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Mealey's Employment

October 11, 2023
1st Circuit Partially Vacates Injunctive Relief Denial In Workers’ Vaccine Case

BOSTON — A First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel partially vacated a preliminary injunctive relief denial by a trial court in a lawsuit filed by employees of a Massachusetts ferry operations authority after their requests for religious exemptions from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate were denied, finding that the workers’ free exercise claim must be considered on remand under the appropriate legal framework.
October 10, 2023
Bank Granted Summary Judgment In Fired Workers’ Suit Over COVID-19 Vaccine Policy

NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) was granted summary judgment by a federal judge in New York in a lawsuit by two former employees who alleged that the bank failed to accommodate their religious beliefs when they were denied exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccination policy.
October 10, 2023
U.S. High Court Hears Arguments From Parties, U.S. In SOX Whistleblower Suit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A worker suing under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s (SOX) whistleblower protection provision needs to show only “that his protected conduct was a contributing factor in the unfavorable personnel action,” the attorney representing a man who alleges that he was wrongfully fired after reporting fraud told the U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 10 during oral arguments.
October 10, 2023
5th Circuit Reverses, Finds Arbitration Pact Unsigned By Employer Isn’t Invalid

NEW ORLEANS — A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel in a per curiam opinion reversed a trial court’s determination in a wage-and-hour collective action that an arbitration agreement between an employer and employee is invalid because the employer did not sign it.
October 10, 2023
$130,000 Settlement Approved In Class Case Over Hospitals’ Vaccine Mandate

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A federal judge in Michigan granted final approval of a $130,000 settlement in a class lawsuit by current and former employees over their employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy and awarded class counsel one-third of the settlement fund for attorney fees.
October 09, 2023
Starbucks Asks High Court To Decide Standard For NLRB Injunctive Relief Request

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Starbucks Corp. filed a petition for a writ of certiorari, 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.
October 09, 2023
Maine Health Workers Ask U.S. High Court To Take Up COVID-19 Vaccine Challenge

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Maine health care workers who were fired after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine citing religious beliefs filed a reply brief in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to hear their appeal in which they argue that the denials of religious accommodations violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
October 09, 2023
Food Sales Reps Waive Response To Employer’s FLSA Exemption High Court Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 6 supporting the arguments of a food distributor asking the high court justices to decide a question concerning the evidence necessary for an exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); the brief was filed three days after sales representatives for the food distributor who were paid by commission waived their right to respond to the petition.
October 05, 2023
5th Circuit Grants Stay, Carries Stay Motion In Worker’s Protected Speech Case

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a pair of two-page orders issued in three consolidated appeals concerning a former employee’s claims of protected speech granted an unopposed motion for a temporary administrative stay and carried with the cases an opposed motion to stay the contempt order, filed together by Southwest Airlines Co.
October 04, 2023
Class Reps, Health Care Provider Oppose Intervention Attempt In Vaccine Case

CINCINNATI — Class representatives and a health care provider who have reached a preliminarily approved settlement in a case over the employer’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy filed separate appellee briefs in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals responding to an appeal by a doctor after his motion to intervene was denied by the trial court.
October 03, 2023
Lumber Manufacturer Will Pay $215,000 To End EEOC Race, Religious Harassment Case

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — A UFP Industries Inc. subsidiary that manufactures lumber and building materials will pay $215,000 to end a lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that it subjected Black workers, some of whom were Muslim, to harassment based on their race and religion, according to a consent decree signed by a federal judge in West Virginia.
October 03, 2023
5th Circuit Reinstates City Worker’s Retaliation Claim In Pandemic Leave Case

NEW ORLEANS — A Texas city employee who alleged that she was fired after taking leave when she lost her childcare during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic may proceed with her Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) retaliation claim, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 2 in a per curiam opinion, finding that when the facts presented were viewed in the worker’s favor, they could lead a reasonable jury to find that the reason given for the termination was pretextual.
October 02, 2023
H-2A Visa Worker’s Wage Collective Claims Appeal Won’t Be Heard By High Court

