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Mealey's Employment

February 02, 2024
5th Circuit Cuts $366M FedEx Retaliation Verdict To Less Than $250,000

NEW ORLEANS — A more than $366 million jury verdict against FedEx Corporate Services Inc. in a former employee’s retaliation case was reduced to $248,619.57 by a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel in a Feb. 1 opinion in which the panel found that the employee’s 42 U.S. Code Section 1981 claims were time-barred under her employment contract, that the compensatory damages for the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 claim has to be reduced based on Title VII’s $300,000 cap and the evidence and that the employee “was not entitled to punitive damages.”
February 02, 2024
Judgment Granted For Insurer In Row Over Misrepresentation Of Harassment Suit

SANTA ANA, Calif. — A California federal judge granted summary judgment to an employment practices liability insurer in a declaratory judgment suit against its insured, finding that the insurer is entitled to rescind the policies because it would not have issued the policies had it known of the insured’s false affirmation in the policy application that no harassment suits were made against it in the last five years.
February 02, 2024
Judgment Entered After Verdict For Firm In Former Associate’s Retaliation Case

NEW YORK — A federal court in New York entered judgment and dismissed a retaliation case by a law firm’s former associate after a jury verdict was returned for Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and the firm’s management.
February 01, 2024
U.S. High Court Requests Response To Prevailing Wage Act Preemption Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An employee who sued his former employer in a Massachusetts court for failing to pay him according to the state’s Prevailing Wage Act was requested by the U.S. Supreme Court to respond to the employer’s petition for a writ of certiorari seeking review of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s ruling that there was no showing that the state law was preempted by Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1995 (ICCTA), as amended.
January 31, 2024
$20M Michigan Unemployment Fraud Class Settlement Approved By State Judge

LANSING, Mich. — A Michigan judge granted final approval of a $20 million class settlement in a case by unemployment recipients who accused the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (MUIA) of wrongfully flagging them as having committed unemployment fraud, the Michigan attorney general announced Jan. 30.
January 31, 2024
$6M Settlement Approved In Race Case Against Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the District of Columbia issued a series of orders granting final approval of a $6 million class settlement in a race bias, harassment and retaliation case against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), as well as attorney fees and $50,000 service awards for the class representatives.
January 30, 2024
United’s $10.1M Wage Statement Pact Approved; Consent Decree Deemed Overbroad

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a settlement between United Airlines Inc. and its pilots who sued alleging that their wage statements lacked certain information required under California law, but the judge reduced the requested attorney fees and service awards and denied approval of United’s unopposed consent decree, finding that it “is fatally overbroad.”
January 30, 2024
5th Circuit: Cancer Center’s Federal Funding Doesn’t Waive Immunity In Age Bias Suit

NEW ORLEANS — A cancer center’s acceptance of federal funding doesn’t waive its sovereign immunity as an arm of Texas, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Jan. 29 in a three-page per curiam opinion, reversing a trial court’s denial of the center’s dismissal motion in an age bias suit by a former employee and remanding with instructions to dismiss.
January 30, 2024
7th Circuit: School Workers Can’t Sue In Both State, Federal Court Over Vaccine

CHICAGO — School workers suing over COVID-19 vaccine and testing requirements can’t sue in both state and federal courts, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 29, affirming a trial court’s dismissal of the federal case where the workers sought damages, opining that all claims could have been included in their state court case and “Illinois does not tolerate sequential litigation against a single order, whether or not the plaintiffs made a strategic blunder.”
January 30, 2024
Sugar Factory Server Class Partly Certified In Connecticut Wage-And-Hour Suit

HARTFORD, Conn. — A Connecticut judge partially granted a motion to certify a class of current and former servers at Sugar Factory’s Foxwoods Casino location suing for various wage-and-hour claims, including the failure to pay minimum wages for nonservice work.
January 29, 2024
U.S. Supreme Court Seeks Defense Secretary Response In COVID-19 Vaccine Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The secretary of Defense and other federal government officials on Jan. 26 were asked by the U.S. Supreme Court to respond to a petition by military chaplains who sued over the denial of their religious accommodation requests when it came to the COVID-19 vaccine and argue that their lawsuit remains live despite the revocation of the mandate.
January 29, 2024
NLRB, Union Seek Denial Of Petition In General Counsel Complaint Withdrawal Appeal

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Labor Relations Board and Teamsters Local 117 and 313 filed separate briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court urging the justices to deny an employer’s petition seeking a decision on whether an agency officer’s definite term of office bars without-cause removal and whether the NLRB’s general counsel may withdraw an administrative complaint after a motion for summary judgment has been filed.
January 29, 2024
Former Employee Alleges Termination For Refusing COVID Vaccine Was Discrimination

