In a 35 page Order [PDF] issued on Thursday, August 18, Judge Edward M. Chen dealt a surprising blow in O’Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc.: he denied preliminary approval for a $100 million settlement. In no uncertain terms, Judge Chen said the current terms of the settlement are “not fair, adequate, and reasonable.” In the … Continue Reading
After years of contentious litigation, Uber Technologies Inc. has decided not to leave its fate in the hands of jurors. Instead, Uber announced on Thursday that two of the most closely watched class actions against it had settled…for $100 million. In addition to the hefty price tag, Uber made a number of concessions including: Uber … Continue Reading
Since it was launched back in 2009, Uber Technologies, Inc. has been in the national spotlight for developing and implementing its revolutionary “ridesharing” mobile application. Uber continues to appear in headlines for a multitude of reasons, many of which are desirable, and at least one of which is not: getting sued by its workforce. Despite … Continue Reading
Nearly two years after Waffle House Inc. employee Carrie Harris filed an unfair labor practices charge, the Georgia-based breakfast chain was unable to butter up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Harris’ complaint alleged that Waffle House’s arbitration agreement that employees were required to execute as a condition of their employment violated the National Labor … Continue Reading
Second Circuit Court of Appeals Adopts New Test for Determining Whether Unpaid Interns Should Be Classified and Paid as Employees Unpaid internship programs have come under heightened scrutiny in recent years by the Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service, and other regulatory agencies, as well been the subject of a number of high-profile lawsuits. … Continue Reading
Fifth Circuit Rejects NLRB’s En Banc Hearing Request, Setting Up Likely Denial of Enforcement in Murphy Oil, USA In its 2012 decision in D.R. Horton, Inc., the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) held that employers that require employees to agree to arbitrate employment-related claims, and to do so only on an individual basis, waiving the … Continue Reading
The explosion in the development of smartphone applications has allowed for all sorts of new businesses to pop up—personal shoppers (Instacart), restaurant delivery (GrubHub) and private chauffeurs (Uber and Lyft). We, as consumers, now have instant access to goods and services we didn’t even know we needed. This new boom has even earned its own … Continue Reading
On January 20, the United States Supreme Court denied a motion for certiorari filed by CLS Transportation which was appealing the California Supreme Court’s decision in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation, about which we blogged in June. While Iskanian generally vindicated employers’ right to enforce class action bans in arbitration agreements, the California Supreme Court distinguished … Continue Reading
On November 14, 2014, a New York federal judge awarded over $10 million in back pay wages to about 2,000 current and former exotic dancers in a class action lawsuit brought against Rick’s Cabaret for unpaid wages from 2005-2012. This recent order awarding damages to the dancers is a furtherance of the Court’s September 2013 holding … Continue Reading
On November 12, 2014, the Ninth Circuit addressed an issue of first impression regarding the pleading specificity required to bring an action for unpaid minimum wages and overtime wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) in Landers v. Quality Communications, Inc. [pdf] This opinion is important because many employers served with FLSA collective actions … Continue Reading
A three-member majority of the National Labor Relations Board on October 28 reaffirmed employees’ right to bring class and collective action claims [pdf]. In a case against Murphy Oil USA, the Board stood by its earlier decision in D.R. Horton, Inc. [pdf] in which it ruled that requiring employees to waive their right to bring class and … Continue Reading
As we’ve reported here and here, recent decisions from the US Supreme Court, federal appellate courts, and more recently, even the California Supreme Court (see here) have clarified that class and collective action waivers in arbitration agreements, including those that waive employees’ right to bring a claim under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) … Continue Reading
In a long-awaited decision that employers hoped would clarify the enforceability of arbitration agreements under California law, the California Supreme Court in Iskanian v. CLS Transportation [PDF] split on the two issues before it. The California high court held that class action waivers in arbitration agreements are enforceable but that waivers of claims under the … Continue Reading
In a highly anticipated decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to enforce the key portion of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) decision in D.R. Horton, Inc. In January 2012, the NLRB ruled that an arbitration agreement between an employer and an employee that required the employee to bring any claims against the … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court had the opportunity to address a split in the circuits regarding whether or not a Rule 68 offer of judgment to a named plaintiff in a FLSA collective action mooted a potential collective action. In Genesis Healthcare Corp., et al. v. Symczyk [pdf], the Supreme Court held that because … Continue Reading
Recently, the Supreme Court reinforced that in class action litigation, the courts must undertake a rigorous analysis of the Federal Rule’s prerequisites in certifying a class of litigants. As previously reported here, the Supreme Court addressed this issue in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes in 2011. In Dukes, the Supreme Court noted that trial courts … Continue Reading
