Vt. Proposal Aims To Boost Unions, Deter Right-To-Work Laws

Vermont voters could soon strike a preemptive blow against right-to-work legislation in the state by approving a constitutional amendment enshrining a right to collective bargaining, though experts said the proposal could have even broader reaching effects on workers in the Green Mountain State.

Blue-rubber-gloved hands administering a vaccination into a person's shoulder

11th Circ. Rejects Ex-3M Worker's COVID Vax Refusal Suit

The Eleventh Circuit on Tuesday declined to revive a Title VII religious discrimination suit by a former 3M healthcare business division employee who was terminated after refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 because of her beliefs, finding that her own statements show that there's no conflict between her beliefs and 3M's policy. 

Sheet of paper with large dark red and black letters underlined, surrounded by coins, a pen, papers with charts and numbers, binder clips, a notepad, and glasses.

3rd Circ. Has Made Hybrid Wage Settlements Easier

Federal courts in the Third Circuit are more readily approving hybrid settlements a year after a panel found that the Fair Labor Standards Act's opt-in requirement does not prohibit the release of unasserted FLSA claims as part of opt-out class settlements under state wage laws, attorneys said.

Expert Analysis

A Nuanced Reading Of DOL's Mental Health Parity Guidance

Gabrielle Fox, Jennifer Rigterink and Robert Projansky

Though a recent U.S. Department of Labor bulletin may suggest that agency enforcement pressure on group health pla... (more story)

2nd Circ. Eases Employer Defense Of Dress Code Rules

Jarad Lucan and Sarah Niemiroski

The Second Circuit recently sided with Starbucks in a ruling that makes it easier for companies to defend dress co... (more story)

Tips For Employers As Calif. Court Limits Harassment Liability

Ellen Connelly Cohen

Doe v. Wells Fargo appears to be the first published California appellate decision to determine that the harasser ... (more story)

Labor More

Medical Device Co. Beats Investors' Alleged Demand Drop Suit

A New York federal judge has dismissed a proposed shareholder class action alleging medical device maker Integer Holdings Corp. hid plummeting demand for cardiac devices and misled investors about its overall ... (more story)

Wayne County, Mich., Workers Allege Overtime Shortfalls

Three former Wayne County, Michigan, employees have accused the county of engaging in "systematic and widespread underpayment" of overtime pay for hundreds of workers by excluding bonuses, shift premiums and o... (more story)

A storefront is shown.
Starbucks Seeks Full 5th Circ. Review Of NLRB Union Ruling

Starbucks has urged the full Fifth Circuit to rehear a recent panel decision finding that the coffee chain engaged in multiple federal labor law violations to suppress a union campaign in Upstate New York, cla... (more story)

8th Circ. Panel Doubts Investors' Medtronic Insulin Pump Suit

The Eighth Circuit appeared skeptical Tuesday of investors' bid to revive allegations that medical device company Medtronic failed to properly communicate problems with an insulin pump device it manufactured a... (more story)

Home Care Aide's Wage Suit Returns To State Court

A California federal judge has sent a home care aide's lawsuit claiming she was denied meal and rest breaks back to state court, finding the claims are rooted in state law rather than her union contract.

Puerto Rico Workers Ink $3M In Deals To End Pension Fight

A federal judge approved $3 million in settlements that a group of workers reached with Puerto Rico's largest bank among other companies to resolve claims that they were stiffed on benefits after their retirem... (more story)

Amazon Union Pans Co.'s Case In 5th Circ. Election Challenge

Amazon's challenge to the National Labor Relations Board's order to bargain with workers at a Staten Island warehouse relies on "extraordinarily strained readings of the board's decision" to reject its objecti... (more story)

Discrimination More

No PTSD, Expert Says In Ex-SF DA Worker's Racial Slur Trial

A Stanford medical school psychiatry professor testifying in a California state trial on Tuesday refuted claims of post-traumatic stress disorder from a Black San Francisco prosecutor's office worker who says ... (more story)

Amazon Fumbled Employee's Rape Report, Suit Claims

Amazon.com Services LLC failed to adequately investigate an employee's report that a senior manager raped her during a 2023 business trip, and the company then forced her to interact directly with the man afte... (more story)

Pizzas are displayed at a pizza parlor.
Trans Worker, Pizza Chain End Bias Suit Dropped By EEOC

A Chicago pizza chain and a Black transgender former employee have agreed to resolve her claims that she was fired for reporting harassment, marking an end to a case the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commi... (more story)

Capital One Didn't Provide Sign Language Help, Worker Says

A former Capital One data analyst filed a $1 million suit in Virginia federal court Monday alleging the bank holding company retaliated against her for complaining that it failed to consistently provide a qual... (more story)

3rd Circ. Seems Open To Drexel's Bid For New Pay Bias Trial

The Third Circuit seemed receptive Tuesday to Drexel University's bid for a new trial in a professor's pay discrimination suit, with the judges hinting a trial court may have gone too far by imposing Equal Pay... (more story)

Brokerage Can't Shake Ex-Worker's Pregnancy Bias Suit

An insurance brokerage must face claims that it fired a former employee because of her pregnancy and complaints about discrimination, a North Carolina federal judge ruled, finding that questions remain about w... (more story)

Tech Co. Must Face Ex-Worker's Discrimination Claims

A former Telesoft LLC sales director can proceed with claims that she was fired because of her age, sex and disability after 21 years with the technology company, a Michigan federal judge ruled, finding that c... (more story)

Wage & Hour More

Recruiter Accused Of Dodging H-2A Ban To Exploit Workers

Three Mexican workers accused a North Carolina labor recruiter of skirting debarment from the H-2A temporary agricultural visa program while exploiting the migrants with exorbitant fees and forcing them to wor... (more story)

Ga. Firm Aims To Keep Nearly $100K Arbitration Win Over Atty

John Foy & Associates PC has pushed back on an attempt by one of its former attorneys to have a Georgia federal judge vacate a nearly $100,000 arbitration award in the firm's favor with respect to her retaliat... (more story)

The California state flag flies in the wind on a white pole, against a blue sky with low clouds. Two tan multistory buildings are in the background.
Staffing App Will Pay $2.3M, Treat Drivers As Employees

A gig staffing company has agreed to pay $2.3 million and treat all its California workers as employees to end San Francisco's lawsuit in state court claiming it wrongly labeled delivery drivers as independent... (more story)

Calif. Eyes Updating Pregnancy Leave, Workplace Protections

Pregnant workers in California could gain expanded protections for taking leave and receiving workplace accommodations, including remote work, under proposed regulations announced by the state's Civil Rights Council.

Amazon Faces Wage Suit Over Security Checks, Break Time

Amazon failed to pay Pennsylvania warehouse workers for time spent undergoing security screenings and working through meal breaks and improperly calculated their overtime wages, according to a proposed class a... (more story)

Olive Garden Workers Get Conditional Opt-In Nationwide Cert.

Olive Garden cannot trim a collective action that accuses it of tipped wage violations and underpaying employees, a Massachusetts federal judge has ruled, while preliminarily approving an opt-in class of the p... (more story)

Delta Accused Of Wage Abuse By Calif. Flight Attendants

Delta Air Lines Inc. cheated nonexempt flight attendants out of overtime wages by failing to compensate them for time they spent undergoing security checks, yearly staff training, preparing aircraft for boardi... (more story)