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling permitting a worker in the United States on an H-2A visa to proceed with collective wage-and-hour claims, which a construction company argued “ignored” the Supreme Court’s precedent in Encino Motorcars, LLC v. Navarro, won’t be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to the Oct. 2 order list.
October 02, 2023
U.S. High Court Won’t Review Sanctions, Orders In Law Professor’s Race Bias Suit

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 2 denied a pro se petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a former law professor seeking review of sanctions and other appellate orders in a race bias lawsuit.
September 29, 2023
U.S. High Court Will Hear FAA Exemption Appeal By Baked Goods Truck Drivers

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 29 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by commercial truck drivers who haul Wonder Bread and other baked goods and argue that despite a ruling by the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to the contrary they are transportation workers exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) as other circuits have ruled.
September 28, 2023
Trial Pushed To January After Settlement Notice Filed In Classification Case

SAN FRANCISCO — In a Sept. 27 docket entry following a status conference, the October 2023 trial date in a cleaning service franchisee classification class dispute was vacated with a note that it will be reset in January 2024 after the franchisor filed a notice that the parties reached a settlement agreement that will provide up to $30 million.
September 27, 2023
Pa. Federal Judge Dismisses FCA Retaliation Claims By Fired Sleep Study Workers

PHILADELPHIA — While a Pennsylvania federal judge said it was “very unfortunate” that two longtime employees of Abington Memorial Hospital were terminated for “minor infractions” or possible retaliation for reporting that the hospital’s sleep center was using recalled continuous positive air pressure (CPAP) sleep apnea devices and respirators on its patients, the complaint failed to plead that the use could have defrauded the federal government, dooming their False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation claim.
September 27, 2023
NLRB Seeks Consolidation Of Appeals After Union Rep Proceedings Standard Issued

SAN FRANCISCO — The National Labor Relations Board filed an unopposed motion on Sept. 26 in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals seeking consolidation of appeals filed after a divided NLRB in August issued a decision announcing a new framework for determining when employers must bargain with unions without a representation election.
September 26, 2023
Hearing Scheduled After Settlement Notice Filed In Franchisor Classification Case

SAN FRANCISCO — A hearing was scheduled for Sept. 27 in a cleaning service franchisee classification class dispute after the franchisor filed a notice that the parties reached a settlement agreement that will provide up to $30 million; the federal judge in California stated in the order that the status of the settlement and whether to vacate the October trial date will be considered at the hearing.
September 22, 2023
Final Approval Of $130,000 Class Settlement Sought In Vaccine Mandate Dispute

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Current and former employees of Ascension Michigan filed a motion on Sept. 21 in a federal court in Michigan seeking final approval of a $130,000 settlement in a class lawsuit over the health care provider’s mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy.
September 22, 2023
$6M Settlement Reached In Race Case Against Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Washington, D.C., granted preliminary approval of a $6 million class settlement in a race bias, harassment and retaliation case against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
September 21, 2023
Taco Bell Worker Settles Biometric Data Case After Arbitration Order

EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. — A Taco Bell employee who alleged in a putative class complaint that workers’ biometric data is collected, used and stored in violation of state law dismissed the case with prejudice on Sept. 20 in a federal court in Illinois after filing a notice of settlement.
September 21, 2023
Hispanic Workers’ Claims Of Bias Against Wells Fargo Stayed In Federal Court

SAN ANTONIO — A federal judge in Texas compelled arbitration individually staying claims for 16 of 17 plaintiffs who filed an amended class action against Wells Fargo Bank N.A. alleging that the bank forces its employees to offer predatory mortgage lending options to Spanish-speaking customers and excludes members of a bilingual team from opportunities within the company.
September 20, 2023
EEOC Sues United Healthcare For Denying Religious Exemption From Vaccine Mandate

COLUMBUS, Ohio — United Healthcare Services Inc. violated a work-from-home employee’s rights when it denied her request for exemption from its COVID-19 vaccine mandate and fired her, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges in a complaint filed Sept. 19 in a federal court in Ohio.
September 20, 2023
Federal Judge Seeks Amended Class Settlement Motion In Papa John’s No-Poach Case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge in Kentucky denied preliminary approval of a $5 million class settlement proposed in a case accusing a pizza chain franchisor of violating the Sherman Act by coordinating no-poach agreements between its franchisees, finding that insufficient information was supplied regarding adequacy, typicality and predominance.