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Mealey's Employment

January 10, 2024
Employee Seeks Rehearing After Causation Standard For Retaliation Claims Ruling

ATLANTA — A former Walgreen Co. employee petitioned the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for rehearing after the panel ruled that the proper causation standard for retaliation claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Florida’s Private Sector Whistleblower Act (FWA) is the but-for causation and the majority affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling for Walgreen.
January 10, 2024
Railroad Argues Against High Court Review Of Service Dog Accommodation Denial

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A petition by a conductor whose request to bring a service dog aboard moving freight trains as an accommodation to help his posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and migraines as a result of prior military service was denied has failed to show that review is needed by the U.S. Supreme Court as the worker did not properly preserve the question he presented and the decision by the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals is consistent with other circuits and the views of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Union Pacific Railroad Co. argues in its brief in opposition.
January 09, 2024
Labor Department Announces Final Independent Contractor Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Jan. 9 announced the final rule on classifying workers as employees or independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which the DOL states “restores the multifactor analysis used by courts for decades” and rescinds the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule.
January 09, 2024
5th Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment For Employer In EEOC’s Pandemic Mask Case

NEW ORLEANS — A trial court properly granted summary judgment to an employer accused by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of creating a hostile work environment and constructive discharge after a manager criticized a worker for asking to wear a mask during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as the claims “are foreclosed by [Fifth Circuit] precedent,” a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled in a per curiam opinion.
January 09, 2024
Governors’ Non-Federalized Guardsman Vaccine Case Jointly Dismissed

TYLER, Texas — A federal judge in Texas filed an order stating that the dismissal of a case by the governors of Texas and Alaska over a COVID-19 vaccine mandate and non-federalized members of the National Guard was automatic after the parties filed a joint stipulation of dismissal.
January 08, 2024
Uber Driver’s FAA Exemption Petition Denied By U.S. High Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. high court justices on Jan. 8 denied a petition by a rideshare driver seeking a ruling on whether transportation workers who transport passengers across state lines are “‘engaged in interstate commerce’” and exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).
January 08, 2024
Military Vaccine Mandate Case Mootness Petition Denied By U.S. Supreme Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A petition for a writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court by former members of the military whose challenge to a COVID-19 vaccine requirement while they were still active members was deemed moot due to their departure from the military and the termination of the mandate was denied Jan. 8 by the high court justices.
January 08, 2024
11th Circuit: Rehearing Extension Granted After Title VII Bias Framework Ruling

ATLANTA — The 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a docket entry granted a motion for an extension of time to move for a rehearing request filed by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (FDJJ) after the panel ruled that the McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green framework is not “a stand-in for the ultimate question of liability in Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] discrimination cases.”
January 05, 2024
Home Depot’s $750,000 Settlement Approved In Class Wage Dispute

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal magistrate judge in California granted final approval of a $750,000 settlement to be paid by Home Depot U.S.A. Inc. after modifying the requested attorney fees in a class complaint by a night team merchandising execution associate (night team MEA) who alleged that he and other night team MEAs were denied meal and rest periods and overtime and subjected to other wage-and-hour violations.
January 05, 2024
Certification Of Arbitration Legal Issues For Appeal Denied In NFL Coaches’ Suit

NEW YORK — A federal judge in New York on Jan. 4 denied a motion by National Football League (NFL) coaches who are suing the NFL and football teams for alleged racial discrimination seeking to certify for appeal certain legal issues that led the trial court to compel arbitration.
January 05, 2024
Former Dave Ramsey Employee Appeals Dismissal Of Failed COVID-19 Protection Claims

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A former employee of Dave Ramsey and his company, The Lampo Group LLC, filed a notice of appeal after a federal judge in Tennessee dismissed the employee’s remaining claims in a lawsuit alleging failure to take precautions against the spread of COVID-19 during the initial days of the coronavirus pandemic, defying Tennessee stay at-home-orders by holding large, in-person meetings of approximately 900 employees and telling employees that prayer was the way to avoid infection.
January 05, 2024
Virginia Security Company Agrees To Settle EEOC’s Bias Suit Over Facial Hair

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Virginia company that provides protective services to federal agencies will pay a former employee $110,759 and provide other relief to end a religious discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after it allegedly failed to provide accommodation to and then fired an employee who held a Christian belief that men must wear beards, according to the consent decree signed by a federal judge in the District of Columbia.
January 05, 2024
DOL Announces $1.1M Overtime Wage Recovery For 165 Garment Workers

