Employment

Judge Orders Vallejo to Release Cop’s Employment Records in Excessive Force Lawsuit

A federal judge gave the city of Vallejo 14 days to release the employment information of a former Vallejo police officer accused of using excessive force during a July 2017 incident. Steve Darden, and former Vallejo Police Chief Andrew Bidou are all named in the lawsuit filed by Carl Edwards. For the first 30 seconds of Muniz-Bottomley’s camera footage, there is no sound, until he taps the …


Anatomy of a Lawsuit Not ‘As Seen on TV’

Some of you have been sued, and some of you have not. For employers new to the litigation arena, one of the most common questions I’m asked is, “What happens next?” However, by the time you are sued, the battle has already been partially fought. So let’s talk about best practices leading up to being served with a suit that may help you avoid costly litigation or limit its impact, as well as …


UPS Faces FCRA Class Action Lawsuit Over Alleged Background Check Violations

United Parcel Service (UPS) of America Inc. faces a class action lawsuit that claims UPS allegedly violated the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by using background checks for employment without providing the results to job applicants or employees, according to a report on the Top Class Actions website. Top Class Actions reports that plaintiff John Riley of Florida claims he applied for …


Wage and Hour Class Action Boom Called Likely to Last

The number of wage and hour class lawsuits filed in federal court dipped slightly during 2016, but employers should expect a rebound in 2017, according to a management lawyer who tracks workplace class actions.
The 8,304 Fair Labor Standards Act collective actions filed was down, compared with 8,954 such lawsuits filed in 2015, said Gerald Maatman, a Seyfarth Shaw LLP partner who is co-chair of the firm’s class action litigation practice group. But the 2015 figure was the highest since the firm formally began tracking employment law class actions in 2004, and the 2016 total is the second-highest, Maatman told Bloomberg BNA. The top 10 wage and hour settlements reached in 2016 totaled $695.5 million, up from $463.6 million in 2015, Maatman said. The long-term growth in class lawsuits against employers alleging violations of minimum wage, overtime and other wage and hour requirements isn’t stopping anytime soon, he said. The Trump administration could …


Oracle Paid White Men More Than Women, Blacks, Asians: Labor Department Lawsuit

Bay Area tech giant Oracle has discriminated against women, African Americans, Asians and non-Asians in its employment practices, the U.S. Department of Labor said Wednesday after filing a lawsuit. “The leading technology company has a systemic practice of paying Caucasian male workers more than their counterparts in the same job title, which led to pay discrimination against …


Fox Takes a New Swing at Netflix in Ongoing Executive Poaching Lawsuit

No one expects the legal battle between Netflix and Fox over the latter’s allegations that the streaming service “illegally” poached of its two executives to end any time soon but a new twist today might speed things up – or at least force a definition on how enforceable employment contracts really are in the Golden State. “Netflix has no standing …


Op-Ed: How Gretchen Carlson’s $20 Million Settlement Is a Rip-Off

Now that Gretchen Carlson has settled her claims against former Fox News chairman Roger Ailes for a reported $20 million, many observers lament that her specific allegations of sexual harassment will never come to light, presumably barred by terms of a non-disclosure agreement. Yet she likely would have been barred from sharing her story regardless—thanks to fine print in many employment …


Dish Network to Pay $1.75 Million to Settle FCRA Class Action Lawsuit

Satellite television company Dish Network has agreed to pay $1.75 million to settle a class action lawsuit over alleged violations of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) for not providing proper consent and disclosure forms needed to conduct background checks for employment purposes, according to a report on the TopClassActions.com website. Top Class Actions reports Plaintiff Scott …


Federal Appeals Court Rules Uber Drivers May Not Bring Class Action Suit

[JURIST] The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] Wednesday that Uber [corporate site] drivers may not join in a class action suit to pursue employment claims against the transportation company but must resolve their disputes individually. The claims included a host of employment contract issues as well as allegations that the company responsible for …