http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Headline Employment Law Legal News from LexisNexis® en-us http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/images/lexismealeyslogo.gif 130 29 http://www.lexisnexis.com/mealeys/news.aspx Copyright 2020 http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%201%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 18 granted petitions in two cases seeking clarification of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution's "ministerial exception" as applied to age and disability bias lawsuits, consolidated them and granted a total of one hour for oral argument (St. James School v. Darryl Biel, No. 19-348; Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Agnes Morrissey-Berru, No. 19-267, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%202%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PORTLAND, Ore. - A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 24 upheld a trial court's denial of class certification in a gender bias lawsuit brought by female employees against Microsoft Corp., finding a lack of commonality and conflicts of interest (Katherine Moussouris, et al. v. Microsoft Corporation, No. 18-35791, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 38320). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%203%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court does not need to review a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruling enforcing a subpoena by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seeking additional information from an employer as part of a discrimination investigation after a right-to-sue letter was issued and the employee that made the original charge already filed suit because the EEOC's investigative authority is not limited in that way, the EEOC argues in a Jan. 3 opposition brief (VF Jeanswear, LP v. U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, No. 19-446, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%204%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - A California judge on Dec. 11 declined to strike class allegations and partially overruled a demurrer by Walt Disney Co. and related companies in female workers' pay discrimination complaint, granting it only as to some of the plaintiffs' California's Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claims (LaRonda Rasmussen, et al. v. The Walt Disney Company, et al., No. 19STCV10974, Calif. Super., Los Angeles Co.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%205%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A divided Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 6 rejected arguments by Walmart Inc., doing business as Wal-Mart Transportation LLC, to reduce a $60.8 million judgment for a class of truck drivers on employment-related claims and denied a cross-appeal by the drivers seeking liquidated damages (Charles Ridgeway, et al. v. Walmart Inc., Nos. 17-15983 and 17-16142, 9th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 212). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%206%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A divided Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 14 affirmed a district court's confirmation of an arbitration award for an employee and joined three other circuits in ruling that the look-through approach for a petition under Section 4 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) as established in Vaden v. Discover Bank also applies to motions under three other sections of the FAA (Nicole J. Quezada v. Bechtel OG & C Construction Services, Incorporated, No. 19-20042, 5th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1192). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%207%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A registered nurse who works for an insurance company reviewing denials of claims for medical insurance coverage is a professional employee exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Jan. 14 (Sharon Isett, et al. v. Aetna Life Insurance Company, et al., No. 18-3271, 2nd Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1190). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%208%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Los Angeles County in a Jan. 6 petition for a writ of certiorari asks the U.S. Supreme Court to consider whether it is entitled to sovereign immunity in a wage complaint by in-home care workers and whether the U.S. Department of Labor's nonenforcement policy bars private rights of action during the agency's nonenforcement period (County of Los Angeles v. Trina Ray, et al., No. 19-856, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%209%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - An airline in arguing against a trial court's grant of class certification in a wage complaint by workers successfully claimed that the incorrect standard was applied and that individualized inquiries negate the employees' attempt to show commonality and predominance, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Dec. 24 reversing the certification order (Daniel Ferreras, et al. v. American Airlines, Inc., No. 18-3143, 3rd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 38369). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2010%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 16 denied a Kentucky steakhouse's petition to appeal a class certification order in its employees' wage-and-hour suit, finding that there was no abuse of discretion (In re: Platinum Restaurants Mid-America, LLC, No. 19-511, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 37244). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2011%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A district court correctly concluded that Texas county detectives were paid a salary when it granted a motion for judgment as a matter of law following a jury's opposite determination in a verdict for the detectives; however, the detectives' overtime claims were not dead and could have proceeded in a new trial had the detectives not abandoned their motion for one, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Jan. 10 (Jose Escribano, et al. v. Travis County, Texas, No. 19-50236, 5th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 853). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2012%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FRESNO, Calif. - A federal judge in one federal court in California denied a motion to transfer five consolidated wage-and-hour class lawsuits against Amazon.com Inc. and others to another federal court where a sixth wage-and-hour class complaint was recently filed, opining that Amazon failed to show that the actions overlap and that the impending retirement of a chief judge is not reason alone for transfer (Juan Trevino, et al. v. Golden State FC, LLC, et al., Nos. 18-120, 18-121, 18, 567, 18-1176 and 17-1300, E.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 214571). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2013%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' HARRISBURG, Pa. - In rulings issued Jan. 8 and 9, a Pennsylvania federal magistrate judge denied discovery requests by a class of travel stop operations managers (OMs) in a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime lawsuit, finding requests for personnel files and text messages to be too broad, burdensome and fraught with privacy concerns (Kristopher Lawson, et al. v. Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores Inc., No. 1:17-cv-01266, M.D. Pa., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3352). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2014%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal judge in Ohio on Jan. 13 conditionally certified a Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective action concerning delivery drivers' wages and authorized notice to all delivery drivers employed at five Domino's pizza franchises in the state (Scott Honaker v. Wright Bros. Pizza, Inc., et al., No. 18-1528, S.D. Ohio, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5181). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2015%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEWARK, N.J. - A New Jersey federal judge on Dec. 26 dismissed employees' claims against a tax preparation services franchisor arising after the effective date of a statute in Oklahoma wage law but denied dismissal of claims arising before the statute's effective date (Wanda Mardis, et al. v. Jackson Hewitt Tax Service Inc., et al., No. 16-2115, D. N.J., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 221573). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2016%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division (WHD) released three opinion letters on Jan. 7 addressing overtime pay calculations, Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) eligibility and pre-project payments. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2017%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal sector provision of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) bars "discrimination not only in the ultimate outcome of a personnel decision but also in the process of making that decision," an attorney representing a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pharmacist argued on Jan. 15 before the U.S. Supreme Court (Noris Babb v. Robert Wilkie, No. 18-882, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2018%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 13 affirmed summary judgment for an employer in an age discrimination lawsuit, ruling in an unpublished per curiam decision that the employee, who claimed that he was forced to retire due to his age, failed to show that his retirement was a pretext for discrimination (Paul Tagliabue, Jr. v. Orkin, L.L.C., No. 18-40691, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36971). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2019%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A National Labor Relations Board on Dec. 23 in a case involving United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) and a fired package car driver who was also a shop steward overruled the standard for deferring to arbitral decisions in unfair labor practice cases announced in Babcock & Wilcox Construction Co., Inc., 361 NLRB 1127 (2014), and reinstated the standard established in Olin Corp., 268 NLRB 573 (1984), and Spielberg Mfg. Co., 112NLRB 1080 (1955) (United Parcel Service, Inc. and Robert C. Atkinson, Jr., No. 06-CA-143062, NLRB). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2020%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A divided National Labor Relations Board on Dec. 16 overruled a 2015 decision in Lincoln Lutheran of Raince that changed employers' union dues checkoff obligations when a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) ends and returned to the precedent established in a 1962 decision in Bethlehem Steel, which found that an employer's obligation ends when the CBA expires (Valley Hospital Medical Center, Inc. and Local Joint Executive Board of Las Vegas, No. 28-CA-213783, NLRB). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2021%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Employees have no statutory right to use their employer's computers or email for organizing activities except where that email is "the only reasonable means for employees to communicate with one another," a divided National Labor Relations Board ruled Dec. 17 (Caesars Entertainment and International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, District Council 16, Local 159, AFL-CIO, No. 28-CA-060841, NLRB). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2022%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 declined to take up an appeal sought by a restaurant found by the National Labor Relations Board to have violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it declined to rehire striking workers after their unconditional offer to return to work and replaced them (Michael Cetta, Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board, No. 19-628, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2023%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - CNN America Inc. will pay $76 million in back pay, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced Jan. 10, calling it "the largest monetary remedy" in the NLRB's history. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2024%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 31 granted an employer's petition for review in a matter over an employee's firing after writing a phrase on an overtime sign-up sheet and remanded the case for the National Labor Relations Board to consider in the first instance whether when ruling against the employer, it ignored the employer's obligation to provide a harassment-free workplace (Constellium Rolled Products Ravenswood, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board, No. 18-1300, D.C. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 38751). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2025%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two labor unions filed a motion on Jan. 7 asking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to reopen the record related to a Dec. 12 decision in which an NLRB panel ruled 2-1 to vacate an administrative law judge's (ALJ) order that denied approval of multiple settlement agreements involving McDonald's USA LLC, McDonald's Restaurants of Illinois Inc. and a large number of franchisees accused of retaliating against workers involved in an organizing campaign for higher pay (McDonald's USA, LLC, et al. and Fast Food Workers Committee, et al., Nos. 02-CA-093893, 04-CA-125567, 13-CA-106490, 20-CA-132103, 25-CA-114819 and 31-CA-127447, NLRB). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2026%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A divided National Labor Relations Board on Dec. 13 announced changes to representation case procedures that include clarifications to procedures before an election and allowing for additional time to comply with pre-election requirements that were instituted in 2014. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2027%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Jan. 3 denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc filed by employers ordered to continue providing health insurance benefits for retirees and their families (Harold Stone, et al. v. Signode Industrial Group LLC, et al., No. 19-1601, 7th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 132). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2028%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A class of insurance agents whose petition for a writ of certiorari concerning the correct standard of review in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act case in which they allege misclassification was denied by the U.S. Supreme Court filed a petition for rehearing on Jan. 2, asking the justices to consider holding the petition pending a decision in Monasky v. Taglieri, No. 18-935 (cert. granted June 10, 2019) (Walid Jammal, et al. v. American Family Insurance Company, No. 19-248, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2029%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Labor Relations Board in a 3-1 decision issued Dec. 17 overruled a 2015 decision that required a case-by-case determination on confidentiality during a workplace investigation and instead held that an employer's "investigative confidentiality rules are lawful" (Apogee Retail LLC and Kathy Johnson, Nos. 27-CA-191574 and 27-CA-198058, NLRB). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2030%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' INDIANAPOLIS - Liquidated damages provisions in three employees' contracts requiring payments that could potentially total in the millions if they left and recruited customers and other workers are unenforceable as they "are facially unreasonable" and have not been shown to correlate to actual losses, a split Indiana Supreme Court ruled Dec. 18 (American Consulting, Inc. v. Hannum Wagle & Cline Engineering, Inc., et al., No. 18S-PL-00437, Ind. Sup., 2019 Ind. LEXIS 935). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2031%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Cleaners who sued a cleaning company franchisor over franchise fees made no "viable" unjust enrichment claim as they did nothing more than claim that the franchise agreement requiring fees was an employment agreement and so any fee or payment is void, a federal judge in Connecticut ruled Jan. 3, denying the cleaners' motion for reconsideration, which followed the judge's Dec. 21 summary judgment ruling for the franchisor (Simon Mujo, et al. v. Jani-King International, Inc., et al., No. 16-1990, D. Conn., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 679). