A former Dollar Tree employee in Illinois has filed a proposed class action against the company and its subsidiary, Family Dollar Inc., for violating the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by requiring employees to scan their fingerprints every day to clock in and out of work. BIPA prohibits private entities from collecting, storing, buying, or selling an individual’s biometric information without Read More

Three federal appellate courts are set to address whether COVID-19-related injury and wrongful death litigation belong in state courts where the cases originated or in federal courts under the Federal Officer Removal Statute. Third Circuit In June, a Third Circuit panel heard arguments in a pair of cases where two New Jersey nursing homes accused of failing to protect patients from COVID-19 are seeking to have the Read More

A former warehouse worker has filed potential class action claims against Walmart, alleging that the retailer violated his and others’ biometric privacy rights by tracking workers in its Illinois distribution facility using voice recognition software without the workers’ consent. In Barton v. Walmart Inc., plaintiff Andrew Barton filed suit alleging that Walmart was in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Read More

On June 21, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld a Ninth Circuit ruling that the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) rules limiting athletes’ education-related compensation and benefits violate U.S. antitrust laws. In Alston v. NCAA, the high court resolved a circuit split on whether the NCAA rules limiting education-related benefits to student athletes was in violation of the Sherman Read More

A California state judge has been asked to allow a Lyft driver’s worker misclassification lawsuit against the rideshare company to proceed separately from similar litigation being pursued by the California Labor Commissioner under the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA).  Lyft driver Brandon Olson filed suit against the company in 2018, alleging that Lyft misclassified him and other drivers as independent Read More

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its What You Should Know About COVID-19 and the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, and Other EEO Laws web page once again with more FAQs about COVID-19 vaccinations for employees.  The new FAQs address mandatory vaccination policies, vaccination incentive programs, and confidentiality requirements. These key updates include the following: Federal EEO Read More

On June 12, 2021, a Texas federal judge dismissed a lawsuit against Houston Methodist Hospital filed by unvaccinated nonmanagerial workers challenging the hospital’s policy that required all covered employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The suit challenging the hospital’s vaccine mandate - Jennifer Bridges et al. v The Methodist Hospital - was filed on May 28, 2021. The hospital’s vaccination policy included Read More

During testimony before the House Committee on Education and Labor on June 9, 2021, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh told lawmakers that the DOL is reviewing the current overtime pay threshold that he said is too low and should be subject to automatic and regular updates. Currently, the overtime threshold is $684 per week, or $35,568 annually. Workers who earn below the threshold amount are required to be paid Read More

Employers are contesting OSHA citations for COVID-19-related violations at a rate that is five times higher than the national average for all federal workplace safety violations, according to a recent Bloomberg report. Many employers are appealing their violations based on often-changing OSHA requirements as well as a belief that failing to appeal a violation may lead to civil litigation. According to OSHA, Read More

Recently, the DOL announced that it would delay until December 31, 2021, the effective date of certain provisions of the 2020 Tip Regulations Final Rule under the FLSA, including provisions addressing civil money penalties (CMPs) and the “80/20” rule under the FLSA’s “dual jobs” provisions.  The provisions of the Tip Final Rule that have been delayed until December 31, 2021, include: Incorporation of the Read More