Mealey's Employment : Mealey's : Legal News & Analysis

Mealey's Employment

January 29, 2024
NLRB, Union Seek Denial Of Petition In General Counsel Complaint Withdrawal Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Labor Relations Board and Teamsters Local 117 and 313 filed separate briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to deny an employer’s petition seeking a decision on whether an agency officer’s definite term of office bars without-cause removal and whether the NLRB’s general counsel may withdraw an administrative complaint after a motion for summary judgment has been filed.
January 29, 2024
Former Employee Alleges Termination For Refusing COVID Vaccine Was Discrimination

PORTLAND, Ore. — Alleging that her employer failed to make a good faith effort to accommodate her religious beliefs and medical disability, both of which led her to decline a company-mandated COVID-19 vaccination, an Idaho woman filed suit against the employer in an Oregon federal court, seeking compensatory and punitive damages after the company terminated her employment.
January 29, 2024
7-Eleven To Mass. High Court: Franchisees Don’t Perform Services For Franchisor

BOSTON — Addressing the most recent question certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court by the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an employment classification case, 7-Eleven Inc. argues in its brief that its franchisees do not trigger the Massachusetts test for independent contractor misclassification, also known as the “ABC” test, as their contractual obligations, including paying a percentage of their profit to the franchisor, do not constitute “services” under that test.
January 26, 2024
Freight Transporter Waives Response To Workers’ FMLA Interference Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A rail-based freight transportation company waived its right to respond to a U.S. Supreme Court petition concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) filed by workers after the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment and dismissal ruling for the employer in a discrimination and retaliation case in which the workers alleged that they were wrongly found to have sought treatment for bogus or exaggerated injuries.
January 26, 2024
Magistrate: Parties In FCA Suit Must Respond To Intervention By Specific Date

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana federal magistrate judge ordered parties to respond by Feb. 5 to the state’s motion to intervene in a suit filed by a health care network’s former employee, who alleges that his termination was in retaliation for his expressing concerns over the network’s purported False Claims Act (FCA) violations by illegally inducing physicians to refer patients to the network’s hospitals.
January 26, 2024
5th Circuit Denies Rehearing After Upholding Dismissal Of Director’s RICO Claims

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing filed by a former Louisiana State University (LSU) assistant athletic director after a panel affirmed dismissal of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims in a case in which the employee alleged that she was retaliated against for reporting sexual harassment by the school’s former football coach.
January 26, 2024
7th Circuit Denies US Foods Rehearing After Age Bias Ruling For Employee

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc filed by US Foods Inc. after a panel reversed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling for the employer in an age discrimination case and found that the employee “presented significant evidence to establish an inference of discrimination.”
January 25, 2024
Amazon’s $950,000 Pandemic Home-Based Expenses Class Settlement Approved

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a $950,000 settlement between Amazon.com Services LLC and a class of California-based workers who alleged that they were denied reimbursement for internet expenses they incurred while working from home during the coronavirus pandemic and approved a motion for attorney fees and costs.
January 25, 2024
Solicitor General Considers Filing Amicus Brief In Detainee Class Wage Appeals

SAN FRANCISCO — The United States filed a response to a March 2023 order by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals inviting the submission of an amicus curiae brief in two appeals by a Washington state detention center owner and operator challenging a minimum wage verdict for a class of immigration detainees and an unjust enrichment award for Washington, stating that the solicitor general was considering whether to authorize such a filing and that a brief, if authorized, would be filed by Feb. 21.
January 24, 2024
2nd Circuit Upholds Ruling Against Ex-Union Member Who Lost Benefits

NEW YORK — In a summary order, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld dismissal of Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims and a Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) claim that a retiree filed after being expelled from a union and losing pension and health benefits.
January 24, 2024
Fla. Agency Seeks Rehearing After 11th Circuit Ruling On Title VII Bias Framework

ATLANTA — The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (FDJJ) filed a petition for rehearing en banc after an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals 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 23, 2024
Stipulation Ends Suit Over Alleged ‘Raid’ Of Facultative Reinsurance Brokerage

CHICAGO — After all parties filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice, an Illinois federal judge terminated a breach of contract and Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) suit over an alleged “raid” of a facultative reinsurance brokerage.
January 23, 2024
U.S. High Court Denies 2 Pro Se Petitions By Workers Alleging Bias