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2032%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - A Georgia judge finalized an $8.08 million jury award on Jan. 7 to the parents of a stuntman who died in a fall during filming of the television show "The Walking Dead" that apportioned most of the liability to a production company and its employees (Susan Bernecker, et al. v. Stalwart Films LLC, et al., No. 18-00435-S1, Ga. State, Gwinnett Co.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2033%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 13 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by the widow of a worker who was killed as a result of an accident that occurred while driving to work (Rita Guerrero v. BNSF Railway Co., No. 19-625, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2034%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' TITUSVILLE, Fla. - A cruise ship server who was hit by a vehicle while on shore leave and continued working after the ship's physicians failed to diagnose her fractured ribs was awarded $4 million by a Florida jury on Dec. 19. However, the jury held the plaintiff 30 percent at fault for her injuries, which reduced her award to $2.8 million (Maria Ana Reis Martins v. Magical Cruise Co. Ltd., No. 05-2015-CA-051858, Fla. Cir., Brevard Co., 18th Jud. Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2035%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to establish a $4.4 million class fund to resolve a 2017 charge of sexual harassment and retaliation, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Dec. 18. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2036%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A security company manager who was fired after he was found sleeping on the job failed to show that his diabetes, for which he had received other accommodations, was the direct cause or that a reasonable accommodation existed, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Jan. 14 (George Charles Clark v. Champion National Security, Incorporated, No. 18-11613, 5th Cir., 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1191). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2037%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - An operator of nursing and rehabilitation centers will pay $170,000 to end a lawsuit in Washington federal court filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging discrimination by failing to provide light duty work to a pregnant employee, the EEOC announced Dec. 30 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Life Care Centers of America Inc., et al., No. 18-1411, W.D. Wash.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-6%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2038%20(2020)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Jan. 13 announced a final rule revising its regulations interpreting joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., and providing a four-factor balancing test to determine when a person is acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to the employee. http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%201%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN DIEGO - A federal magistrate judge in California on Nov. 7 denied preliminary approval of a nearly $1.5 million wage settlement between an operator of medical centers and its call center employees. finding multiple issues with the settlement terms (Monica Smith, et al. v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, No. 18-780, S.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 194964). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%202%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' HARRISBURG, Pa. - When the regular rate for salaried employees who work fluctuating hours is calculated using the actual hours worked, the overtime rate should be calculated using a 1.5 multiplier, a split Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled Nov. 20, affirming the Superior Court's decision as to the multiplier in a class complaint brought by employees (Tawny L. Chevalier, et al. v. General Nutrition Centers, Inc., Nos. 22 WAP 2018 and 23 WAP 2018, Pa. Sup., 2019 Pa. LEXIS 6521). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%203%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BOSTON - Massachusetts regulations that provide overtime pay to au pairs and have tighter restrictions than federal regulations when it comes to room and board reductions are not preempted by the U.S. Department of State's (DOS) "au pair program," a First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Dec. 2, affirming a district court's ruling for the Massachusetts attorney general (Erin Capron, et al. v. Office of the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, et al., No. 17-2140, 1st Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 35778). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%204%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - An employer's offer of settlement that is accepted by the plaintiff in a case brought under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) doesn't require judicial approval, a split Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Dec. 6 (Mei Xing Yu, et al. v. Hasaki Restaurant, Inc., et al., No. 17-3388, 2nd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36222). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%205%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Dec. 11 denied a petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc following an Oct. 1 decision in which a split panel held that McDonald's Inc. and its subsidiaries aren't a joint employer of franchised locations' workers and can't be held liable for overtime claims (Guadalupe Salazar, et al. v. McDonald's Corp., et al., No. 17-15673, 9th Cir.; 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36683). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%206%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - The California Supreme Court on Nov. 20 agreed to decide whether Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Superior Court applies retroactively after the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals certified the question to the high court in a case concerning cleaning service franchisees' status as employees (Gerardo Vazquez, et al. v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., No. S258191, Calif. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%207%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A federal magistrate judge in California on Nov. 8 partially denied an employer's motion for partial summary judgment in a wage and hour violations lawsuit brought by a former employee, finding that the California unfair competition law (UCL) claim survives the motion because it seeks only restitution and not statutory or civil penalties (Stephen Carter v. Golden Gate Freightliner Inc., No. 19-02034, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 194910). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%208%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DAYTON, Ohio - Delivery drivers employed by pizza franchisees who show that they were not paid minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and were not reimbursed for their actual expenses are owed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rate for mileage reimbursement, a federal judge in Ohio ruled Nov. 5 (Tammy Hatmaker, et al. v. PJ Ohio, LLC, et al., No. 17-146, S.D. Ohio, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 191790). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%209%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A California appeals panel on Nov. 8 held that a lower court's order that struck class allegations in a plaintiff's lawsuit alleging unlawful business practices against her former employer is not appealable under the death knell doctrine, dismissing the appeal (Emielou Williams v. Impax Laboratories, Inc., No. A155479, Calif. App., 1st Dist., Div. 1, 2019 Cal. App. LEXIS 1119). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2010%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OAKLAND, Calif. - An employee's wage class claims brought under California law are preempted by Section 301 of the Labor Management Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. § 185(a), a federal judge in California ruled Nov. 8, denying the employee's motion to remand (Jose Franco v. E-3 Systems, Nos. 19-1453 and 19-2854, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 195396). