Legal News Articles & Interviews

Butte, MT U.S. Minerals, Inc. has agreed to plead guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge under the Clean Air Act (CAA) and to pay a criminal penalty of $393,200. The mining company has also agreed to a medical monitoring program for current and former employees who have been exposed to elevated levels of arsenic. Employees who take advantage of the medical monitoring program will not forfeit their right to pursue civil lawsuits, including unpaid wages claims, as the facts dictate. In addition, U.S. Minerals has also offered to settle a civil lawsuit brought by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for $106,800.

Fresno, CA Three former employees of Kraft Heinz Foods Co. at the Tulare, California plant have filed a lawsuit citing violations of federal and California employee labor laws including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act of 1866; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), the Ralph Civil Rights Act, and the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act.

St Louis, MO Philips CPAP sleep machine recall has caused a rude awakening for thousands of users who rely on the sleep machine to get them through the night – alive. Meanwhile, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will discuss next month the future of sleep machine lawsuits throughout the federal court system.

Santa Clara, CA Assembly Bill 701 is expected to reach California lawmakers any day now. Bill 701 will curtail Amazon’s algorithm-led and unfavorable warehouse work conditions by requiring warehouses to disclose quotas and work speed metrics to employees and government agencies. The bill will also put an end to “time off task” penalties that affect health and safety, including bathroom use, and prohibit retaliation against workers who complain.

San Francisco, CA In Google LLC and Alphabet Inc, the National Labor Relations Board (Board) charged Google and its parent company, Alphabet, Inc. with violating Sections 7 and 8 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). That federal law guarantees the rights of workers to unionize, join together to advance their interests as employees, and to refrain from such activity – rights in addition to those covered by California labor law.

Miami, FL  On August17, three former participants in the Baptist Health South Florida, Inc. 403(b) Employee Retirement Plan (BHSF Plan) sued plan fiduciaries for breaching their duty of loyalty and prudence to participants and beneficiaries by paying “astronomical” management fees. The named plaintiffs in the ERISA lawsuit seek to represent more than 23,500 current and former participants.

Oakland, CA Workers at Oaklands McDonald’s who claimed they had to wear dog diapers and coffee filters instead of face masks settled a California safety lawsuit August 12.

Santa Clara, CA Three El Super grocery stores in Southern California were slapped with fines of more than $447,000 by California regulators last month for failing to provide or delay sick leave during the pandemic. The California Labor Commissioner’s Office said some of the 95 employees were forced to work while sick, others were told to apply for unemployment while quarantining or in isolation, and others waited months to be paid.

Santa Clara, CA Philips “regretfully” told its investors of a foam problem with certain sleep and respiratory care products, including DreamStation CPAP Machines, but consumers weren’t told of the serious problem until the recall—issued 49 days after investors knew. Consequently, CPAP sleep machine lawsuits alleging failure to warn are mounting.

Los Angeles, CA The federal court for the Central District of California has approved a settlement under which CVS Pharmacy will pay retail pharmacists $10.4 million to compensate them for off-the-clock training time. Chalian v. CVS alleges that the retail pharmacy giant failed to credit time actually spent in required training, in violation of California labor law.