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 22 denied two pro se employment-related petitions, one by a fired shear operator who alleged that he was the victim of race, color and national origin discrimination and one by a worker with chronic back pain who claimed that he was discriminated against due to his disability.
January 22, 2024
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Professor’s 1st Amendment Suit Over Blog Post

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A North Carolina State University (NCSU) professor saw his petition for certiorari denied by the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 22, with the high court declining to consider his questions about whether his ouster from a degree program was an adverse employment action in response to a controversial blog post that he authored and whether that post was protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
January 22, 2024
Calif. Jury Awards Occupational Therapist More Than $9M In Protected Leave Suit

SAN DIEGO — A California jury returned a verdict of $9,372,000 for an occupational therapist in a California Family Rights Act (CFRA) retaliation case in which the worker alleged that after taking protected leave to care for her son she returned to find that she had been transitioned from to a per diem position and had been replaced with a less-qualified employee who was 41 years her junior.
January 19, 2024
Former Workers Win $2.4M In ERISA Severance Case Involving WARN Act Claim

ABINGDON, Va. — On remand of a case involving a severance plan and the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, a Virgina federal judge granted two unopposed motions and entered a $2,407,471.90 judgment for class members.
January 18, 2024
Calif. Supreme Court Won’t Review Denial Of Arbitration In Uber, Lyft Wages Suits

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court on Jan. 17 denied petitions for review filed by Uber Technologies Inc. and its subsidiaries and Lyft Inc. seeking to challenge the denial of their attempt to compel arbitration of claims brought against them by the state for violating California’s unfair competition law (UCL) by misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
January 17, 2024
High Court Told ‘Chaos’ Will Ensue ‘In A World Without Chevron’ Deference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court was told Jan. 17 that “chaos” will ensue “in a world without Chevron” deference by government attorneys, who urged it to apply stare decisis and uphold Chevron, which is being challenged in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations.
January 17, 2024
BOA’s $1.89M Wage-And-Hour Settlement Granted Final Approval

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal magistrate judge in California granted final approval of a $1,890,000 settlement to be paid by Bank of America, National Association (BOA) ending two wage-and-hour class complaints by current and former California employees who alleged that they were denied pay for certain off-the-clock work, meal and rest breaks and reimbursement for expenses.
January 17, 2024
$4.5M Overtime Settlement Granted Preliminary Approval In 13-Year-Old Case

TRENTON, N.J. — A federal judge in New Jersey granted preliminary approval of a $4.5 million settlement to be paid by Sleepy’s LLC to end a case that began in March 2010 when three delivery workers sued alleging that they were misclassified as independent contractors and denied overtime wages.
January 16, 2024
U.S. High Court Denies Alaska’s Petition In Public Sector Union Dues Dispute

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 16 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Alaska and several state officials seeking review after the state’s highest court ruled that neither Janus v. American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees, Council 31 nor the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires Alaska to alter union dues deduction practices and collect from union members their clear consent before collecting dues.
January 16, 2024
Sealed Appendix Allowed For Certiorari Petition Concerning FMLA Interference

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 16 granted CSX Transportation (CSXT) workers’ motion for leave to file their supplemental appendix to a certiorari petition under seal in a case where the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled for the railway company and its officers and managers on claims asserted under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
January 16, 2024
Former Federal Employee To U.S. High Court: MSPB Deadline Is Not Jurisdictional

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 60-day deadline for petitions seeking review of a final decision by the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is not jurisdictional as there is no clear statement by Congress stipulating that it is, a former federal employee tells the U.S. Supreme Court in his Jan. 12 petitioner brief.
January 16, 2024
U.S. High Court Will Decide Exhaustion Requirements In Pandemic Unemployment Case

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 granted a petition by Alabama unemployment benefits applicants who argue that their lawsuit over the delays in processing the large amount of applications filed due to the coronavirus pandemic was improperly dismissed for failure to exhaust administrative remedies.
January 16, 2024
Supreme Court Will Decide If Dismissal Is Appropriate After Arbitration Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 12 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by delivery drivers whose wage-and-hour claims were sent to arbitration and who asked the justices to decide whether a stay pending arbitration must be granted “or whether district courts have the discretion to dismiss when all claims are subject to arbitration.”