Employment

February 10, 2025
Trump's Firing Of Watchdog Office Head Paused By Judge

The recently fired head of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel will remain in his position, at least for a few more days, after a D.C. federal judge on Monday ordered a short pause on his termination the same day he sued to challenge the allegedly "unlawful" removal.
February 10, 2025
Morgan Stanley Can't Undo $1.6M Bias Award, Judge Says

A North Carolina federal judge has declined to throw out a $1.6 million arbitration award granted to a former Morgan Stanley employee who claimed he was wrongfully terminated, after the bank alleged the chosen arbitrator was biased against it because of a prior lawsuit and had fallen asleep while evidence was being presented.
February 10, 2025
Merrill Lynch $20M Bias Deal Should Be Approved, Judge Says

A U.S. magistrate judge has recommended granting the first green light to a $20 million settlement that will resolve discrimination and retaliation claims launched against Merrill Lynch by a proposed class of nearly 1,400 Black financial advisers who claimed they received less pay and promotions compared to their white counterparts.
February 10, 2025
6th Circ. Backs Electric Co. In Fired Ex-Exec's Severance Suit

The Sixth Circuit upheld the dismissal Monday of an ex-executive's suit claiming the American Electric Power Service Corp. owed him severance after he was fired for failing to tamp down on his assistant's excessive spending, stating the company showed he was ineligible for the extra pay.
February 10, 2025
Trump Sets Across-The-Board 25% Tariff On Steel And Aluminum

President Donald Trump teed up a 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum Monday evening, continuing a trend of sweeping, aggressive trade actions that have defined his first three weeks in office.
February 10, 2025
Medical System Illegally Rounds Workers' Time, Suit Says

A county hospital system employs a policy that modifies when workers clock in and out to avoid paying them all the wages they are owed, which can result in missed overtime pay, a proposed class and collective action filed Monday in Ohio federal court said.
February 10, 2025
Co. Not Covered For Background Check Suit, Insurer Says

An insurer told an Illinois federal court on Monday that a company isn't covered for an underlying lawsuit alleging that it mishandled a job applicant's background check, citing multiple policy exclusions.
February 10, 2025
Harassment Suit Against Fox Sports, Hosts Sent To Fed. Court

The lawsuit accusing Fox Sports executives and on-air hosts of sexual harassment and creating a toxic workplace environment has been moved from California state court to federal court, where the two sides were told to attempt alternative dispute resolution.
February 10, 2025
Judge Wary Of Doctor's Bid To Halt WWE Accuser's Info Hunt

A Connecticut judge on Monday appeared skeptical of a celebrity doctor's bid to end an information request by a woman separately accusing World Wrestling Entertainment and its founder Vince McMahon of sex trafficking, hinting that the doctor probably cannot raise potential federal litigation as a shield against a state trial court discovery probe.
February 10, 2025
Harvard Immunity For Body Part Thefts 'Gnaws' At Justice

A judge on Massachusetts' highest court said Monday it's "problematic" that a state law could shield Harvard Medical School from liability in a suit by family members of people whose remains were allegedly sold off in parts by a rogue mortician.
February 10, 2025
Wash. Justices Won't Review Workers' $3.3M Meal Break Win

A class of hospital workers can keep a $3.3 million award in a closely watched case over uncompensated meal breaks, after the Washington Supreme Court decided it won't take on a hospital's bid to overturn a lower state appellate court's ruling that rejected the argument that the workers had already been paid.
February 10, 2025
Aerospace Co. Seeks To Toss Ex-Exec's Amended Claims

A Garden State-based aerospace company is asking a federal judge to dismiss with prejudice the second amended counterclaims by its ex-president and his new business in a trade secrets case, according to court filings.
February 10, 2025
7th Circ. Skeptical Of Co.'s Hearing Plea In NLRB Row

A Seventh Circuit judge took a fire suppression company to task at a Monday argument for making the wrong argument in its challenge to a National Labor Relations Board ruling that it breached a settlement by rebuking its workers' union.
February 10, 2025
Trump Buyout Plan Still On Hold As Unions Cite 'Confusion'