LOS ANGELES — I Am Beyond LLC, doing business as the Beyond Yoga apparel brand, agreed to pay $1.1 million in back wages and damages after the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) found that four of its sewing contractors denied workers overtime wages and attempted to conceal the wage theft, the DOL announced Jan. 3.
January 03, 2024
Amazon As Amicus Urges High Court To Find Delivery Drivers Not Exempt From FAA

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Amazon.com Inc. filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court supporting a baked goods company and its subsidiaries that are arguing in a wage-and-hour putative collective and class case that its independent distributors do not fall within the carveout in Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) for workers engaged in interstate commerce.
January 03, 2024
Amazon Worker Seeks Final Approval Of Pandemic Home-Based Expenses Settlement

SAN FRANCISCO — An Amazon worker who sued seeking reimbursement for internet expenses incurred while working from home during the coronavirus pandemic filed a motion in a federal court in California for final approval of a $950,000 class settlement to be paid by Amazon.com Services LLC.
January 03, 2024
Judge Denies PetSmart Worker’s Motion To Certify Appeal Of Arbitration Order

SAN FRANCISCO — A California federal judge on Jan. 2 denied a PetSmart LLC employee’s motion to certify an interlocutory appeal of the court’s prior order compelling arbitration of her claims that the pet store violated California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and other statutes by advertising pet groomer training as free in its job listings, writing that her claims are not exempt from a binding arbitration agreement because she does not seek public injunctive relief.
January 03, 2024
Domino’s Truck Drivers Urge High Court Denial Of FAA Exemption Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Domino’s Pizza LLC truck drivers (D&S drivers), found by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to be exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in their class case alleging unreimbursed business expenses and violation of California’s unfair competition law, filed a response brief, after initially waiving their right and then being asked to file one, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to deny Domino’s petition for a writ of certiorari.
January 03, 2024
Washington Supreme Court Finds Detainees In Work Program Are Employees

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Immigration detainees participating in a work program run by the owners and operator of a Tacoma, Wash., detention center are “employees” under the Washington Minimum Wage Act (WMWA), the Washington Supreme Court ruled in an opinion addressing three questions certified by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a wage-and-hour class dispute.
January 03, 2024
UPS Agrees To Pay $150,000 To End EEOC’s Suit After Firing Diabetic Worker

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) will pay $150,000, offer reinstatement and provide other relief to end a complaint by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed in a federal court in Florida after it fired a worker with diabetes.
January 03, 2024
Workers, Walmart Reach $5.2M Class Settlement In COVID-19 Screening Suit

FRESNO, Calif. — Workers who sued Walmart Inc. in a federal court in California alleging that the retailer’s policy requiring nonexempt workers in California to undergo a COVID-19 screening each shift without pay violated state and federal wage-and-hour laws as well as California’s unfair competition law filed a motion for preliminary approval of a $5.2 million class settlement.
January 03, 2024
9th Circuit Reverses CAFA Controversy Amount Ruling In Wage Suit Against Siemens

PASADENA, Calif. — A trial court erred when it ruled that an engineering and technological solutions company failed to show that there was at least $5 million in controversy in a wage-and-hour putative class complaint by a worker, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in an unpublished memorandum, remanding for further proceedings.
January 02, 2024
Trade Group, Policy Center Support McDonald’s Petition In No-Poach Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court should grant certiorari to a fast food franchisor seeking a ruling on the appropriate analysis for Sherman Act claims regarding intrabrand hiring restraints, a nonprofit research and policy center and a trade group argue in separate amicus curiae briefs.
January 02, 2024
Groupon Establishes Education Fund For Black STEM Students To End EEOC Investigation

CHICAGO — Groupon Inc. will establish an education fund for Black science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) students and contribute $350,000 to the fund to resolve the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s review of recruitment and hiring practices, the EEOC announced.
December 20, 2023
Counsel’s Withdrawal Request Granted In Founder’s Suit Against Insolvent Insurer

DENVER — A Colorado state court judge granted a motion to withdraw filed by counsel for Friday Health Plans Management Services Co. Inc. (FHP MSC), a subsidiary of insolvent health insurer Friday Health Plans Inc. (FHP), in a breach of contract suit filed by FHP’s co-founder and former president, seeking severance after he was terminated purportedly without cause.
December 20, 2023
3rd Circuit Upholds Workers’ Exclusion From Affiliate’s ERISA Benefit Plans

PHILADELPHIA — In a nonprecedential disposition, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel affirmed that two individuals weren’t wrongfully denied participation in employee benefit plans offered by a corporation affiliated with the golf club they worked at, with one member opining that her “colleagues problematically ignore essential principles of res judicata.”