DOJ says No-Poach Agreements IllegalLos Angeles, CA Weighing in on a California labor lawsuit filed by truckers against trucking companies, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said that competing employers’ no-poach agreements are inherently illegal.
United Airlines Appears to Stiff Early RetireesChicago, IL Cast your mind back to 2020. We were staying at home, fully masked, wearing blue gloves, bleaching our kitchen counters and very worried about people living in congregate settings, like nursing homes. Needless to say, we weren’t flying anywhere. United Airlines, like all other airlines, had a powerful incentive to reduce overhead, including employee costs. Such is the background for this ERISA lawsuit.
Marine at Camp LeJeune with Cancer Concerned about ChildrenRaleigh, NC Patrick and his wife spent three years at Camp LeJeune – long enough to develop health problems from contaminated water. “When I first heard about the contamination I was extremely concerned,” says Patrick. “None of us had heard about the toxic water until a few years ago, and now I am extremely mad.”
Supreme Court Deals Blow to California PAGA ClaimsWashington, DC On June 15, in
Viking River Cruises, Inc. v. Moriana, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) preempts California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). The decision reverses standing precedent under California labor law, which had permitted class action labor lawsuits against employers even when workers had agreed to resolve employment disputes through individual arbitration.
Nurse Files Same California Labor Class Action – TwiceRiverside, CA The California Supreme Court has given the green light to a nurse who brought a second class action lawsuit, alleging the same California wage and hour violations, but against two entities not directly connected.
U.S. v. Academy Mortgage Corp., the Whistleblower Lawsuit that Will not DieSan Francisco, CA Academy Mortgage Corp. has asked the Northern District of California to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit brought by a former underwriter, Gwen Thrower. The lawsuit, which was initially filed in 2016, accuses Academy Mortgage of writing shaky FHA-backed mortgage loans to boost the company’s profits. In 2020, the federal government unsuccessfully sought to the lawsuit dismissed in the Ninth Circuit. In 2018, the Northern District had denied a similar motion.
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Airlines Meal & Rest Break AppealSanta Clara, CA The U.S. Supreme Court at the end of June declined to take up Alaska Airlines appeal of a ruling that Virgin America – now part of Alaska Airlines-- had to give California-based flight attendants meal and rest breaks required by California labor law. The justices found that California's break requirements are not preempted by federal law on the deregulation of airlines' prices, routes and services.
Abbott Formula and ‘Absurd’ LoopholeChicago, ILIn an attempt to keep Similac baby formula lawsuits in federal rather than state court, Abbott tried to use a legal loophole known as “snap removal”, but a federal judge rejected it as “absurd” and kicked the four lawsuits back to state court. The plaintiffs claim that Abbott’s Similac PM 60/40 formula caused a deadly illness in premature infants.
Laid-Off Tesla Employees File Failure to Warn LawsuitSparks, NV Tesla has been hit with a class action lawsuit after thousands of workers were laid off without being provided with 60 days advance written notice. Former workers at Giga Nevada who filed the labor lawsuit argue that Tesla’s mass layoff violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act).