A Boston federal judge on Monday extended his hold on President Donald Trump's federal worker buyout program as he weighs a request from unions to block the so-called Fork Directive, which promises months of pay to government employees who resign their posts.
February 10, 2025
Black EEOC Atty Says Telework Bid Earned Her Cold Shoulder

A Black U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission attorney sued the agency in Texas federal court, alleging that she was passed over for promotions and a senior leader training program after requesting a disability accommodation and calling out a colleague for "white privilege."
February 10, 2025
Former Palm GC's Racial Bias Claim Should End, Judge Says

A New York federal judge has recommended dismissing a race discrimination claim brought by an ex-general counsel for The Palm steakhouse chain's owner while allowing her retaliation and breach of contract claims to proceed to arbitration, concluding that the company's onetime top lawyer had not shown the restaurant had "discriminatory intent."
February 10, 2025
Ex-SEC Atty's Bias Case Not Holding, Despite Deal Talks

A Pennsylvania federal judge refused Friday to delay the upcoming trial in a lawsuit filed by a former U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer who sued the agency for racial and age discrimination, despite a letter to the court saying that the parties are making progress toward a settlement.
February 10, 2025
Mass. Justices May Greenlight Ex-Court Atty's Firing Case

Massachusetts' highest court on Monday hinted that it will allow a former ghostwriter for the state's intermediate appellate court to continue pursuing his wrongful firing claims against a former supervisor, but not necessarily against two higher-ups, in a challenge to the extent of common-law immunity for public officials.
February 10, 2025
House Dems Form Rapid Response Litigation Working Group

House Democrats announced on Monday a new litigation initiative to confront the Trump administration and the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, which has been slashing federal funding, from stopping some government services and firing workers without Congressional approval.
February 10, 2025
Little Caesars Cheated Workers Out Of OT, Suit Claims

Pizza chain Little Caesars didn't pay workers for the time they spent responding to texts and phone calls outside their scheduled shifts, a former co-manager said in a proposed class and collective action filed in Michigan federal court on Monday.
February 10, 2025
Former X Workers Can't Force Arbitration For Their Claims

A California federal judge refused to force X to arbitrate several former workers' claims that they say should have already proceeded through arbitration but for the social media company's unlawful dragging of its feet, saying none of the parties can arbitrate their disputes in his district.
February 10, 2025
Verizon Escapes Workers' Suit Over Lead-Covered Cables

A Pennsylvania federal judge threw out a lawsuit filed on behalf of utility workers alleging Verizon endangered them by failing to properly dispose of lead-covered cables on telephone poles, ruling that allegations of suffering common ailments were not enough to support a class action.
February 10, 2025
Goldstein Rearrested After Feds Say He Hid Millions In Crypto

U.S. Supreme Court lawyer and SCOTUSblog publisher Tom Goldstein was arrested again Monday following his earlier release on criminal tax evasion charges, after prosecutors alleged that he secretly made millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency transactions in recent days and was a serious risk to flee.
February 10, 2025
2nd Circ. Backs UBS In Retaliation Case That Justices Revived

A split Second Circuit panel sided Monday with UBS in a whistleblower case that a fired worker managed to get the U.S. Supreme Court to revive, ruling that the jury instructions that preceded the worker's trial court win were too unclear to let his victory stand.
February 10, 2025
Court Won't Reinstate NLRB Brief In Newspaper Union Suit

A federal judge won't reinstate a brief stricken from the record in a dispute between the National Labor Relations Board and the publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, saying Friday that the board had misinterpreted her courtroom's rules and procedures.