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2011%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SALEM, Ore. - It is not enough for an employer, under Oregon law, to simply provide a 30-minute unpaid meal break, it must ensure that employees are taking their breaks or pay them wages for the missed breaks, an Oregon appellate panel ruled Nov. 14, vacating decertification of a class suing over missed breaks (Renee Maza, et al. v. Waterford Operations, LLC, et al., No. A165030, Ore. App., 2019 Ore. App. LEXIS 1490). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2012%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PASADENA, Calif. - A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Dec. 9 affirmed a District Court's ruling for a Mexican fast food chain and a restaurant supervisor on claims that undocumented workers' hours were cut and preference was given to English-speaking, documented workers, finding that there was no showing of bias or other violations of California state law (Demetrio Mejia, et al. v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., et al., No. 18-55085, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36422). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2013%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - A ride-share company illegally deducted money it represented as sales taxes and surcharges and misrepresented fares, drivers working out of New York allege in a Nov. 6 class complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Levon Aleksanian, et al. v. Uber Technologies, Inc., et al., No. 19-10308, S.D. N.Y.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2014%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - An Ohio federal magistrate judge on Dec. 2 found that compensation documents requested by a neurosurgeon from the consultants and accountants of companies he is suing for employment discrimination are not protected by attorney-client privilege, mostly granting his motion to compel and denying the defendants' motions to quash (Set Shahbabian M.D. v. TriHealth Inc., et al., No. 1:18-cv-00790, S.D. Ohio, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 206939). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2015%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PORTLAND, Ore. - In a more-than-100-page opinion addressing 15 different summary judgment motions, an Oregon federal judge on Nov. 13 determined that the plaintiffs in a putative class action filed against fast food restaurant franchisor Jack in the Box Inc. are entitled to summary judgment on their claim that Jack in the Box violated Oregon law by failing to pay the plaintiffs and other employees within the period required by law when Jack in the Box transferred its Oregon restaurants to its franchisees (Jessica Gessele, et al. v. Jack in the Box Inc., No. 3:14-cv-1092, D. Ore., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 196627). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2016%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' COLUMBUS, Ohio - A federal judge in Ohio on Dec. 2 signed off on a class settlement agreement under which JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. (Chase) will pay $5 million and change its parental leave policy to a "gender-neutral" one to end a complaint by a male employee accusing the employer of discriminating against fathers when it comes to paid parental leave (Derek Rotondo, et al. v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., No. 19-2328, S.D. Ohio, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 208191). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2017%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - Professional female soccer players who have sued the United States Soccer Federation Inc. (USSF) for failing to pay them the same or provide similar working conditions as male soccer players were granted class certification on Nov. 8 by a federal judge in California (Alex Morgan, et al. v. United States Soccer Federation, Inc., No. 19-1717, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2018%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ST. LOUIS - In a dispute over attorney fees in a gender bias case initiated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals for a second time after making its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, the appellate panel on Dec. 10 ruled that there was no abuse of discretion in a trial court's award of attorney fees to the employer after the Supreme Court rejected the finding that the employer did not "prevail" on the EEOC's claims (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. CRST Van Expedited, Inc., No. 18-1446, 8th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 36511). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2019%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - An arbitrator didn't exceed her authority when she purported to bind absent class members in a gender discrimination lawsuit as all class members signed the operative arbitration agreement, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Nov. 18, noting that on remand, the District Court must consider for the first time whether an opt-out class rather than a mandatory one was appropriate (Laryssa Jock, et al. v. Sterling Jewelers Inc., No. 18-153, 2nd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34205). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2020%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The text of Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) Section 633a(a) and U.S. Supreme Court precedent require that an employee alleging age discrimination must show that bias was the but-for cause of the action he or she is challenging, the secretary of Veterans Affairs argues in his Nov. 22 respondent brief filed in the U.S. Supreme Court (Noris Babb v. Robert Wilkie, No. 18-882, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2021%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ST. LOUIS - An equity partner failed to show that a law firm's requirement that partners retire at age 70 violates the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) as the equity partner wasn't an "employee," an Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Dec. 3, noting that the status of an equity partner was one of first impression for the court (Joseph S. von Kaenel v. Armstrong Teasdale, LLP, No. 18-2850, 8th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 35854). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2022%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Oct. 7 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a job applicant who was denied an interview based on his excessive years of experience and argued that his age bias claim was erroneously rejected by a divided en banc Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Dale E. Kleber v. CareFusion Corporation, No. 18-1346, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2023%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Nov. 22 upheld the dismissal of an age and disability discrimination lawsuit saying two former U.S. Postal Service employees failed to make a prima facie case that their employers discriminated against them due to their age or retaliated when they complained about ill treatment (Mary Hatch v. Postmaster General Megan J. Brennan, No. 18-2387, 2nd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34840). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2024%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 12 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by BNSF Railway Co. seeking a ruling on whether requiring a job applicant or employee to pay for and undergo a medical examination to determine if they can safely perform the job establishes that an employer "regards" the individual as disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or constitutes unlawful discrimination (BNSF Railway Company v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, No. 18-1139, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2025%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DENVER - A 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 8 reinstated an employee's claim of disability discrimination against a former employer that was dismissed after the employee failed to provide expert medical evidence of her alleged disability, finding that "expert medical evidence is not required to establish a disability in all ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] cases" and ordering further consideration on remand (Jonella Tesone v. Empire Marketing Strategies, No. 19-1026, 10th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 33488). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2026%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia Inc. discriminated against one of its employees when it denied her request to access her workplace using nonrevolving doors, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges in a Dec. 5 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia, Inc., No. 19-5484, N.D. Ga.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2027%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A franchisor of Golden Corral restaurants and a former server at one of its chains on Dec. 9 settled their dispute in Arkansas federal court over allegations that the server's firing was based upon discrimination for having human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Jimmy Davis v. Golden Partners, Inc., No. 18-5188, W.D. Ark.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2028%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A federal judge in Illinois on Nov. 18 signed off on a $6 million settlement agreement between DolGenCorp LLC (Dollar General) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in a class lawsuit accusing the retailer of race discrimination (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. DolGenCorp LLC, No. 13-4307, N.D. Ill.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2029%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN ANTONIO - Oilfield services company Nabors Corporate Services Inc. and its operational successor, C&J Well Services Inc., will pay $1,225,000 to end a complaint by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that black workers were subjected to a hostile work environment and purposely assigned to lower paying jobs, according to the Nov. 12 order entering consent decree and final judgment filed in a Texas federal court (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Nabors Corporate Services, Inc., et al., No. 16-758, W.D. Texas). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2030%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A former Catholic school teacher and the estate of a former teacher employed by a different Catholic school recently filed briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court opposing the schools' separate petitions, one filed by St. James School and one filed by Our Lady of Guadalupe School, seeking clarification of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution's "ministerial exception" as applied to age and disability bias lawsuits (St. James School v. Darryl Biel, No. 19-348; Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Agnes Morrissey-Berru, No. 19-267, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2031%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A North Dakota attorney filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 21 seeking a ruling on whether state bar association mandatory fees are subject to the same scrutiny outlined in Janus v. AFSCME and whether an automatic collection of fees until an attorney opts out violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (Arnold Fleck v. Joe Wetch, et al., No. 19-670, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2032%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel Dec. 2 granted an employer's motion for extension of time to file a petition for rehearing, a motion filed less than a week after the appellate panel affirmed a district court's permanent injunction ordering the continuation of health insurance benefits for retirees and their families, finding that a 2002 agreement "unambiguously provided retirees vested lifetime health-care benefits" (Harold Stone, et al. v. Signode Industrial Group LLC, et al., No. 19-1601, 7th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34501). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2033%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 9 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari in an Employee Retirement Income Security Act, case filed by a certified class of insurance agents who were seeking to challenge the standard of review applied by the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to findings that the agents were misclassified as independent contractors by an insurer (Walid Jammal, et al. v. American Family Insurance Company, No. 19-248, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2034%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Individual employees and their union suing a gas company for allegedly eliminating their sick time banked under previous collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in violation of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA) and age bias in violation of Tennessee law have not stated claims against the named defendant due to their failure to establish a basis for successor liability or veil piercing, a federal judge in Tennessee ruled Nov. 26 (Darrell Pridy, et al. v. Duke Energy Corporation, No. 19-468, M.D. Tenn., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 205188). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2035%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SEATTLE - A Washington federal jury on Nov. 11 found that drug maker Biogen Inc. retaliated against a saleswoman in violation of the federal False Claims Act, 31 U.S. Code § 3729, and wrongfully terminated her in violation of public policy (Danita Erickson v. Biogen, Inc., No. 18-1029, W.D. Wash., Seattle). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2036%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - A District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 22 vacated a ruling by the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a dispute with a labor union concerning eligibility for travel time and expenses, finding that the FLRA relied on faulty math and misunderstood the union's proposal (National Treasury Employees Union v. Federal Labor Relations Authority, No. 18-1250, D.C. Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34842). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2037%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Nov. 25 denied a motion to dismiss filed by Jiffy Lube International Inc. in a putative class complaint by a former employee over the franchisor's no-poach provision as it related to a Sherman Act claim but granted it to the extent that Jiffy Lube argued that the employee lacked standing to seek injunctive relief and as to the plaintiffs' antitrust claims older than four years (Victor Fuentes v. Royal Dutch Shell PLC, et al., No. 18-5174, E.D. Pa.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2038%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - BNSF Railway Co. on Nov. 22 waived its right to respond to a petition for a writ of certiorari filed in the U.S. Supreme Court by the widow of a worker who was killed as a result of an accident that occurred while driving to work (Rita Guerrero v. BNSF Railway Co., No. 19-625, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2039%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' JACKSON, Miss. - A Mississippi appeals court on Nov. 5 affirmed a post-trial ruling vacating a $1 million award for future lost wages to a railroad employee who was injured in a two-vehicle accident on the job. The appeals court concluded that there was insufficient evidence about his future work prospects to support the award (Arthur Young v. Illinois Central Railroad Co., No. 2018-CA-00498, Miss. App., 2019 Miss. App. LEXIS 544). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2040%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - Seventeen employees of McDonald's restaurants in the Chicago area sued corporate- and franchise-owned stores on Nov. 21 in an Illinois state court for failure to protect them from customers' violent behavior, which has resulted in physical and psychological injuries (Sonia Acuna, et al. v. McDonald's Corp., et al., No. 2019-CH-13477, Ill. Cir, Cook Co.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2041%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DALLAS - A McDonald's franchisee in Texas accused of employing a general manager and another employee who sexually harassed female workers will pay $340,000 to the named employees and a class of female workers, provide anti-discrimination and harassment training and never employ the two alleged harassers again, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced Nov. 25 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Credle Enterprises, LLC, No. 18-239, N.D. Texas). