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

Mealey's Employment

July 12, 2024
6th Circuit Won’t Rehear Case Over Multiemployer Funds’ Attempt To Force Audit

CINCINNATI — Following an unpublished panel decision with partial dissent that affirmed a ruling against multiemployer fringe benefit trust funds seeking an audit under the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing en banc.
July 11, 2024
Judge Dismisses Former Twitter Employees’ ERISA Suit For Severance Benefits

SAN FRANCISCO — Ruling that the plaintiffs didn’t prove that a severance plan is governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, a California federal judge granted dismissal of a putative class complaint in which former Twitter employees sought more than $500 million in benefits.
July 11, 2024
Split 9th Circuit: Equal Rights Protections Include U.S. Citizenship Bias

HONOLULU — Equal rights protections in 42 U.S. Code Section 1981 prohibit citizenship or alienage discrimination of U.S. citizens in hiring, a divided Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled, reversing a trial court’s dismissal of putative class discrimination claims by a naturalized U.S. citizen and creating a split with the Fifth Circuit’s 1986 decision in Chaiffetz v. Robertson Research Holding, Ltd.
July 11, 2024
Rehearing Sought After 9th Circuit Issues Class Scope Ambiguity Tolling Opinion

SAN FRANCISCO — Union Pacific Railroad Co. filed a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc after a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled while answering a question that it stated was one of first impression that where a class definition is narrowed, any dispute or ambiguity regarding the applicability to certain plaintiffs “should be resolved in favor of tolling so that bystander members of the class need not rush to file separate actions to protect their rights.”
July 10, 2024
Company Not Required Under ADA To Provide Remote Work Option To Freight Dispatcher

MACON, Ga. — A Georgia federal court on July 9 granted the summary judgment motion of a lawn products company in an action by a former employee alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in failing to provide her with a reasonable accommodation after she was stricken with a chronic respiratory condition that ensued after a bout of COVID-19, ruling that her position undisputedly required on-site work and that the company was not required to provide a remote-work accommodation.
July 10, 2024
California Judge OKs Microsoft’s $14.4M Settlement Of Agency’s Leave Bias Suit

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Microsoft Corp. will pay $14,425,000 to end a complaint by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) accusing the company of retaliation and discrimination against workers based on their use of protected leave, including parental, disability, pregnancy and family care taking leave, according to a July 9 order by a California judge granting entry of consent decree.
July 10, 2024
6th Circuit Partially Vacates Dismissal Of Cleaning Agent-Related Disability Claims

CINCINNATI — A former Shelby County, Tenn., deputy jailer may proceed with some of her disability claims related to medical reactions she experienced to a cleaning agent initially used in 2013 and continuing past 2020 when the use of the cleaner increased due to the coronavirus pandemic, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled in a July 9 unpublished order.
July 10, 2024
UPS Granted Summary Judgment In Workers’ ‘Dead End’ Jobs Suit

OAKLAND, Calif. — A federal judge in California granted summary judgment to United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) in a case by three female workers who alleged that they were relegated to work in the back and “dead end” job opportunities due to their gender, age and disabilities, finding in part that the workers were not “diligent in their discovery” and failed to present sufficient evidence of their claims.
July 09, 2024
Neb. High Court Upholds Waiting Time Penalty, Attorney Fees In Workers’ Comp Case

LINCOLN, Neb. — A Whole Foods Market Inc. employee who was injured when she fell while working was properly awarded attorney fees and a waiting time penalty after the employer refused to pay permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits even though the worker was actually entitled to temporary total disability (TTD) benefits as the employer was aware there “some form of disability as a result of a work accident,” the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled, upholding a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Court.
July 09, 2024
Snapchat Agrees To $15M Gender Bias Settlement With California Agency

LOS ANGELES — Snap Inc., which created Snapchat, will pay $15 million to end a complaint by the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) alleging discrimination, harassment and retaliation against female employees, according to a joint stipulation for entry of consent decree filed in a California court.
July 09, 2024
Air Force, Space Force Members Tell 6th Circuit COVID-19 Vaccine Case Not Moot

CINCINNATI — A class complaint by members of the U.S. Air Force and Space Force who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons in which a classwide preliminary injunction was vacated as moot by the U.S. Supreme Court must be permitted to proceed as “the case, unlike the preliminary injunction, is not moot,” the service members argue in an appellant brief filed July 8 in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
July 09, 2024
8th Circuit Reinstates Health Worker’s Religious Bias Vaccine Mandate Case

