Labor & Employment

Emojis help make one case and destroy another; corruption defendant used winking emojis

Emojis helped prosecutors building a case against a Los Angeles city councilman but didn’t work as intended in a plaintiff’s employment discrimination case.

Oct 26, 2021 3:55 PM CDT

Following a 12% pay cut, UMass law professor challenges collective bargaining law for university staff

A University of Massachusetts School of Law professor is suing his union, his university and the state over a law that gives the union exclusive rights to represent him in salary negotiations and grievance procedures.

Oct 11, 2021 4:00 PM CDT

Judge reprimands Littler Mendelson for ‘baseless legal and factual statements’ in disability bias case

A federal judge in Phoenix has formally reprimanded Littler Mendelson for “baseless legal and factual statements” made in a court document while defending DISH Network in a disability bias case.

Oct 7, 2021 11:58 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: DOJ opposes Purdue Pharma bankruptcy deal; California bill bans ‘stealthing’

DOJ seeks to stop Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan The U.S. trustee for the Justice Department has filed a motion to halt a judge’s approval of a controversial bankruptcy plan for OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. The deal allows members of the Sackler family, which own the company, to avoid legal liability…

Sep 17, 2021 4:15 PM CDT

9th Circuit nominee is grilled over statement calling Kavanaugh ‘intellectually and morally bankrupt’

A nominee to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at San Francisco told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that a letter that she signed calling then-Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh “intellectually and morally bankrupt” contained “overheated rhetoric.”

Sep 15, 2021 11:33 AM CDT

Advocating for human rights for workers around the world is part of the ABA’s mission

Next time you put on that top fashion-brand garment made in Bangladesh, consider the workers who produced it. Are they still alive, despite wages below poverty level and unsafe working conditions? Or have some been killed or injured in a factory collapse or fire, or in an attempt to strike…

Sep 14, 2021 4:00 PM CDT

Will employer vaccine mandate survive? OSHA would act under little-used statutory provision

President Joe Biden’s plan to require businesses with more than 100 workers to require vaccinations or testing relies on a little-used provision of a 1970 law.

Sep 13, 2021 4:18 PM CDT

Law firms team up to encourage racial equity and economic mobility in the Carolinas

Two dozen BigLaw, regional and local law firms have joined together to form the Carolinas Social Impact Initiative, a new effort that seeks to tackle systemic racism in the region.

Sep 3, 2021 9:47 AM CDT

Republican-led states sue Biden administration over protections for transgender students and workers

Twenty Republican-led states sued the Biden administration Monday claiming that protections for transgender people, including access to bathrooms and locker rooms, are invalid under federal law.

Sep 1, 2021 10:12 AM CDT

Judge’s award of $1 in attorney fees is likely unreasonable, 8th Circuit says

A federal appeals court has vacated a federal judge’s $1 attorney fee award to a law firm that he thought was engaged in “incorrigible practices.”

Aug 19, 2021 2:15 PM CDT

Now that the COVID-19 vaccine has full approval from the FDA, how will employers respond?

There’s a sense that implementing mandatory vaccine policies could be difficult for employers—particularly when employees are not seeking religious or medical accommodations and instead fall into the “I don’t want to” group.

Aug 19, 2021 1:30 PM CDT

Investigators conclude Cuomo sexually harassed women; ‘the typical rules did not apply,’ says one employee

A report by investigators appointed by New York Attorney General Letitia James has found that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, including former and current state employees.

Aug 3, 2021 12:06 PM CDT

Federal prosecutor alleges retaliation for complaints about discrimination and racist statements

An assistant U.S. attorney in Santa Ana, California, has filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation for complaining about discrimination and racist statements by managers. Charles Pell’s July 28 amended complaint says he consistently received outstanding ratings in his performance reviews before 2019. Around 2020, a proposed “outstanding” rating was overruled by…

Jul 30, 2021 12:15 PM CDT

Top Texas court rejects case, then agrees to hear it after appellant donates $250K to reelection PAC

In October, the Apache Corp., a Houston oil company, was unable to persuade the Texas Supreme Court to hear its appeal of a paralegal’s retaliation award of about $900,000 in damages and attorney fees.

Jul 26, 2021 10:39 AM CDT

Scabby the Rat receives a reprieve from the NLRB

The National Labor Relations Board has ruled that a union didn’t violate the law when it displayed a 12-foot inflatable Scabby the Rat on public property near the entrance of an RV trade show in Indiana.

Jul 22, 2021 12:23 PM CDT