- Latest News
- New Lawsuits
- Decisions & Settlements
- People In The News
- Policy & Regulation
- Surveys
- Practice Profiles
- Guest Columns
Law Firms Mentioned
- Barnes & Thornburg
- Barroway Topaz
- Bernstein Litowitz
- Carlton DiSante
- Constangy Brooks
- Dinsmore & Shohl
- Foley & Lardner
- Fox Rothschild
- Freeborn & Peters
- Hagens Berman
- Harwood Feffer
- Hill Farrer
- Jackson Lewis
- Kaplan Fox
- Littler Mendelson
- McGuireWoods
- Morgan Lewis
- Morrison Mahoney
- Nichols Kaster
- Ogletree Deakins
- O'Melveny & Myers
- Richards Layton
- Ross Brittain
- Sobol Shapiro
- Sonnenschein
- Squire Sanders
- Squitieri & Fearon
- Wachtell Lipton
- Whyte Hirschboeck
Companies Mentioned
7th Circ. Panel Revives Rolls-Royce Qui Tam Suit
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
Overturning a lower court ruling, a federal appellate court has ruled that a qui tam lawsuit filed by a former Rolls-Royce PLC engineer over allegedly defective parts is not precluded merely because he previously filed a related employment suit against the company.
Class Leads Picked For BofA-Merrill Buyout Battle
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A federal judge has divided 30 pending cases accusing Bank of America Corp. of misleading investors into signing off on its $50 billion acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. into three major groups — securities, derivatives and 401(k) plan claimants — and picked interim leads for the putative classes.
$2M Verdict Tossed In ULL Coach Race Bias Suit
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A Louisiana appeals court has thrown out a $2 million jury verdict awarded to the University of Louisiana — Lafayette's former head football coach in a suit claiming his firing was partially motivated by racial discrimination.
ICE To Investigate 652 Businesses For I-9 Compliance
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
In what many are calling the first wave of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's new initiative to hold employers accountable for their hiring practices, the agency has informed 652 businesses that they have been targeted for in-person inspections of their I-9 employment verification forms.
Equistar Employee Wins $9M For Acid Injury
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A Texas jury has awarded an Equistar Chemicals LP employee over $9 million for a 2006 accident in which he splashed acid on his face while pouring it into a tank in a chemical plant, permanently damaging his vision.
Q&A With Sonnenschein's Amy Bess
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
It is far too easy for an at-will employee who is terminated for poor performance to file a suit and claim discrimination without a shred of credible evidence of discrimination, says Amy L. Bess, a leader in Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP's litigation and labor & employment practice groups.
State Unions Seek To Block Hawaii's Furlough Plan
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
Three state employee unions in Hawaii have filed suit to block the implementation of a furlough plan put into effect by Gov. Linda Lingle..
ClearOne Fights Trade Secrets Award Reduction
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
ClearOne Communications Inc. is planning to appeal a federal court’s ruling trimming roughly $800,000 from a $10.5 million damages award that a jury handed the audio and video company in a case alleging former ClearOne employees stole trade secrets related to audio-conferencing technology.
Class Certified In 401(k) Fee Case Against Edison
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A federal judge has certified a class of employees at Edison International who allege that the electric power company offered 401(k) plans that charged excessive fees and engaged in illegal self-dealing.
Massey Must Rehire Union Miners, 4th Circ. Affirms
Thursday, Jul 02, 2009
A federal appeals court has affirmed a judge's order that Massey Energy Co. must rehire union miners who lost their jobs when it acquired a bankrupt rival in 2004, but that it does not have to negotiate with a union pending an appeal of a National Labor Relations Board decision.
Ex-Philips Employee Barred From Working For Rival
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
In Philips Electronics North America Corp.'s second victory against a former employee who allegedly violated a noncompetition agreement, a federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction barring the sales executive from working with rival companies selling MP3 or cell phone accessories in the United States.
Verbal Complaints Not Protected By FLSA: 7th Circ.
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
Widening the split among the federal appeals courts, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that a purely verbal complaint is not an activity shielded under the retaliation provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Pilots' Suit Over Union Seniority Challenge Nixed
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
A federal judge has dismissed a suit that a group of pilots at Continental Airlines Inc. filed against the Air Line Pilots Association International in response to the union's challenge of their employer's interpretation of a seniority clause in the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act.
