News

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to bless class action waivers in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis was seen as a clear-cut win for employers, but on its first birthday, practitioners say the decision's impact has been muted as businesses weigh the potential costs of arbitration and growing public backlash against denying workers a day in court.  

The high court's May 21, 2018, decision held that making workers sign arbitration agreements waiving their rights to pursue class actions does not violate the National Labor Relations Act, cementing employers' ability to funnel wage-and-hour and...

Tammy Heeter woke up Friday as a loyal former Wood-Mode employee and ended the day feeling “betrayed.”

“We were lied to,” she said after receiving an automated text message notifying her and the 937 other laid off workers that medical, dental, vision and other insurance coverage was ending as of midnight Friday.

It was a stark change from earlier in the day when Heeter picked up her final paycheck from Wood-Mode and joined more than 200 other displaced employees at the VFW in Selinsgrove to hear from a New York City attorney about a pending class-action lawsuit against the company.

"I'm...

Remnants of bankrupt electric car maker Fisker Automotive kicked up fresh sparks Wednesday, when a Delaware judge said the company and laid-off workers should consider dates for a trial in a dispute over first-in-line payment claims.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin Gross made the point after arguments on a class of workers’ motion for summary judgement for their claim to first priority rights to a $1.9 million estate reserve to pay Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act compensation.

“This case has been pending for 5½ years. I realize it has been a contentious process, but I’m hoping...

Former employees of recently shuttered Live Well Financial Inc. opened a proposed class Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act complaint Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for Delaware, citing no-notice, mass layoffs in California and Virginia.

Lead plaintiff Monica Williams, a loan account manager at the company's Richmond, Virginia, headquarters, said she and hundreds of other employees in Virginia and San Diego, California, were fired without warning on May 3.

The two-count lawsuit alleged violations of both the federal WARN Act and its California state counterpart. Both...

Three of its former financial advisors have alleged Morgan Stanley shortchanged them and some 2,800 other employees when reimbursing their business expenses. But only one of them, Brandon Harvey, has succeeded in securing a tentative $10 million settlement based on his proposed class action lawsuit.

Under the proposed deal, Morgan Stanley would pay Harvey and other former and existing Morgan Stanley employees around $3,600 each.

In addition, Harvey, who worked for Morgan Stanley for four years until 2018 when he left for his current firm LPL Financial, would receive $10,000 for his services...

National employment law firm Outten & Golden LLP is joining forces with distinguished LGBTQ rights Jillian T. Weiss to assist workers who face discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Weiss will serve as Special Co-Counsel to Outten & Golden's LGBTQ Practice Group working on select cutting edge litigation.
"We are excited to collaborate with Jillian Weiss, combining our longstanding employment law achievements with Jillian's esteemed track record of prominent cases on behalf of LGBTQ workers," said Adam T. Klein, Managing Partner. "Through this...

Despite recent advances in gay and lesbian rights, similar protections for transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals either have not kept pace or do not exist, making the future uncertain within this community.

On May 9, 2019, Outten & Golden LLP and the National Trans Bar Association will host a conversation focusing on the horizon for trans civil rights. The event, to be held at Outten & Golden's D.C. office, features a panel discussion with:

• Sasha Buchert – Senior Attorney, Lambda Legal
• Chrysanthemum Desir – Youth & Juvenile Justice Fellow at FreeState Justice
• Raffi Freedman-...

On March 14, 2019, Outten & Golden LLP's New York office hosted an award ceremony as part of the firm's Tenth Annual Public Interest Award program.

Outten & Golden typically honors one organization each year that is engaged in cutting-edge grassroots activities to protect and enforce the rights of workers, particularly low-wage workers. Each award consists of $20,000, with an initial check of $10,000 and $2,500 each year for the following four years.

LeGaL is dedicated to advancing the legal rights of LGBTQ New Yorkers through litigation, advocacy and education. Through their free legal...

Private sector employers are not obligated to provide paid military leave, United Airlines and its parent company United Continental Holdings argued in their second move to toss proposed class claims over its military leave policy.

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Act mandates that public employers pay for workers' short-term military leave, but the law is deliberately quiet on the issue of private employers, the airline argued. United is looking again to toss a pilot's amended complaint claiming he was unfairly refused compensation for his short-term military leaves.

The...