Employees

Merck Sex Discrimination Case Could Be Collective Action: Judge

A federal judge has granted preliminary approval for a lawsuit accusing Merck & Co Inc(MRK.N) of underpaying female sales representatives to go forward as a collective action. The lawsuit is seeking at least $250 million in damages. U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton, New Jersey, on Wednesday granted conditional certification to a proposed class of current and former representatives …


Second Circuit Revives Shareholders’ Class Action Lawsuit Against Pfizer

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has resurrected a class action lawsuit filed by Pfizer Inc. shareholders who allege the drug maker misled them about certain pain-relieving drugs and, in turn, cost them billions. In its April 12 decision, the federal appeals court vacated the judgment of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New …


A $9.7 Million Dollar Settlement in a Class Action Suit Against Kodak

A settlement has been reached involving Eastman Kodak and some of its current and past employees over a class action lawsuit. The settlement totals $9.7 million dollars. It has to do with lawsuits following Kodak’s 2012 bankruptcy filing, involving participants in the company’s savings and investment plan for employees and the Kodak Employee Stock Ownership plan.


New York Times Boss Sued Over Alleged Ageist, Racist and Sexist Hiring Practices

Mark Thompson, the chief executive of the New York Times and former director-general of the BBC, is facing a multimillion-dollar class action lawsuit alleging that he introduced a culture of “deplorable discrimination” based on age, race and gender at the newspaper. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of two black female employees in their sixties in New York on Thursday, claims that under Thompson’s …


The Power of Arbitration Agreements and Class Action Waivers

The most significant exposure an employer faces in employment litigation is a class action lawsuit. Whether it is a class asserting claims for discrimination, harassment, or overtime, the potential damages can quickly escalate when there are multiple employees all asserting the same claim. Matters only get worse when those claims are decided by juries, which will generally be predisposed to …


Uber Agrees to $100M to Settle Class Action Lawsuits With Drivers

Uber agreed last week to settle two class action lawsuits for $100 million. The legal actions were filed by drivers in California and Massachusetts to determine if they could be reclassified as employees instead of independent contractors, to receive benefits they lack now. Had the lawsuits proceeded to trial and Uber had lost, the …


Total Renal Care Faces a Class Action Lawsuit Filed by Blumenthal That Claims the Dialysis Service Provider Failed to Provide Proper Wages to Their Golden State Employees

Total Renal Care is the target of a proposed class action Complaint filed by five of their California employees who allege various California Labor Code violations San Francisco, California. The San Francisco employment law lawyers at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug and Bhowmik filed a proposed class action Complaint against Total Renal care, Inc. (“Renal”) for allegedly failing to …


Cole Haan Named in $5 Million+ Lawsuit for Allegedly Failing to Pay Overtime

Cole Haan is the latest brand to be named in a lawsuit for allegedly “systematically denying store employees overtime pay and meal or rest breaks.” According to former Cole Haan employee, Alex Chin’s proposed class action lawsuit, which was filed in state court in California last month and subsequently removed to federal court, the New Hampshire-based footwear and accessories brand denied him …


Chanel Beats Proposed Class Action Bid Filed by “Underpaid” Employees

Chanel has scored a major victory in a lawsuit filed against it by a group of employees at its Beverly Hills store. According to the proposed class action suit filed in December 2015 by shipping department employees Cristian Luna, Anthony Hernandez and Javier Delgado, Chanel failed to pay them and others overtime compensation and minimum wage for overtime hours worked in violation of both …


Strip Club Owner Settles Suit Over Dancer Wages for $1.2 Million

The owner of a Key West strip club has agreed to pay up to $1.2 million to settle a class-action lawsuit with dancers who went after him for not paying minimum wage or overtime to women he treated as employees although they worked for tips only. The settlement, filed April 8, awaits a federal judge’s approval but was signed March 31 by Mark Rossi, a former Key West city commissioner who owns…