LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Jane Mundy
Jane Mundy As the senior legal correspondent for Online Legal Media since 2004, Jane has interviewed over a thousand people—including plaintiffs and attorneys— about many issues for the company, from bad pharmaceuticals to labor law. She is also an award-winning freelance writer for a variety of international and national magazines and newspapers, including Scientific American, Readers Digest, the Globe & Mail and the National Post.
Jane has also written two Ocean Wise Cookbooks about sustainable seafood, the second having won Taste Canada's Gold Award. When Jane isn't at her computer or in the kitchen, she is hiking with her border collie Lizzy or traveling with her laptop. You can read some of Jane's travel and food articles at janemundy.com.
Bard PowerPort Bellwether Trial Process on Time
April 19, 2024.
Santa Clara, CA U.S. District Judge David G. Campbell has said that the Bard PowerPort lawsuit selections will go ahead as scheduled, despite the manufacturer arguing to delay the bellwether process. Judge Campbell is presiding over all Bard PowerPort fracture and migration lawsuits filed in federal courts nationwide.
Read [ Bard PowerPort Bellwether Trial Process on Time ]
Ozempic Babies, Another Side Effect
April 17, 2024.
Santa Clara, CA Women on birth control or presumed to be infertile have been reporting surprise pregnancies while on Ozempic and similar medications. Referred to as “Ozempic Babies”, they add to increasing concern over the side effects of these diabetes and weight-loss drugs. Healthcare professionals, seeing an association between these medications and unexpected pregnancy on birth control, are warning that these drugs may decrease the effectiveness of oral contraception.
Read [ Ozempic Babies, Another Side Effect ]
Plaintiff calls for Appeal after Monsanto's Roundup Win in Philadelphia
April 15, 2024.
Philadelphia, PA After Monsanto's first Roundup trial win in Philadelphia, plaintiff Carl Kline claims that key evidence linking non-Hodgkin's lymphoma to the weed killer containing glyphosate was unable to be presented during the trial and he has appealed the ruling. A new Monsanto Roundup trial has been ordered.
Read [ Plaintiff calls for Appeal after Monsanto's Roundup Win in Philadelphia ]
Tesla Racism Lawsuit Settles for $3.2 million
April 12, 2024.
San Francisco, CA Tesla and former Black sub-contractor Owen Diaz have finally settled a California labor racial harassment lawsuit. The settlement ends a long-running battle over how much Tesla would pay Diaz after getting one of the largest awards in a U.S. employment discrimination case overturned.
Read [ Tesla Racism Lawsuit Settles for $3.2 million ]
No More Free Security Checks in California
April 10, 2024.
Santa Clara, CA In a recent California Supreme Court ruling, a worker’s time spent on an employer’s premises undergoing security checks is compensable as hours worked, but time spent driving from the security gate to the parking lot does not qualify as “hours worked”. This California labor law decision emphasizes that the extent of employer control is what mainly defines the classification of "hours worked."
Read [ No More Free Security Checks in California ]
Phillips 66 in $46.5 million Wage Dispute
April 8, 2024.
San Francisco, CA Phillips 66 Co. and refinery workers duked it out before a California federal judge on March 14 over meal-break and time-rounding policies. Workers claims that Phillips automatically deducted 30-minute break periods from hundreds of workers' pay add up to $46.5 million in violation of California labor law.
Read [ Phillips 66 in $46.5 million Wage Dispute ]
Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Update
April 3, 2024.
Santa Clara, CA As of early March, at least 8,334 hair relaxer lawsuits are pending in a federal MDL (multidistrict litigation). Following a study that linked cancer to hair straightener products in late 2022, African American women have filed product liability lawsuits claiming certain cosmetic companies caused their uterine cancer, endometrial cancer, ovarian cancer and other serious injuries.
Read [ Hair Relaxer Lawsuit Update ]
Disneyland Not Happy Place for Maintenance Workers
April 1, 2024.
Los Angeles, CA Disney Hotels is facing yet another class action lawsuit claiming California labor law violations. This time, maintenance workers claim they are paid less than fast food workers. You’d think that Disney could afford to either supply its maintenance crews with tools or pay them the proper hourly rate, considering that its hotel rooms begin at $500 and some go for more than $800 per night, depending upon the location. That would likely be more cost-effective than a class-action lawsuit. Clearly, Disney is not the happiest place on earth for everyone.
Read [ Disneyland Not Happy Place for Maintenance Workers ]
Gig Economy Company Settles Wage Theft Lawsuit for $2.1 Million
March 27, 2024.
