Legal News Articles & Interviews

Denver, CO  On April 27, the federal District Court for the District of Colorado granted conditional certification to a class of plaintiffs who brought unpaid wage claims against Helix TCS, a cannabis security company. The defendant employer began almost immediately to try to mitigate the financial impact that a successful collective action lawsuit might have under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Redmond, WA Residents of the nursing home chain “Aegis Senior Communities” have asked a California federal judge to approve a 16.25 million settlement that would resolve care center lawsuits alleging nursing home abuse.

Dallas, TX On April 15, two participants in the Kimberly-Clark Corporation 401(k) & Profit Sharing Plan filed a class action ERISA lawsuit in the federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas. Seidner v. Kimberly-Clark Corp. alleges that plan fiduciaries violated ERISA by failing to monitor plan administrative expenses, thus wasting the participants’ retirement savings and depriving them of the opportunity for investment growth over time.

San Francisco, CA Former senior manager of PricewaterhouseCoopers claims he was fired in retaliation for a whistleblower claim he made to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Mauro Botta was an auditor at the behemoth auditing company for almost two decades until he was fired in 2017.

Houston, TX  On April 20, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas adopted the Magistrate Judge’s recommendation to grant conditional certification to a class of oil drilling workers who sought to pursue a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Young v. Energy Drilling Company advances unpaid wages claims that Energy Drilling willfully miscalculated the workers’ overtime pay.

San Francisco, CA  On April 1, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation denied Monsanto Company’s request that it reconsider its decision to include National Black Farmers Association v. Monsanto Co. in the Multidistrict Litigation (MDL), consolidated in the Northern District of California. National Black Farmers Association, a Monsanto glyphosate lawsuit, focuses on the harms suffered by the rural Black farmers who make up its membership.

Riverside, CA  On March 15, Jose Hernandez Solis filed a California labor lawsuit against The Merchant of Tennis, where he was a non-exempt hourly employee. Hernandez Solis v. The Merchant of Tennis claims that the sporting goods retailer incorrectly calculated Mr. Solis’s overtime and failed to compensate him for time spent undergoing temperature screenings required before each shift. In addition, the Complaint alleges that non-exempt employees were not permitted to take duty-free rest breaks required by the California Labor Code and Wage Order No. 7 and that his employer failed to promptly pay him all wages due at the termination of employment. The California Unfair Competition claims rise out of the other charges. The lawsuit seeks class action or collective status under California and federal law.

Washington, DC Boston Scientific will pay $188.6 million to resolve transvaginal mesh lawsuits in 47 states and the District of Columbia. This means that tens of thousands of women who have been injured by vaginal mesh implants will qualify for some restitution.

Los Angeles, CA On March 17, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) asked the Ninth Circuit to enforce its Order that the Hotel Bel-Air rehire workers laid off in September 2009 who reapplied for their jobs in 2011 with back pay and damages. The Order further requires the hotel to recognize Unite Here Local 11 as the workers’ bargaining representative. The important story for unionized workers or those who seek to organize is about union-busting -- hotel workers who were left without jobs and potential unpaid wages claims for more than a decade.

Newark, NJ A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against AstraZeneca, Merck & Co., Procter & Gamble and other manufacturers of proton pump inhibitor (PPI) drugs. Plaintiff Daisy Perez claims her husband, a New Mexico man, died of metastatic gastric cancer after taking Nexium and Prilosec.