U.S. Department of Labor Proposes New Rule to Increase Overtime Salary Threshold
Posted by Camilo Burr on 08/31/2023
On August 30, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed rule that increases the salary threshold under which employees are eligible for overtime pay under federal law. Currently, employees who earn less than $35,568 per year or $684 per week must be paid overtime, or one and one-half times the employee's regular rate of pay for ...
CLASS CERTIFICATION DENIED FOR CLASS OF PURCHASERS OF UNSPONSORED ADRs
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 08/21/2023
On January 25, 2022, Judge Dean Pregerson of the Central District of California issued a decision denying class certification in the case Stoyas v. Toshiba, 2:15-cv-04194-DDP-JC, 2022 WL 220920 (C.D. Cal. Jan. 25, 2022). The decision hinged on whether the plaintiffs had purchased Toshiba securities in the United States, and thus satisfied ...
Courts Are Grappling With The Application Of The Supreme Court’s Howey Decision to Digital Currency
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 08/07/2023
As the SEC and private investors continue to push on with civil litigation under the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act") and the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") against developers and marketers of digital assets, the courts must rule on a threshold issue – whether the digital asset is a "security" that is subject ...
Wayfair or WayUnfair? Customer Service Reps Sue For Unpaid Wages Booting Up Computer Programs
Posted by Finn W. Dusenbery on 08/02/2023
Customer service representatives may be entitled to compensation for time spent logging into and out of computer programs and apps before their shifts. For example, a recent lawsuit against Wayfair alleges that its customer service representatives ("CSRs") spend an average of 10-15 minutes before each shift: "turning on and logging into…computers; ...
Senate Moves to Mandate AM Radio in Attempt to Ensure National Emergency Alert System's Efficacy
Posted by Kyle J. Conway on 08/01/2023
Over a quarter of the United States Senate moved to co-sponsor a bill that would preclude auto manufacturers from removing AM radios from their vehicles. The bill, the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, is being framed as an important public necessity which allows the government to reach the public in cases of natural disaster or national emergency. ...
New York May Ban Non-compete Agreements
Posted by Finn W. Dusenbery on 07/10/2023
New York State appears poised to enact a law banning non-compete agreements. Specifically, on June 20, 2023, the New York Assembly passed a bill that would amend the New York Labor Law ("NYLL") to add section 191-d, prohibiting non-compete agreements and authorizing covered individuals to bring civil actions against those who allegedly violated ...
FTC Proposes New Rule Banning Fake Reviews
Posted by Lisa Omoto on 07/06/2023
The Federal Trade Commission has announced a new proposed rule which would prohibit specific deceptive marketing tactics involving consumer reviews or testimonials. For example, the proposed rule would prohibit the following: - Fake Reviews: Businesses would be prohibited from writing, creating, or selling a consumer review that is fake or ...
CA Supremes to Review Independent Contractor Initiative Challenged by App-Based Drivers
Posted by Kyle J. Conway on 06/29/2023
The California Supreme Court announced that it would review the constitutionality of Proposition 22, a provision approved by voters in November of 2020 which created exceptions for specific app-based workers such as Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash drivers from the State's elevated bar for classifying workers as independent contractors. The Proposition ...
SEC Settles Insider Trading Charges Regarding Crypto Asset Securities with Former Coinbase Manager Ishan Wahi and Nikhil Wahi
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 06/26/2023
Last month, the SEC announced in a press release that it had entered into an agreement with Coinbase manager Ishan Wahi and his brother, Nikhil Wahi, "to settle charges that they engaged in insider trading through a scheme to trade ahead of multiple announcements regarding at least nine crypto asset securities that would be made available ...
SEC Charges Coinbase, A Crypto Asset Trading Platform, As An Unregistered Securities Exchange, Broker, and Clearing Agency
Posted by Katherine M. Lenahan on 06/22/2023
On June 6, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") charged Coinbase, Inc., the country's largest crypto trading platform, with operating as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency. According to the SEC, Coinbase has made billions since at least 2019 by facilitating the purchase and sale of ...