San Francisco, CA Qwick, a gig economy online staffing company for hotel and restaurant workers, is required to pay its misclassified California workers $1.5 million in restitution and convert all workers to employees. This agreement settles a misclassification lawsuit brought by the City Attorney of San Francisco and it significantly reclassifies thousands of workers – permanently. Misclassified as independent contractors, workers will now be entitled to employee rights and benefits.
Read [ Gig Economy Company Settles Wage Theft Lawsuit for $2.1 Million ]
Meat Processors Pay $127.2 Million to Settle Wage-Fixing Case
March 20, 2024.
Lincoln, NE Plaintiffs in a wage-fixing class-action lawsuit asked a judge in Colorado federal court to preliminarily approve deals with two meat processors. In early March, Brazil’s JBS, the world’s largest beef producer, agreed to pay $55 million and Arkansas-based Tyson will pay $72.25 million to settle a complaint involving several companies that allegedly participated in a nationwide scheme to fix and depress wages for meat plant workers.
Read [ Meat Processors Pay $127.2 Million to Settle Wage-Fixing Case ]
- Ozempic MDL and Semaglutide Update (Mar-15-24)
- Bayer in the Weeds over Monsanto’s Roundup (Mar-13-24)
- Glass House Slapped with California Labor Lawsuit (Mar-11-24)
- Lawsuits Allege Ozempic Caused Gastroparesis; Do You Have A Claim? (Mar-8-24)
- Former X Corp Workers ask Court not to Dismiss Gender Discrimination Lawsuit (Mar-7-24)
- California Employment Lawyer Discusses Wage & Hour Complaints (Mar-5-24)
- 44 Million Americans Drink PFAS-Contaminated Water, Says New Study (Mar-4-24)
- California Drywall Company Slapped with Wage & Hour Lawsuit – Again. (Mar-3-24)
- Court Won’t Dismiss Doctor’s Bayer Roundup Lawsuit (Feb-29-24)
- Stryker Overtime Lawsuit Goes Ahead (Feb-26-24)
- Chicago Hospital Settles Class Action for $55M (Feb-22-24)
- Suboxone maker Indivior in Trouble with the Law Again (Feb-16-24)
- 3M Sending Payments for Faulty Combat Earplugs (Feb-12-24)
- Walmart Workers ask California Judge to OK $2.25M settlement (Feb-8-24)
- Delta Slammed with Lawsuit over Personal Cellphone Use (Feb-5-24)
- Two Popular California Bakeries Slammed with Wage Theft Lawsuits (Feb-1-24)
- Another Monsanto Roundup Loss for Bayer (Jan-31-24)
- The Cheesecake Factory Settles California Janitors Wage Theft Lawsuit (Jan-29-24)
- Weight Loss Drugmakers Face Stomach Paralysis Lawsuits (Jan-27-24)
- Nurses Filed Unpaid Wages Lawsuit Against U.S. Nursing Corp (Jan-25-24)
- $120M awarded in Westchester Medical Center Medical Malpractice Lawsuit (Jan-21-24)
- UNITE HERE Dispute with Sky Chefs Back on the Plate (Jan-18-24)
- Hair Relaxers – Read the Label (Jan-16-24)
- Race Bias Lawsuit: Tesla v. EEOC (Jan-13-24)
- Problems with Philips CPAP Replacement Machines (Jan-10-24)
- Disney’s Gender Wage Complaint Now Class Action (Jan-5-24)
- Activision Blizzard Agrees to $54 million Gender Discrimination Settlement (Dec-26-23)
- California Labor Commissioner’s Office reaches $5.5M Settlement for Wage Theft Lawsuit (Dec-19-23)
- DuPont, Corteva and Chemours to Pay State of Ohio $110 million (Dec-11-23)
- New California Employment Laws for 2024 (Dec-8-23)
- Bayer Reeling After Plaintiffs’ Roundup Lawsuit Victories (Dec-6-23)
- Health Care Provider Settles Overtime Lawsuit (Dec-4-23)
- Camp Lejeune Litigation on Track, First Settlements Reached, and Unpublished Cancer Study (Dec-1-23)
- Exactech Hip Recall Attorney Weighs In (Nov-30-23)
- Almost All Pressure Cooker Lawsuits Settle out of Court, says Attorney (Nov-29-23)
- Attorney Explains Why Lithium Batteries Explode and What You Can Do (Nov-28-23)
- Bard to Pay $500,000 in Third Bellwether Trial (Nov-25-23)
- Bayer has been ordered by a Missouri jury to pay $1.56 (Nov-24-23)
- Amazon Facing California Wage and Hour Proposed Class Action (Nov-17-23)
- National Collegiate Athletic Association Class Action Lawsuit Going Forward (Nov-13-23)