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2042%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DETROIT - A Michigan woman filed a class complaint on Nov. 12 accusing McDonald's USA LLC, McDonald's Corp. and a Michigan franchisee of failing to address a "systemic problem" of harassment of employees, including groping and physical assaults (Jenna Ries, et al. v. McDonald's USA, LLC, et al., No. 19-829, Mich. Cir., Ingham Co.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2043%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) program worker who was fired by the Indiana Army National Guard after her supervisor discovered she published a book about her time as a phone-sex operator may proceed with a 42 U.S. Code Section 1983 claim against a program director, a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Dec. 3, finding that the National Guard supervisor carried out the firing under the color of state law (Amy Harnishfeger v. United States, et al., No. 18-1865, 7th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 35879). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2044%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A federal judge in Florida on Nov. 15 declined to preliminarily approve a $500,000 class settlement by The Salvation Army in a former employee's class complaint concerning her credit report that was pulled when she was hired, finding that the employee lacked standing to bring two of her three claims (LaShannda Jones, et al. v. The Salvation Army, No. 18-804, M.D. Fla., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 198352). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2045%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - The National Football League (NFL) was involved in the distribution of prescription medications to get players back on the field faster, resulting in injuries to players that affected them even after retirement, players tell the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in a Nov. 6 reply brief seeking reinstatement of their class claims for negligence against the NFL (Richard Dent, et al. v. National Football League, No. 19-16017, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2046%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PORTLAND, Ore. - A former employee of a Native American college cannot pursue federal wrongful termination claims against the school's operator because it is protected from suit by the sovereign immunity of the three tribes involved, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Nov. 20 (Stephen McCoy v. Salish Kootenai College, Inc., et al., No. 18-35729, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 34524). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-5%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2047%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - An Illinois man who claims that he failed a drug test at work after he consumed cannabidiol (CBD) gummies marked as containing "NO THC" and was then fired filed a class complaint on Oct. 28 in a federal court in Illinois against the product's makers, seeking a corrective advertising campaign and damages (Trevor Darrow v. Just Brands USA, Inc., et al., No. 19-7079, N.D. Ill.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%201%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' MADISON, Wis. - A Wisconsin federal jury on Oct. 10 issued a $5.2 million verdict against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores East L.P. (collectively Wal-Mart), finding that they violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), by failing to provide a deaf and visually impaired employee with a reasonable accommodation and firing him (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., et al., No. 17-739, W.D. Wis.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%202%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - A trial court erred when it "overlooked too many genuine factual disputes" and "improperly excluded expert testimony" supporting a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) who claims that she was fired because her employer thought she was visually disabled even though she wasn't, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Nov. 6 (Paula E. Babb v. Maryville Anesthesiologists P.C., No. 19-5148, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 33165). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%203%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - The reason for an employee's termination, repeated tardiness, could be found by a reasonable fact-finder to be caused by a disability that the employer both knew of and was on notice that an accommodation was needed, a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled on Oct. 17, reinstating the employee's disability discrimination lawsuit (Jennifer Kindschi v. Federal Express Corporation, No. 17-16740, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 30938). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%204%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW ORLEANS - A former employee of a Texas county juvenile probation department who has diabetes was unable to show that his suspension or termination was caused by disability bias, a Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 30 (Otis Grant v. Harris County, No. 18-20353, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32647). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%205%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' DENVER - The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 affirmed summary judgment for Phillips 66 Co. on disability discrimination claims by a former employee in Oklahoma who was fired after he failed a company drug test, finding no error or abuse in the trial court's expert witness rulings (Richard Turner v. Phillips 66 Company, No. 19-5030, 10th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 30880). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%206%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. - Former Wal-Mart Stores Inc. employees who sued for pregnancy discrimination based on the alleged denial of pregnant employees' request for accommodations filed a motion on Oct. 15 in an Illinois federal court seeking preliminary approval of a $14 million class settlement (Talisa Borders, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 17-506, S.D. Ill.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%207%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - An 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 22 vacated a trial court's summary judgment ruling for a yacht owner in a Jones Act lawsuit brought by the chief stewardess, who was injured while on a smaller vessel, finding that the stewardess offered evidence that she was acting within the course of her employment when she was knocked unconscious (Sara Herrera v 7R Charter Limited, No. 19-10605, 11th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 31364). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%208%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - A trial court correctly issued a summary judgment ruling for Time Warner Cable Inc. in a lawsuit by former employees who claimed that the company broke oral promises related to job security and pay but erred in awarding monetary sanctions to the employees after a magistrate judge already ruled that Time Warner failed to timely disclose certain documents, but that the error was harmless, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 4 (Kenneth Bisig, et al. v. Time Warner Cable, Inc., Nos. 18-5421/5483, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 29893). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%209%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - A man who worked at the college from which he graduated when the college's parent company lost its accreditation and closed the school is not bound by his employment arbitration agreement when bringing class claims regarding the education he and others received as well as promises made to students, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 16 (Keven Robinson, et al. v. Virginia College, LLC, et al., No. 19-11864, 11th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 30761). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2010%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOUISVILLE, Ky. - A federal judge in Kentucky on Oct. 21 declined to dismiss class claims accusing a pizza chain franchisor of violating the Sherman Act by coordinating no-poach agreements between its franchisees and let stand claims of fraudulent concealment but agreed to dismiss the claims of one of the three named plaintiffs, finding that her claims are covered by an arbitration agreement (In re Papa John's Employee and Franchisee Employee Antitrust Litigation, No. 18-825, W.D. Ky., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181298). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2011%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' BALTIMORE - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission may pursue claims in an age-based pension rate dispute on behalf of a class of workers without their consent to the lawsuit as is required under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) collective lawsuits and may seek back pay for a 10-year period with the ability to pursue discovery regarding an alternative cut-off date that would add nearly three more years, a Maryland federal judge ruled Oct. 28 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Baltimore County, et al., No. 07-2500, D. Md., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185913). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2012%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 4 denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by an employer, Cushman & Wakefield Inc. (C&W), asking the U.S. Supreme Court to decide if federal courts sitting in diversity should certify questions to state supreme courts where state courts "are silent or split on outcome-determinative questions that implicate subject-matter jurisdiction, core legal requirements" or both (Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. v. Yury Rinsky, No. 19-306, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2013%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' NEW YORK - Two employees who accused their former employer of using them for their contacts and then discarding them in favor of younger employees failed to show that their age was the but-for cause of their terminations, a Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 24 (Kevin P. Downey, et al. v. Adloox, Inc., et al., No. 18-3521, 2nd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32109). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2014%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - In an Oct. 31 holding, the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with a Tennessee federal judge's determination that a plaintiff fired for violating his former company's "core values" failed to prove that the stated rationale for the termination was mere pretext for discrimination (James Williams v. Graphic Packaging International Inc., No. 18-5485, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32572). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2015%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' ATLANTA - A school secretary whose job required her to be at her desk during her entire shift couldn't point to other workers without that requirement as comparators, an 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Nov. 5, affirming a summary judgment ruling for the employer on race and age bias claims (Anita Smith v. Vestavia Hills Board of Education, No. 18-11626, 11th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32997). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2016%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN ANTONIO - The former operators of La Cantera Resort & Spa in San Antonio will pay $2,625,000 to settle a national origin discrimination lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of nearly two dozen former banquet staff who claimed that they were subjected to an English-only policy, abusive language and treatment because they are Hispanic, the EEOC announced Nov. 4 (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, et al. v. DH San Antonio Management, LLC, et al., No. 18-990, W.D. Texas). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2017%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - A former university medical researcher who claimed that she was subjected to retaliation about reporting misconduct and was fired due to her gender and nationality failed to show that the university, as an arm of the state of Michigan, waived its immunity or that an earlier settlement with the university didn't bar her claims, a Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 17 (Yusong Gong v. University of Michigan, et al., No. 19-1068, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 31065). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2018%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - An employer violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) when it had an employee report back on the membership and postings in a private Facebook group where other employees were discussing unionization and by firing two workers who supported the union, a three-member National Labor Relations Board panel ruled Oct. 29 (National Captioning Institute, Inc. and National Association of Broadcast Employees & Technicians-Communications Workers of America, AFL-CIO, Nos. 16-CA-182528, 16-CA-183953, 16-CA-187150, 16-CA-188322 and 16-CA-188346, NLRB). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2019%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - In an issue that it noted was one of first impression, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Oct. 16 ruled that a state, when it removed federal law wage claims to a federal court, waived its 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution immunity and noted that it was extending the holding of Embury v. King "to cover all federal-law claims" (Donald Walden, Jr., et al. v. State of Nevada, et al., No. 18-15691, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 30756). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2020%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CINCINNATI - A Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Nov. 4 certified one question brought by warehouse workers concerning a wage-and-hour claim under Pennsylvania law to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and added a question of its own concerning the employers' de minimis defense raised by the employees in their reply brief (Neal Heimbach, et al. v. Amazon.com, Inc., et al. [In re: Amazon.com, Inc., Fulfillment Center Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Wage and House Litigation], No. 18-5942, 6th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32958). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2021%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Supreme Court should deny a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a class of insurance agents who brought claims under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and are challenging the standard of review the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals applied to district court findings that they were misclassified as independent contractors because the correct standard was used and there is no circuit split, an insurance company, its subsidiaries, plans and administrative committees of the plans argue in an Oct. 25 opposition brief (Walid Jammal, et al. v. American Family Insurance Company, et al., No. 19-248, U.S. Sup.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2022%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel's decision in a wage class complaint finding McDonald's Corp. isn't a joint employer of franchised locations workers was in error as there is intra-circuit conflict between that ruling and Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., and the panel decided four issues of first impression under California law that have not been decided by the California Supreme Court, the workers allege in an Oct. 29 petition for rehearing or rehearing en banc (Guadalupe Salazar, et al. v. McDonald's Corp., et al., No. 17-15673, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2023%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - A sales person who alleged that after he was hired by a New Jersey company he was inconsistently paid and later denied certain pay promised under a new contract failed to show that the delays in pay were due to a reason other than his own delay in submitting invoices or that the new contract was enforceable, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 31 (Mark Berrada v. Gadi Cohen, et al., No. 19-1152, 3rd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32782). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2024%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A cleaning service franchisor filed a petition on Oct. 8 seeking a panel rehearing or rehearing en banc after a Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Sept. 24 ruled that franchisees may proceed with claims that they are employees under the ABC test established in Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Superior Court (Gerardo Vazquez, et al. v. Jan-Pro Franchising International, Inc., No. 17-16096, 9th Cir.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2025%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A district court erred when it granted summary judgment to an employer in a multiemployer pension dispute under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and limited the scope of the trustees' audit authority, a Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 24, finding that the employer signed on to a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) that permitted random audits of full payroll records (Electrical Construction Industry Prefunding Credit Reimbursement Program, et al. v. Veterans Electric, LLC, Nos. 19-1051 and 18-3703, 7th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 31870). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2026%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' OMAHA, Neb. - A divided Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 10 vacated a district court's judgment for student truck drivers on some of their collective and class action claims, finding an error when the deadline for the disclosure of expert reports was extended, and remanded for further proceedings, ruling that the error was not harmless (Philip Petrone, et al. v. Werner Enterprises, Inc., et al., Nos. 18-1574 and 18-1647, 8th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 30344). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2027%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The removal of a class wage complaint under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) nearly a year after plaintiffs moved for class certification wasn't untimely as the plaintiffs did not provide the defendant, AT&T Mobility Services LLC, with sufficient facts to properly ascertain the amount in controversy, a federal judge in West Virginia ruled Oct. 15 (Joseph Atkins, et al. v. AT&T Mobility Services, LLC, No. 18-599, S.D. W.Va., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178208). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2028%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A $2.75 million settlement to be paid by a staffing company and its subsidiary to end employees' wage collective and class claims based on the failure to include housing benefits when calculating overtime was granted final approval on Oct. 18 by a federal judge in California (Stephanie Dalchau, et al. v. Fastaff, LLC, et al., No. 17-1584, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2029%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' CHICAGO - A former pizza delivery driver who worked for two different Domino's Pizza franchisees before bringing a collective and class action wage lawsuit on Oct. 9 moved for preliminary approval of a $807,500 settlement agreement with the franchisees (Samantha Young, et al. v. Rolling in the Dough, Inc., No. 17-7825, N.D. Ill.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2030%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JOSE, Calif. - A federal judge in California held on Oct. 11 that there are genuine issues of material fact that preclude summary judgment in favor of International Business Machines Corp. on certain claims in a software sales representative's suit alleging that IBM owed him unpaid commissions (David Swafford v. International Business Machines Corporation, No. 18-04916, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177346). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2031%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN JOSE, Calif. - A former Comcast employee who brought putative class claims over alleged improper background check disclosures and various wage violations must arbitrate his claims on an individual basis, a California federal judge ruled Oct. 11, finding that the employer's class action waiver in its arbitration provision was enforceable (Mario Azeveda v. Comcast Cable Communications LLC, et al., No. 19-1225, N.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177765). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2032%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LOS ANGELES - The fact that the four proposed class representatives for the U.S. Senior Women's National Soccer Team (WNT) in a equal pay lawsuit made more than members of the Senior Men's National Team (MNT) doesn't eliminate their claims or standing as "they worked in far more games, had far greater success and thus were able to earn more money in salary and bonuses," the female soccer players argue in their Oct. 8 reply in support of their motion for class certification filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Alex Morgan, et al. v. United States Soccer Federation, Inc., No. 19-1717, C.D. Calif.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2033%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SAN FRANCISCO - A Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel on Oct. 25 denied a petition for writ of mandamus filed by a tool distribution franchisor seeking to compel a district court to dismiss a franchisee's lawsuit over employment status or to transfer it to Ohio pursuant to a forum-selection clause in distributor agreements (In re: Matco Tools Corporation, et al., No. 19-71352, 9th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 32060). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2034%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Labor Relations Board announced on Oct. 17 that it would extend the time for public comments to Dec. 16 on its proposed rule concerning the employment status of higher education students "working in connection with their studies." http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2035%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' PHILADELPHIA - The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey provided reasonable accommodation to a worker seeking to avoid working during the Jewish Sabbath when it gave him the options of using paid time off or swapping shifts with other workers, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel ruled Oct. 11, rejecting the worker's claim that his employer failed to engage in an interactive process (Gary Miller v. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, No. 18-3710, 3rd Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 30521). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2036%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A union that complied with the then-valid state law concerning the collection of fair share union fees didn't violate the constitutional rights of a class of California state employees who were not union members, a federal judge in California ruled Oct. 25, granting the union's motion for summary judgment (Kourosh Kenneth Hamidi, et al. v. Service Employees International Union Local 1000, No. 14-319, E.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 185527). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2037%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, on behalf of one named worker and a class of similarly affected female workers, sued Pei Wei Asian Diner LLC, doing business as Pei Wei Fresh Kitchen, on Oct. 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas alleging that female workers at the chain's Little Rock, Ark., location were subjected to sexual harassment and a sexually hostile work environment (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Pei Wei Asian Diner, LLC, No. 19-718, E.D. Ark.). http://www.lexis.com/research/xlink?canceldest=form&keyenum=25271&keytnum=0&searchtype=get&search=16-4%20Mealey%27s%20Litig.%20Rep.%20Employ.%20L.%2038%20(2019)&view=full&ORIGINATION_CODE=00144 target='_blank' SANTA ANA, Calif. - Job applicants who filed a class complaint challenging Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s disclosures when running credit and background checks failed to establish standing to bring two claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal judge in California ruled Oct. 18, granting a motion to decertify the class and remanding the state claim for further consideration by a California court (Randy Pitre, et al. v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., et al., No. 17-1281, C.D. Calif., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 181052).