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

Mealey's Employment

December 07, 2023
NLRB Director Tells U.S. High Court Injunctive Relief Standard Needs No Review

WASHINGTON, D.C. — No U.S. Supreme Court review is necessary of the 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 as the use of “different verbal formulations to describe the standard” by different courts “are essentially terminological rather than substantive,” an NLRB regional director argues in a Dec. 6 respondent brief.
December 07, 2023
FCA Engineers’ LMRA, RICO Claims Filed Years After Transfer Were Untimely

CINCINNATI — Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) and Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) claims by FCA US LLC engineers stemming from a years-earlier transfer that they allege was in violation of their collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and that they say they unsuccessfully challenged due to collusion between their employer and union were untimely, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, affirming a trial court’s dismissal.
December 07, 2023
Health Workers’ Vaccine Case Discontinued After New York Mandate Repealed

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A federal judge in New York signed off on the discontinuance of a case previously appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court by health care workers challenging the New York Department of Health’s (DOH) COVID-19 vaccination requirements after the mandate was repealed.
December 07, 2023
U.S. High Court Passes On Appeal Challenging Standard For Review Of OSHA Citations

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a manufacturer cited three times by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that argued that it was unfairly prejudiced while challenging the citations due to improper exclusion of evidence.
December 07, 2023
5th Circuit: NLRB Lacks Authority To Make All Uniforms Presumptively Unlawful

NEW ORLEANS — The National Labor Relations Board erred when it decided that when an employer’s uniform policy “advances a legitimate interest of the employee” and doesn’t discriminate “against union communication,” it is unlawful, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel wrote, granting a petition for review by Tesla Inc., denying the NLRB’s application for enforcement and vacating the NLRB’s decision.
December 06, 2023
U.S. High Court Hears Arguments On Bias In A Lateral Job Transfer

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A lateral job transfer may constitute discrimination and be actionable under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, an attorney representing a St. Louis Police Department sergeant who is challenging the transfer from her position as patrol detective to the Intelligence Division argued before the U.S. Supreme Court this morning.
December 06, 2023
Preliminary Approval Granted To Jan-Pro $30M Worker Classification Settlement

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California on Dec. 5 granted preliminary approval of a class settlement in a worker classification suit under which Jan-Pro Franchising International Inc. will pay $30 million and make changes to its business practices that will benefit California franchisees.
December 06, 2023
EEOC Announces Settlement With Frontier Airlines In Pregnancy, Lactation Dispute

DENVER — Frontier Airlines Inc. has agreed to make several policy changes to address the needs of pregnant and lactating pilots, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Dec. 5, stating that the agreement will resolve EEOC charges filed in 2018 and a lawsuit filed by four pilots in 2019.
December 05, 2023
DOJ, Minnesota City Settle Claim Of Bias Against Worker With Alcohol Use Disorder

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minnesota city will pay out-of-pocket losses and compensatory damages to a worker and implement policies and procedures regarding nondiscrimination in employment to end a complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) alleging discrimination against an employee with alcohol use disorder (AUD), according to a consent decree filed in a federal court in that state.
December 05, 2023
Citizens Bank Will Pay $100,000 To End EEOC Anxiety-Based Bias Suit

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal judge in Rhode Island approved a consent decree between a bank and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under which the employer will make companywide policy changes and pay $100,000 to a former employee to end a lawsuit alleging failure to accommodate an employee who developed an anxiety disorder.
December 04, 2023
Employer: High Court Must Decide If NLRB General Counsel Can Withdraw Complaint

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court needs to decide whether an agency officer’s definite term of office bars without-cause removal and whether the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel may withdraw an administrative complaint after a motion for summary judgment has been filed, an employer argues in its petition for a writ of certiorari filed with the high court.
December 04, 2023
Flight Attendant Seeks Affirmance Of Jury Verdict In Protected Speech Case