NYC Increases App-Based Food Delivery Workers’ Minimum Wage to $17.96 Per Hour
Posted by Camilo Burr on 06/21/2023
Starting on July 12, 2023, over 60,000 food delivery workers employed by apps such as Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub in New York City must be paid at least $17.96 per hour, not including tips. As of April 2025, the mandatory hourly pay will increase to $19.96 per hour. New York City will allow the food delivery apps to use their discretion ...
New York City Enacts Law Prohibiting Discrimination Based on Weight and Height
Posted by Camilo Burr on 06/06/2023
On May 26, 2023, Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill into law expanding the list of characteristics that are protected under New York City's discrimination laws to include a person's weight and height. Weight and height now join 27 other characteristics including, race, gender, age, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, national ...
Georgia Lawyers seek Class Certification in Racial Bias in Attorney Discipline Suit
Posted by Kyle J. Conway on 06/05/2023
A group of Georgia lawyers, led my Marsha W. Mignott, seek class certification in their attempt to establish a unlawful pattern of discriminatory conduct toward African American attorneys under the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and 42 U.S.C. 1981 in what they are describing as an "apartheid disciplinary process." Mignott is currently appealing ...
Texas Federal Judge Orders Lawyers to Certify Accuracy of Filings Drafted with Artificial Intelligence
Posted by Lisa Omoto on 06/02/2023
Judge Brantley Starr of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas has issued a standing order requiring attorneys to include in all filings a certificate attesting either that (a) no portion of the filing was drafted by artificial intelligence (i.e., ChatGPT), or (b) that any language drafted by artificial intelligence was ...
Au-Pair Agency Not Entitled To Immunity For Violating Rights Under Fair Labor Standards Act
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 06/01/2023
Morales Posada, an au-pair who worked through Cultural Care, Inc. initiated a lawsuit alleging that Cultural care is liable, as an employer of au-pairs, for failing to pay minimum wages and overtime pay under New York State law. Posada also alleges that Cultural Care failed to provide au-pairs with proper wage statements and failed to inform ...
SEC Issues Record-Setting Whistleblower Award
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 05/31/2023
Earlier this month, the SEC announced its largest ever whistleblower award – nearly $279 million – which "led to the successful enforcement of SEC and related actions." SEC Press Release, accessible here. The nearly $279 million award is more than double the prior record of $114 million set in 2020. Further, there have only been three ...
Criminal Conviction in First NFT Insider-Trading Trial
Posted by Katherine M. Lenahan on 05/23/2023
On May 3, 2023, Nathaniel Chastain, former product manager of OpenSea, the largest market for non-fungible tokens ("NFTs"), was convicted by a jury of wire fraud and money laundering. The conviction was the first of its kind. As Bloomberg Law explained, "[u]nlike most traditional insider-trading cases, which are centered around securities-fraud ...
U.S. Supreme Court to Address Causation Standard for SOX Whistleblower Claims
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 05/17/2023
On May 1, 2023, the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court granted a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by a former UBS Securities LLC ("UBS" or the "Company") researcher, Trevor Murray. As such, the Supreme Court will soon hear argument in the whistleblower retaliation lawsuit filed by Murray against UBS, Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC. At ...
ANOTHER SUIT AGAINST CRYPTO: SEC SUES CRYPTO TRADING PLATFORM BEAXY
Posted by Faruqi & Faruqi on 05/11/2023
The negative press for crypto companies continues. On March 29, 2023, the SEC filed suit against Beaxy Digital, Ltd., a crypto trading platform, in the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, "for failing to register as a national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency." See SEC Press Release, "SEC Charges Crypto Trading ...
Anticipated Supreme Court Decision May Have a Significant Impact on an Employee’s Right to Receive a Religious Accommodation
Posted by Taylor Crabill on 05/09/2023
On April 18, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Groff v. DeJoy, a case involving (1) whether an employer can deny an employee a religious accommodation if the accommodation imposes "more than a de minimis cost" on the employer, and (2) whether an employer can demonstrate "undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business" ...