Mealey's Employment
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April 29, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court Denies Employee’s Petition In Suspension With Pay Appeal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 29 denied a September 2022 petition by a former employee who contended that the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals erred when it concluded that a suspension with pay was not an adverse employment action; the denial came just over a week after the justices issued the opinion in Muldrow v. St. Louis, a case that the United States had argued should have been heard together with the present case.
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April 29, 2024
9th Circuit Agrees Starbucks Must Recognize, Bargain With Reserve Roastery Union
SEATTLE — A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel granted the National Labor Relations Board’s application for enforcement of its decision finding that Siren Retail Corp., doing business as Starbucks, violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it refused to recognize and bargain with a union elected via mail-in ballots after arguing that an in-person election should have been ordered.
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April 26, 2024
AI Hiring Company Sufficiently Targeted Illinois For Jurisdiction, Class Says
CHICAGO — The intentional contacts an artificial intelligence hiring platform company created with Illinois provide for jurisdiction, and the court should reject the company’s attempts to downplay the reality of those connections, class action plaintiffs say in an April 25 opposition. Previously, the company asked the court to reconsider its ruling finding jurisdiction in the state.
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April 26, 2024
Chamber Of Commerce, Other Groups Seek Stay Of FTC’s Noncompete Rule
TYLER, Texas — A motion for a stay of the effective date of the Federal Trade Commission’s new rule banning noncompete agreements and preliminary injunction was filed in a Texas federal court by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America and two other groups on the same day they sued the FTC over the rule; the complaint is one of several filed in the days after the rule banning the issuance of new noncompete agreements nationwide and largely banning the enforcement of existing agreements was announced.
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April 26, 2024
State Courts Lack Jurisdiction To Hear Tribal Police Wrongful Termination Case
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — State courts did not have subject matter jurisdiction to hear a wrongful termination case brought by two former police officers with the Pueblo of Santa Ana Police Department because tribal sovereign immunity bars the claims, a New Mexico panel found in affirming a trial court’s judgment.
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April 25, 2024
EEOC’s Race Bias Case Filed Against DHL In 2010 Settles For $8.7 Million
CHICAGO — A federal judge in Illinois on April 24 signed a consent decree between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and DHL Express (USA) Inc. requiring the shipping company to pay $8.7 million to end a lawsuit that originated in 2010 and alleges that it assigned Black drivers to less desirable and more dangerous work.
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April 25, 2024
Las Vegas Casino And Hotel Will Settle EEOC’s Disability Bias, Retaliation Case
LAS VEGAS — A hotel and casino in Las Vegas agreed to pay $720,000 to end a disability bias and retaliation lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accusing it of failing to provide accommodations and firing an employee because he wore an ostomy bag, the EEOC announced April 25.
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April 25, 2024
Workday Opposes EEOC Brief Saying AI’s Use Doesn’t Redefine Employment Agency
SAN FRANCISCO — Workday Inc. opposed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s motion to participate in a discrimination case involving artificial intelligence employment software as amicus curiae, portraying the brief as an improper second opposition to a motion to dismiss. Earlier, the EEOC said the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in screening and sorting job candidates offers a “more sophisticated means” of performing employment agency tasks but does not differentiate the company from traditional employment agencies.
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April 25, 2024
Ariz. Federal Judge: Expert Can Estimate Unpaid Wages In Suit By Class Of Drivers
PHOENIX — A forensic accounting expert retained by the operator of a fleet of chauffeured transportation services can testify, an Arizona federal judge ruled, denying a motion filed by a class of drivers who sued for wage violations.
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April 25, 2024
FTC Issues Final Rule Banning Noncompetes
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule banning the issuance of new noncompete agreements nationwide and largely banning the enforcement of existing agreements.
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April 24, 2024
U.S. High Court Denies Petition In Appeal Over Jury Trial For ADA Retaliation
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a former employee who argues that he was entitled to monetary damages and a jury trial after his claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) were reduced to one claim of retaliation based on his firing.
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April 23, 2024
Starbucks, NLRB Present Arguments To High Court On Test For NLRB Injunctive Relief
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorneys representing Starbucks Corp. and M. Kathleen McKinney, a National Labor Relations Board regional director, appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court on April 23 to present arguments on the appropriate standard for reviewing injunctive relief sought by the NLRB; in the case on appeal, the relief sought was the reinstatement of seven fired employees who engaged in pro-union activities.
