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

Mealey's Employment

January 12, 2024
U.S. High Court Will Review Standard For NLRB Injunctive Relief Request

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Starbucks Corp. asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide what standard courts should use to evaluate requests by the National Labor Relations Board for an injunction under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) while an NLRB adjudication is pending was granted Jan. 12 by the justices.
January 12, 2024
$335,682 Judgment Entered For EEOC After $36M Verdict In Disability Bias Case

OMAHA, Neb. — A federal judge in Nebraska slashed a jury’s punitive damages award from $36 million to $300,000 in a lawsuit 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), finding that the statutory cap applies.
January 12, 2024
Ferry Workers Appeal 2nd Preliminary Injunctive Relief Denial In Vaccine Case

BOSTON — Employees of a Massachusetts ferry operations authority who sued after their requests for religious exemptions from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate were denied filed a notice of appeal after a federal judge in Massachusetts on remand denied for a second time a preliminary injunction request.
January 11, 2024
US Foods Seeks Rehearing After Summary Judgment Reversal In Age Bias Suit

CHICAGO — An employer accused of age discrimination by a fired warehouse supervisor filed a petition for rehearing en banc after a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel reversed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling, finding that the former employee “presented significant evidence to establish an inference of discrimination.”
January 11, 2024
Wrestlers’ Attorney Petitions High Court After Sanctions In CTE Class, Mass Cases

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An attorney and his firm who represent allegedly injured wrestlers in a class tort complaint and a mass action against World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and Vincent K. McMahon (together, WWE) filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court asking the justices to consider the appropriateness of attorney fees and costs as sanctions that they have been ordered to pay.
January 11, 2024
9th Circuit Reverses Class Denial For Rest Break Claim Against Kirkland’s

PASADENA, Calif. — A trial court erred when it denied class certification to a worker who sued over her employer’s alleged policy of requiring workers to remain in its retail stores during their rest breaks as “it incorrectly found that Kirkland’s [Stores Inc.] applied its rest break policy inconsistently during the proposed class period,” a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, partially reversing an order denying class certification on a rest break claim and a bag check claim and remanding for further assessment.
January 10, 2024
Parties Wrangle Over ERISA Conclusion Regarding Deferred Compensation Plans

NEW YORK — Parties in a putative class action over deferred compensation are wrangling over a New York federal court’s conclusion that the compensation incentive and equity incentive plans at issue are Employee Retirement Income Security Act plans, with former Morgan Stanley financial advisers arguing in a Jan. 9 filing that “there is no basis for clarification or reconsideration.”
January 10, 2024
2nd Circuit: New York City’s Wrongful Discharge Law Isn’t Preempted By Federal Law

NEW YORK — New York City’s Wrongful Discharge Law, which protects fast-food workers from arbitrary firings and reduced hours, is not preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or unconstitutional, as argued by two restaurant groups, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, affirming a trial court decision.
January 10, 2024
Judge: Complainant Failed To Establish Equitable Tolling To Save Late EEOC Charge

PHOENIX — An Arizona federal court granted the motion of a behavioral health care center to dismiss a complaint by a former employee alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act as well as contract and tort claims, ruling that the employee failed to plead facts supporting the equitable tolling of the 180-day limit to file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
January 10, 2024
Federal Judge Again Denies Injunctive Relief In Ferry Workers’ Vaccine Case

BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts denied a renewed motion for a preliminary injunction filed by employees of a Massachusetts ferry operations authority whose requests for religious exemptions from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate were denied after the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals partially vacated the trial court’s preliminary injunctive relief denial.
January 10, 2024
Rehearing Petition Extension Granted After Wage Class Communication Bar Upheld

PASADENA, Calif. — The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a docket entry gave a mortgage company until Jan. 19 to file a petition for rehearing after a divided panel in a wage-and-hour dispute affirmed a trial court’s restriction on communication between the employer and employees during which workers were discouraged from joining any collective or class and were encouraged settle their claims individually.
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.