Hagens Berman Takes 2 Ex-Attys To Court
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP has sued two former “of counsel” attorneys, a husband and wife whom the firm hired to expand its international securities litigation practice, for allegedly violating a $360,000 employment contract and refusing to divulge the identities of potential clients.
Ohio High Court Limits Reach Of Prevailing Wage Law
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
Ohio's prevailing wage law applies only to work performed on construction projects that qualify as “public improvements,” but not to work performed on private projects that are partially funded by federal and local grants, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled.
Anchor Blue's Exec Bonus Plan Wins Approval
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
A judge has approved $800,000 in bonuses for executives at bankrupt clothing retailer Anchor Blue Retail Group Inc. despite objections from a U.S. trustee, who claimed the bonus plan was really a retention plan in disguise that improperly compensated the company’s executives regardless of performance.
Philly Fesses Up to Settling White Firefighter Bias Suit
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
Days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that white firefighters in New Haven, Conn., were the victims of discrimination, the city of Philadelphia revealed that it paid $275,000 to settle similar claims by five firemen alleging they were wrongly passed over for promotion.
CORRECTED: Littler Mendelson Snags Fox Rothschild Partner
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
Former Fox Rothschild LLP partner Jedd Mendelson has joined employment and labor law boutique Littler Mendelson PC as a shareholder resident in its Newark, N.J., office.
NLRB Erred In Nursing Home Case Ruling: DC Circ.
Wednesday, Jul 01, 2009
The National Labor Relations Board erred when it ruled a company that purchased a California nursing home was not entitled to implement new terms and conditions for employment workers at the facility, a federal appeals court has ruled.
Ex-Smithfield Workers Seek To Certify FLSA Class
Tuesday, Jun 30, 2009
A group of former hourly workers from the packaging division of pork processor Smithfield Foods Inc. is seeking conditional certification of a collective action accusing the company of failing to pay proper overtime.
Cell Phone Spyware: Absurd? Or a New Concern?
As if it is not bad enough that employers have to monitor computers, phones and other electronic communications of employees, here comes the next wave of e-caution: cell phone spyware, say Tex McIver and Deepa Subramanian of Fisher & Phillips LLP.
Salary Negotiation Skills Don't Justify Pay Disparities
Drum v. Leeson Electric Corp. provides a cautionary tale to employers as they set salaries for new and existing employees. It is not enough that one employee is a better negotiator than another. Employers must be able to point to skills, experience or other factors not related to gender that justify a salary differential, says Holly M. Robbins of Littler Mendelson PC.
Win-Win Situation In High Court Reverse Bias Ruling
In one of the most important employment law cases of the decade, the U.S. Supreme Court handed employees a 5-4 victory in Ricci v. DeStefano. But the ruling also provides employers with justification for tough decisions that might have led to concerns about claims of discrimination, says Richard R. Meneghello of Fisher & Phillips LLP.
Tip Pools Make Waves In California Courts
In the first half of 2009, five California appellate opinions weighed in on the law in California regarding its gratuity, or tip, statutes. The common issue in all the cases was the legality of tip sharing, or tip pooling, says Sharon Kirsch of McManis Faulkner.
Info Recovery In Large And Small Businesses
Here's a basic explanation of how backup and recovery of e-mail and files work, so that one can get a realistic idea of what can be expected when this happens, says George Dew, owner of Response Networking.
Top 10 Workplace Mistakes To Avoid This Year
More changes in workplace law will occur this year than in the past 10 years combined. With a look at what's already become law and what's on the horizon, there are ways to prepare and save your company from making costly mistakes, says Stephen E. Zweig of Ford & Harrison LLP.
Making The Most Of Rule Of Evidence 502
It is foreseeable that, if used strategically, the new Federal Rule of Evidence 502 should alleviate the burdens of costly electronic discovery and post-production privilege review and should ultimately reduce the billions of dollars spent each year in litigation to protect against the inadvertent disclosure of privileged materials, says Otilia Gabor of Miles & Stockbridge PC.
A Practical Case For Federalizing Trade Secret Law
Trade secrets are the only major type of intellectual property not governed primarily by a federal statute. That should change, says David S. Almeling of O'Melveny & Myers LLP.