NEW ORLEANS — A flight attendant in her principal and response brief filed in the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals argues that a jury verdict and the trial court’s judgment finding that she was fired by Southwest Airlines Co. due to discrimination caused by the union representing flight attendants because of her religious beliefs, observances and practices must be upheld as her social media messages about abortion were protected.
November 28, 2023
Amended Motion For Settlement Notice Filed In Papa John’s No-Poach Case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The lead plaintiff in a case accusing a pizza chain franchisor of violating the Sherman Act by coordinating no-poach agreements between its franchisees filed an amended motion to direct notice of settlement to the proposed class after a federal judge in Kentucky denied preliminary approval due to insufficient information regarding adequacy, typicality and predominance.
November 20, 2023
U.S. High Court Won’t Hear Flight Attendant’s Alleged Chemical Exposure Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 20 denied a pro se petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a United Airlines Inc. flight attendant who claims that she was exposed to chemicals while at work in October 2019 and that her claims were wrongly found to be barred by res judicata based on an earlier claim concerning an exposure on some of the same days.
November 17, 2023
Tesla Cross-Appeals Nearly $3.2M Verdict After Race Bias Retrial

SAN FRANCISCO — Tesla Inc. filed a notice of cross-appeal on Nov. 16 in a racial discrimination case by a former worker following a nearly $3.2 million verdict after a retrial in a federal court in California on compensatory and punitive damages.
November 17, 2023
DOJ, NYCHH Settle Claims Of Violating Immigration And Nationality Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. — New York City Health and Hospitals Corp. (NYCHH) will pay back pay and a civil penalty and provide training and new policies under a settlement agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice to end claims that it unlawfully rejected a worker’s valid employment authorization document (EAD) and delayed the onboarding of the worker based on its incorrect assumption that the worker’s country of birth listed on her EAD had to be the same as the country designated for temporary protected status (TPS), the DOJ announced Nov. 16.
November 14, 2023
Baked Goods Truck Drivers Tell High Court They Are Exempt From FAA

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Commercial truck drivers who haul Wonder Bread and other baked goods are transportation workers like seamen and railroad employees and are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), two truck drivers who filed a wage-and-hour putative collective and class complaint argue in their petitioner brief filed Nov. 13 in the U.S. Supreme Court challenging a ruling by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals finding that the drivers are not transportation workers.
November 14, 2023
Class Suit: CVS Job Applicant AI Screening Tool Is Illegal Lie Detector Test

BOSTON — CVS Health Corp. and CVS Pharmacy Inc. use an artificial intelligence-based facial and vocal scanning program during the hiring process, drawing conclusions about applicants’ enthusiasm and potential culture fit in what amounts to a lie detector test given in violation of Massachusetts law, plaintiffs allege in a federal class action.
November 14, 2023
2nd Circuit Affirms Dismissal Of NYC DOE Workers’ COVID-19 Vaccine Class Suit

NEW YORK — A Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 13 affirmed dismissal of a putative class complaint by New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) employees challenging the department’s COVID-19 vaccine requirements and the procedures for enforcing the mandate, finding that the workers “have not pleaded any facts that would suggest that the pre- or post-deprivation processes afforded to them were constitutionally deficient.”
November 14, 2023
U.S. High Court Denies Sexual Orientation Bias, Interference And Race Bias Petitions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 13 declined to grant several employment-related petitions, including one by a police officer fired after admitting to sexually soliciting a minor, one by a university professor alleging inference with contractual relations and one by a former employee of Rockwell Automation Inc. alleging racial discrimination.
November 13, 2023
9th Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of Mechanics’ Suit Against Airline And Unions

SAN FRANCISCO — Ruling in part that Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims were properly dismissed, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld dismissal of airline mechanics’ putative class suit over disputes involving a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
November 13, 2023
U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Nurses’ Appeal Over N.J. COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 13 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by New Jersey nurses concerning a COVID-19 vaccine mandate and whether a dispute over a preliminary injunction denial became moot once the mandate was rescinded.
November 13, 2023
Georgia Telecommunications Provider Agrees To DOJ Settlement Of INA Claims

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cox Communications will pay more than $450,000 to end claims by the U.S. Department of Justice that it violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by using a Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) on-campus recruiting platform to post dozens of discriminatory job advertisements that unlawfully excluded students and alumni based on their citizenship status.
November 13, 2023
DOJ, Apple Reach $25M Citizenship Status Discrimination Settlement

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached a $25 million settlement with Apple Inc. to resolve claims that the technology company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when hiring based on citizenship status.
November 09, 2023
U.S. High Court Seeks Response From Domino’s Drivers To FAA Exemption Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court requested a response from Domino’s Pizza LLC truck drivers (D&S drivers) to a petition by the pizza franchise arguing that the circuit courts are split on whether local delivery drivers are engaged in interstate commerce and thus exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).