Relations] Act.”
August 22, 2023
NFL, Teams Appeal Denial Of Arbitration As To Coach’s Race Bias Class Claims

NEW YORK — The National Football League (NFL) and three teams accused by a coach of racial discrimination as part of a larger scale putative class complaint filed a notice of appeal in a federal court in New York on Aug. 21 following a ruling partially compelling and partially denying arbitration and filed a letter requesting a stay.
August 21, 2023
Air Force Secretary, Others Ask High Court To Consider Vaccine Mandate Class Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should hear the appeal in a lawsuit filed by members of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force who refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons after the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals left in place class certification and a classwide injunction as the vaccine mandate has been rescinded, the appeals are moot and vacatur is appropriate under United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., the Air Force secretary and others argue in a petition for a writ of certiorari.
August 21, 2023
Employers Settle Claims They Trained Hiring Algorithm To Exclude Older Applicants

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — A trio of companies that provided English-language tutoring for individuals in China settled a case brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claiming that the employers trained their hiring algorithm to exclude older applicants.
August 17, 2023
Catholic School’s Firing Of Pregnant, Unmarried Teacher Upheld By N.J. High Court

TRENTON, N.J. — A Catholic school is permitted under the “religious tenets” exception to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) to fire an unmarried teacher who becomes pregnant, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled, declining to address the parties’ First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution arguments.