PORTLAND, Ore. — Alleging that her employer failed to make a good faith effort to accommodate her religious beliefs and medical disability, both of which led her to decline a company-mandated COVID-19 vaccination, an Idaho woman filed suit against the employer in an Oregon federal court, seeking compensatory and punitive damages after the company terminated her employment.
January 29, 2024
7-Eleven To Mass. High Court: Franchisees Don’t Perform Services For Franchisor

BOSTON — Addressing the most recent question certified to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court by the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in an employment classification case, 7-Eleven Inc. argues in its brief that its franchisees do not trigger the Massachusetts test for independent contractor misclassification, also known as the “ABC” test, as their contractual obligations, including paying a percentage of their profit to the franchisor, do not constitute “services” under that test.
January 26, 2024
Freight Transporter Waives Response To Workers’ FMLA Interference Petition

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A rail-based freight transportation company waived its right to respond to a U.S. Supreme Court petition concerning the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) filed by workers after the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment and dismissal ruling for the employer in a discrimination and retaliation case in which the workers alleged that they were wrongly found to have sought treatment for bogus or exaggerated injuries.
January 26, 2024
Magistrate: Parties In FCA Suit Must Respond To Intervention By Specific Date

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana federal magistrate judge ordered parties to respond by Feb. 5 to the state’s motion to intervene in a suit filed by a health care network’s former employee, who alleges that his termination was in retaliation for his expressing concerns over the network’s purported False Claims Act (FCA) violations by illegally inducing physicians to refer patients to the network’s hospitals.
January 26, 2024
5th Circuit Denies Rehearing After Upholding Dismissal Of Director’s RICO Claims

NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing filed by a former Louisiana State University (LSU) assistant athletic director after a panel affirmed dismissal of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) claims in a case in which the employee alleged that she was retaliated against for reporting sexual harassment by the school’s former football coach.
January 26, 2024
7th Circuit Denies US Foods Rehearing After Age Bias Ruling For Employee

CHICAGO — The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc filed by US Foods Inc. after a panel reversed a trial court’s summary judgment ruling for the employer in an age discrimination case and found that the employee “presented significant evidence to establish an inference of discrimination.”
January 25, 2024
Amazon’s $950,000 Pandemic Home-Based Expenses Class Settlement Approved

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal judge in California granted final approval of a $950,000 settlement between Amazon.com Services LLC and a class of California-based workers who alleged that they were denied reimbursement for internet expenses they incurred while working from home during the coronavirus pandemic and approved a motion for attorney fees and costs.
January 25, 2024
Solicitor General Considers Filing Amicus Brief In Detainee Class Wage Appeals

SAN FRANCISCO — The United States filed a response to a March 2023 order by the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals inviting the submission of an amicus curiae brief in two appeals by a Washington state detention center owner and operator challenging a minimum wage verdict for a class of immigration detainees and an unjust enrichment award for Washington, stating that the solicitor general was considering whether to authorize such a filing and that a brief, if authorized, would be filed by Feb. 21.
January 24, 2024
2nd Circuit Upholds Ruling Against Ex-Union Member Who Lost Benefits

NEW YORK — In a summary order, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel upheld dismissal of Employee Retirement Income Security Act claims and a Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) claim that a retiree filed after being expelled from a union and losing pension and health benefits.
January 24, 2024
Fla. Agency Seeks Rehearing After 11th Circuit Ruling On Title VII Bias Framework

ATLANTA — The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (FDJJ) filed a petition for rehearing en banc after an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled that the McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green framework is not “a stand-in for the ultimate question of liability in Title VII [of the Civil Rights Act of 1964] discrimination cases.”
January 23, 2024
Stipulation Ends Suit Over Alleged ‘Raid’ Of Facultative Reinsurance Brokerage

CHICAGO — After all parties filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice, an Illinois federal judge terminated a breach of contract and Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA) suit over an alleged “raid” of a facultative reinsurance brokerage.
January 23, 2024
U.S. High Court Denies 2 Pro Se Petitions By Workers Alleging Bias

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 22 denied two pro se employment-related petitions, one by a fired shear operator who alleged that he was the victim of race, color and national origin discrimination and one by a worker with chronic back pain who claimed that he was discriminated against due to his disability.
January 22, 2024
Supreme Court Won’t Hear Professor’s 1st Amendment Suit Over Blog Post

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A North Carolina State University (NCSU) professor saw his petition for certiorari denied by the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 22, with the high court declining to consider his questions about whether his ouster from a degree program was an adverse employment action in response to a controversial blog post that he authored and whether that post was protected under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.