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Mealey's Employment

  • July 26, 2021

    $13.5 Million Security Screening Time Class Suit Granted Final Approval

    LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky on July 22 granted final approval of a $13.5 million class settlement ending a long-running lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court twice and accused a company that provides warehouse labor services and Amazon.com Inc. of failing to pay workers for time spent waiting for and going through security screenings.

  • July 26, 2021

    Female Professional Soccer Players Seek Reversal Of Pay Bias Ruling

    PASADENA, Calif. — Members of the U.S. Senior Women’s National Soccer Team (USWNT) asked the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a July 23 brief to reverse a trial court’s summary judgment ruling on their biased pay class complaint and remand it for trial as the evidence shows that the U.S. Soccer Federation Inc. (USSF) pays them less than their male counterparts in violation of the Equal Pay Act (EPA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

  • July 23, 2021

    Pizza Delivery Drivers’ Wage Settlement Approved After Attorney Fees Reduced

    BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky on July 13 granted final approval of a more than $750,000 collective and class settlement between a Papa John’s franchisee and delivery drivers who brought wage claims but reduced the attorney fees requested as the attorneys would receive more than the actual claim payments to the class.

  • July 23, 2021

    DOL Recovers Back Wages For More Than 100 Employees Of Denny’s Franchisee

    HOUSTON — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on July 20 announced the recovery of $73,735 in wages for 160 employees after a Denny’s franchisee illegally deducted the costs of uniforms from employees resulting in wages less than the minimum requirements.

  • July 23, 2021

    7th Circuit Passes On Wage Collective Action Dispute, Reinstates Individual Claims

    CHICAGO — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 16 reinstated individual wage claims by a former employee who alleges that she was denied her full wages, but declined to decide an issue that was “barely briefed” on whether a named plaintiff bringing collective claims must file his or her own written consent, noting that other circuits appear to be split on that issue and that it will likely arise again “at some point.”

  • July 22, 2021

    Sex Harassment Class Claims Against McDonald’s Survive Motions To Dismiss, Strike

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on July 20 denied motions to dismiss and strike claims of sexual harassment, hostile work environment and retaliation in a class lawsuit alleging years of “pervasive” unwanted treatment of females in locations around the country.

  • July 22, 2021

    Split NLRB: Inflatable Rat, Banners Did Not Violate NLRA

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Labor Relations Board ruled 3-1 on July 21 that a union’s display of the 12-foot inflatable “Scabby the Rat” and two large banners targeting a “neutral” employer near the public entrance to a trade show did not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA); the ruling came nearly nine months after the NLRB invited briefing regarding such displays on public property.

  • July 21, 2021

    Survivors Of 2 Who Died Of COVID-19 Seek To Hold Plant, Partner Responsible

    TEXARKANA, Texas — The survivors of two individuals who died of COVID-19 filed a response on July 16 in a federal court in Texas opposing one of three motions to dismiss their wrongful death lawsuit in which they accuse the operators of a meat-packing plant and a partner of creating an environment in which there was an “uncontrolled” outbreak of the disease.

  • July 21, 2021

    Ex-Employee Lacks Standing To Bring UCL Claim For Unpaid ‘Sham’ Raises

    LOS ANGELES — A California appellate panel on July 20 affirmed a trial court’s dismissal of a former employee’s claim under California’s unfair competition law (UCL) after finding that the employee lacked standing to claim that her employer failed to pay her for raises it recorded in its internal bookkeeping because she was never made aware of the raises or signed any relevant documentation.

  • July 21, 2021

    6th Circuit Upholds Jury Award In Minor’s Harassment Suit Against Steak ‘N Shake

    CINCINNATI — A minor who alleged that she was sexually harassed at her place of employment successfully proved a hostile work environment and harassment but failed to establish that reporting the harassment was the but-for cause of removing her from the work schedule, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in a July 8 amended opinion, affirming a jury’s award of punitive damages and the trial court’s calculation of attorney fees for the former employee and the summary judgment ruling for the employer on the retaliation claim.

  • July 21, 2021

    Contractor Cited By DOL For Willful Safety Failures After Fatal Trench Collapse

    HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced July 14 that it proposed $110,590 in penalties after citing a Huntsville contracting company following the death of an employee when a trench collapsed around him.

  • July 21, 2021

    1st Circuit Declines Request To Adopt Expanded Single Filing Rule In Age Bias Suit

    BOSTON — A First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on July 9 declined an employee’s request in an age bias lawsuit that it adopt a version of the “single file” rule that would permit a nonexhausting plaintiff to piggyback on a timely filed administrative filing that did not provide notice of wider spread discrimination, writing that the case before it and the circumstances presented did “not lend themselves to a thoughtful application of a reasonable variant of the rule.”

  • July 20, 2021

    Waste Management Company Will Pay Whistleblower Back Wages In OSHA Settlement

    NORTHBROOK, Ill. — A federal judge in Illinois has approved a settlement between the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration and a waste management company under which the employer, accused of retaliating against a driver who reported a workplace injury, will pay the whistleblower $95,000 in back wages and provide a neutral employment recommendation, the DOL announced July 16.

  • July 19, 2021

    Federal Jury Returns $125M Verdict Against Wal-Mart In EEOC Disability Bias Suit

    GREEN BAY, Wis. — A jury in a federal court in Wisconsin on July 15 returned a $125,150,000 verdict for a former Wal-Mart Stores East LP employee with Down syndrome whose disability was not accommodated and led to her firing, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleged in its complaint brought on behalf of the former employee.

  • July 16, 2021

    Employer, Worker Who Complained About Lack Of PPE Resolve FFCRA Lawsuit

    PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on July 6 dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit by a former nursing home employee who alleged retaliation for a complaint about the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) after a resident tested positive for COVID-19, writing that the parties “resolved” their issues.

  • July 16, 2021

    DOL Recovers Back Wages From Hotel Franchisee For Housekeepers

    FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recovered $67,556 in back wages for 18 employees of a North Carolina hotel franchisee after determining that the employer’s piece-rate rate practice for housekeepers caused the hourly rate for some to fall below the federal minimum wage, the DOL announced July 14.

  • July 15, 2021

    Pennsylvania Federal Judge Trims Testimony From Expert In Wrongful Termination Suit

    PHILADELPHIA — Calculations on lost front pay and tuition remission “rest on assumptions unsupported by the factual record and are therefore unreliable,” a Pennsylvania federal judge said July 7, partially granting a motion to exclude an economic damages expert who was retained by a fired employee in a wrongful termination suit.

  • July 15, 2021

    Edward Jones Will Pay $34M To End Class Claims Of Racial Discrimination

    CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on July 12 granted final approval of a $34 million class settlement to be paid by Edward D. Jones & Co. L.P. to end claims that it segregated its workforce and denied African Americans income and advancement opportunities.

  • July 13, 2021

    1st Circuit:  Agreement’s Silence Dooms Right To Class Arbitration

    BOSTON — A trial court did not err in granting a preliminary injunction to an au pair agency seeking to halt an au pair’s attempt to proceed with class arbitration as the employment contract between the two made no mention of class arbitration, a First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled July 9.

  • July 09, 2021

    S.C. Panel Affirms Court’s Grant Of Insurer’s Motion To Strike Jury Demand

    COLUMBIA, S.C. — A South Carolina appeals court on July 7 affirmed a lower court’s grant of an insurer’s motion to strike an insured’s jury trial demand in the insurer’s breach of contract lawsuit seeking to recoup unpaid premiums.