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — A physical therapist who accuses her employer of discrimination related to requirements for workers who were granted religious exemptions from the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate may proceed with her claims as “all reasonable inferences” must be granted in the employee’s favor and the court “cannot assume at this early juncture that religious discrimination did not occur because one subset of potential comparators also faced disparate treatment,” an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled.
July 08, 2024
8th Circuit Upholds Dismissal Of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Religious Bias Claims

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A 3M Co. worker who cited his religious beliefs when he opposed the company’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate but later abandoned the argument failed to show that he was discriminated against due to his religion, an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled July 5.
July 08, 2024
Ferry Authority To 1st Circuit: Workers Likely Won’t Succeed With Vaccine Claims

BOSTON — A trial court properly denied a renewed motion for a preliminary injunction filed by employees of a Massachusetts ferry operations authority who sued after their requests for religious exemptions from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate were denied as the workers failed to show any likelihood of success on the merits of their claims, the authority and its director of Human Resources argue in an appellee brief filed in the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
July 05, 2024
Judge Postpones Effective Date Of FTC’s Noncompete Rule As Applied To Plaintiffs

DALLAS — A federal judge in Texas on July 3 granted motions for a preliminary injunction filed by a global tax services firm, the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America and three other entities and postponed the effective date of the Federal Trade Commission’s new rule banning noncompete agreements as applied to the movants.
July 05, 2024
Expert On Drug Testing Regulations Cannot Offer Legal Conclusions, Judge Says

PHILADELPHIA — An expert retained by a practicing Muslim who is suing Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) for violating his constitutional rights by insisting that he drink water during Ramadan to undergo a drug test cannot offer legal conclusions, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled, limiting the expert’s testimony.
July 01, 2024
COMMENTARY: Non-Competes No More? What Businesses Should Do To Protect Trade Secrets And Confidential Information Now

By Geri Haight and Danielle Bereznay
July 03, 2024
AbilityOne Government Contractor Will Pay $1M To End EEOC Bias Lawsuit

GREENBELT, Md. — A government contractor that hires disabled individuals and is accused of failing to accommodate deaf and hard-of-hearing employees and terminating employees who requested medical leave but did not qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will pay more than $1 million to end the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s lawsuit, according to a consent decree signed by a federal judge in Maryland.
July 03, 2024
Divided U.S. High Court Denies Petition Challenging OSHA’s Safety Standards Power

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A divided U.S. Supreme Court on July 2 declined to consider a challenge to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) power to enforce workplace-safety standards.
June 28, 2024
COMMENTARY: Courts Must, As Recently Reminded, Follow The Law In Rule 702 Expert Testimony Determinations

By Erin Sheley
July 02, 2024
High Court Grants Employer’s Petition, Vacates NLRB Complaint Withdrawal Ruling

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on July 2 granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by an employer seeking a ruling on whether an agency officer’s definite term of office bars without-cause removal of the officer and whether the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel may withdraw an administrative complaint after a motion for summary judgment has been filed, vacated the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeal’s ruling for the NLRB and remanded for further consideration in light of the recent ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.
July 02, 2024
Split 8th Circuit Reinstates Manager’s Claims From Firing After Diabetic Episode

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A fast food restaurant manager may proceed with her disability bias and Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) lawsuit, a split Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled July 1, opining in part that a jury may conclude that the manager’s diabetic episode that caused her to miss work for two days without notice “was not independent from her firing” that followed.
July 01, 2024
Uber and Lyft Will Guarantee Drivers’ Wages To Settle Mass. Attorney General’s Suit

BOSTON — Two rideshare companies under a settlement agreement filed in a Massachusetts court will ensure that starting in mid-August, drivers will receive no less than $32.50 per hour, and will pay a total of $175 million to the state to resolve allegations that they violated the state’s wage-and-hour laws.
June 28, 2024
California Berry Farm Settles 2022 EEOC Sex Harassment Suit For $200,000

LOS ANGELES — A Camarillo, Calif., raspberry farm agreed to pay $200,000 and provide injunctive relief to end a complaint by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that it subjected male and female workers to offensive sex-based remarks and unwanted touching, according to a consent decree signed by a federal judge in California on June 27.
June 28, 2024
High Court Overrules Chevron Deference, Changes Standard For Regulatory Review

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on June 28 voted 6-3 to overrule the doctrine of Chevron deference as incompatible with the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) in two cases arising out of federal fishing regulations, changing governing precedent for federal courts reviewing agencies’ regulatory actions.