Expert Analysis

Defense Strategies For Addressing Conspiracy-Minded Jurors

As conspiracy theories continue to proliferate and gain traction in the U.S., defense attorneys will need to consider ways to keep conspiracy-minded jurors from sitting on the jury, and to persuade them when this isn’t possible, say consultants at IMS Legal Strategies.
7 Ways 2nd Trump Administration May Affect Partner Hiring

President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House will likely have a number of downstream effects on partner hiring in the legal industry, from accelerated hiring timelines to increased vetting of prospective employees, say recruiters at Macrae.
4 Novel Issues From The Blake Lively, Justin Baldoni Suits

A series of lawsuits arising from actress Blake Lively's sexual harassment and retaliation complaint against her "It Ends With Us" co-star, Justin Baldoni, present novel legal issues that employment and defamation practitioners alike should follow as the litigation progresses, say attorneys at Dorsey & Whitney.
E-Discovery Quarterly: Rulings On Custodian Selection

Several recent rulings make clear that the proportionality of additional proposed custodians will depend on whether the custodians have unique relevant documents, and producing parties should consider whether information already in the record will show that they have relevant documents that otherwise might not be produced, say attorneys at Sidley.
Religious Accommodation Lessons From $12.7M Vax Verdict

A Michigan federal jury’s recent $12.7 million verdict against Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan starkly reminds employers of the risks they face when assessing employees’ religious accommodation requests, highlighting pitfalls to avoid and raising the opportunity to consider best practices to follow, say attorneys at Williams & Connolly.
What To Expect In Higher Ed Enforcement Under Trump

Colleges and universities should prepare for shifting priorities, as President-elect Donald Trump is likely to focus less on antitrust cases and more on foreign relations policy, while congressional oversight of higher education continues to increase, say attorneys at Steptoe.
Series

NY Banking Brief: All The Notable Legal Updates In Q4

In 2024's final quarter, the New York State Department of Financial Services published guidance on mitigating the rising cybersecurity risks of artificial intelligence and remote technology workers with North Korean ties, and the state attorney general launched an antitrust investigation into Capital One's proposed Discover merger, say attorneys at Haynes Boone.
How Trial Attys Can Wield Amended Federal Evidence Rules

Trial lawyers should assess recent amendments to four Federal Rules of Evidence and a newly enacted rule on illustrative aids to determine how to best use the rules to enhance pretrial discovery and trial strategy, says Stewart Edelstein, former litigation chair at Cohen & Wolf.
Series

Exercising On My Peloton Bike Makes Me A Better Lawyer

While I originally came to the Peloton bike for exercise, one cycling instructor’s teachings have come to serve as a road map for practicing law thoughtfully and mindfully, which has opened opportunities for growth and change in my career, says Andrea Kirshenbaum at Littler.
Lessons From United's Axed Win In Firing Over Online Pics

In Wawrzenski v. United Airlines, a California state appeals court revived a flight attendant’s suit over her termination for linking photos of herself in uniform to her OnlyFans account, providing a cautionary tale for employers navigating the complexities of workplace policy enforcement in the digital age, say attorneys at ArentFox Schiff.
3 Factors Affecting Retail M&A Deals In 2025

Retailers considering mergers and acquisitions this year face an evolving antitrust environment, including a new administration under President-elect Donald Trump, revised merger guidelines and a precedent set last year by a canceled $8.5 billion handbag merger, say attorneys at DLA Piper.
How Trump Admin May Approach AI In The Workplace

Key indicators suggest that the incoming Trump administration will adopt a deregulatory approach to artificial intelligence, allowing states to fill the void, so it is critical that employers pay close attention to developing legal authority concerning AI tools, say attorneys at Littler.
Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs

General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.
Exploring Venue Strategy For Trump-Era Regulatory Litigation

Litigation will likely play a prominent role in shaping policy outcomes during the second Trump administration, and stakeholders have several tools at their disposal to steer regulatory litigation toward more favorable venues, say attorneys at Covington.
What 2024's Noncompete Turmoil Means For Banks In 2025

A look back at the most significant legal challenges to the enforceability of various restrictive covenants like noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements in 2024 can help financial institutions address the use of these critical tools this year, say attorneys at Maynard Nexsen.