Employment Legal News Articles & Interviews

Rochester, NY Vollmer v. Xerox Corp., an ERISA lawsuit pending in the Western District of New York, raises a question that weighs heavily on the minds of many retirees. Can an employer offer a valuable incentive to encourage workers to retire and then unilaterally change the deal after the employee is out the door? 

Santa Cruz, CA A federal judge ruled last month that an Amazon employee can go ahead with a class action lawsuit seeking to recoup expenses while working from home during the COVID pandemic. Although California labor law requires employers to reimburse employees for all work-related expenses, Amazon argued that the government told workers to stay home. The class action could affect over 4,000 employees working for the tech company at 12 different California locations.

Santa Clara, CA California's attorney general has taken the lead in supporting Washington State’s decision to enforce minimum wage laws, which includes GEO, a private prison company that, since at least 2005, has paid thousands of detainee workers $1 per day for labor that is necessary to keep its facility operational. The private prison company has appealed a Washington district court ruling that it owes back pay to detainees.

Santa Clara, CA Many Americans, particularly those with heart conditions, have good reason to ask whether they are eligible for Worker’s Compensation if they suffer a heart attack at work. Heart attacks are normally covered by state workers’ compensation laws but there are often many factors involved and you may wonder if a heart attack or stroke qualifies for worker's comp.

New York, NY An arbitrator found that Dell Technologies discriminated against 61-year-old Cicilia Gilbert, a transgender employee by firing her during her gender transition, said Gilbert’s labor law attorney. According to Cicilia Gilbert’s lawsuit, the tech giant terminated her in the middle of her transition and a co-worker advised her not to come out of the closet. 

Sturgis, MI  Evidence of contaminated baby formula sounds like it should have been an “all-hands-on-deck” emergency for Abbott Laboratories and the Food and Drug Administration. Instead, it took the FDA nearly two years to send inspectors to the Sturgis, Michigan plant, where they found “shocking” conditions. By then two babies had died and several more had become ill. Had it not been for the dogged persistence of a whistleblower who filed federal and state OSHA complaints as well as an FDA complaint, the tainted formula could have hurt many more.

Los Angeles, CA Two former SoCal Edison employees who said they suffered retaliation at the Southern California utility after reporting sexual and racial harassment have been awarded more than $460 million by a Los Angeles County jury. Both punitive and compensatory awards have made history – the former is more than double of any previous employment verdict in U.S. history and the latter $22.37 million in compensatory damages for Martinez is believed to be one of the largest Fair Employment and Housing Act case in California labor law history.

Los Angeles, CA Over 9,000 Equinox employees, including personal trainers and group fitness instructors, have been given the green light by a California federal judge to have their wage claims and other California labor laws resolved by three class actions rather than individually.

Santa Clara, CA The Ninth Circuit decision ordering Virgin America to follow California’s meal and rest break law stands, and it’s backed by the Biden Administration. The U.S. solicitor general told the U.S. Supreme Court that federal regulations don't preempt the Golden State’s law.

San Francisco, CA Minor league baseball players won’t have their day in court involving a minimum wage complaint that was filed eight years ago. The California labor trial was slated for June 1 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.