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April 23, 2024
NLRB Urges 9th Circuit To Enforce Bargaining Without Election Framework
SAN FRANCISCO — A new framework for determining when an employer has violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by refusing to bargain with a majority union without an election “will better advance the core statutory policies of effectuating employee choice and deterring unlawful conduct” and “is consistent with decades of precedent,” the National Labor Relations Board argues in an April 22 brief asking the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to enforce its August 2023 decision.
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April 23, 2024
Calif. High Court Answers 9th Circuit Question, Finds Inmate Class Not Owed Wages
SAN FRANCISCO — A class of nonconvicted inmates in a California county jail who perform services for a for-profit company that supplies meals have no claim for minimum wages and overtime under current state law, the California Supreme Court ruled April 22, answering a question certified by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an interlocutory appeal.
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April 23, 2024
Red Robin Will Pay $600,000 To End EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit
SEATTLE — Red Robin International Inc. will pay $600,000 and provide other injunctive relief to end a complaint by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging sexual harassment, retaliation and constructive discharge according to an order by a federal judge in Washington approving a consent decree between the parties.
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April 23, 2024
Jury Awards Zurich Workers $75M In Punitive Damages After Time ‘Theft’ Verdicts
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A California jury awarded three workers $25 million each in punitive damages one day after issuing verdicts for the three on claims that they were the subject of defamatory statements and wrongly fired for allegedly stealing time from the company after being awarded and using “off the record” paid time off (PTO).
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April 23, 2024
Researcher Says Amazon Fired Her For Taking Maternity Leave During AI Race
LOS ANGELES — Worried that it was losing the race to develop artificial intelligence and panicked by the release of ChatGPT, Amazon.com Services LLC played catch-up in part by barring employee leave, an AI researcher alleges in a complaint claiming that the company mistreated her for taking legally protected maternity leave and fired her when she complained about her treatment.
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April 23, 2024
Uber, Lyft Ask High Court To Review Arbitrability Of California Wage Claims
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Uber Technologies Inc. and its subsidiaries and Lyft Inc. filed petitions for a writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a California appellate court ruling affirming the denial of their attempt to compel arbitration of claims brought on behalf of workers by state officials who accused the companies of misclassifying drivers in violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
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April 23, 2024
Arguments On Staying Or Dismissing Pending Arbitration Heard By U.S. High Court
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorneys representing delivery drivers and the individual owners and managers of Intelliserve and related corporate entities (together, Intelliserve) presented oral arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court on April 22 in a dispute over the dismissal rather than the stay of a case alleging wage-and-hour violations where both sides agreed that the claims were subject to arbitration.
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April 22, 2024
U.S. High Court Denies Domino’s FAA Petition In Truck Drivers’ Expenses Case
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 22 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Domino’s Pizza LLC after the company’s truck drivers (D&S drivers) were found by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to be exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) in their class case alleging unreimbursed business expenses and violation of California’s unfair competition law (UCL).
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April 22, 2024
Amazon’s High Court Petition Denied In Flex Delivery Drivers’ Tips Class Suit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on April 22 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari by Amazon.com Inc. and Amazon Logistics Inc. (together, Amazon) concerning the applicability of Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) Section 1’s exemption to Amazon Flex delivery drivers in a class case over tips.
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April 19, 2024
Plaintiffs Win Little In Suit Over Business Deal Involving Reinsurance Distributor
MIAMI — Following a bench trial over “a failed business relationship” involving a managed health care reinsurance distribution company, a Florida federal judge ruled for the defendants on claims for breaches of an asset purchase agreement (APA) and the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, but found that the plaintiffs proved breach of employment agreements based on disparaging comments and salary miscalculations.
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April 19, 2024
Car Dealerships Will Pay $325,000 To End EEOC Disability, Age Bias Suit
TEXARKANA, Texas — A Texas company that owns car dealerships will pay $325,000 and provide other relief to settle a lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a Texas federal court alleging that the employer fired a senior sales executive to avoid medical costs related to his cancer diagnosis, the EEOC announced.
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April 18, 2024
2nd Circuit Affirms $13M Ruling For Multiemployer Fund In Withdrawal Liability Row
NEW YORK — In a per curiam opinion upholding confirmation of a roughly $13 million award, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel agreed with an arbitrator that the appellant’s predecessor “was not operating in the business and construction industry” and so didn’t quality for an exemption from withdrawal liability under part of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
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April 18, 2024
EEOC Complaint Accuses Sheetz Of Racially Biased Hiring Practices
BALTIMORE — Sheetz Inc., Sheetz Distribution Services LLC and CLI Transport LP (together, Sheetz) discriminate against classes of Black, Native American and other multiracial applicants based on their race by screening for criminal convictions and then denying employment based on them, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges in a complaint filed April 17 in a federal court in Maryland.