CBD Switch Up Leads to SCOTUS Review of RICO Suits
The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments from three CBD Oil manufacturers who face a RICO suit filed by a consumer who was fired due to the undisclosed presence of THC in his CBD products. Although initially successful on a motion for summary judgment below, the manufacturers lost on appeal when the Second Circuit joined the ...
U.S. Department of Labor Finalizes New Rule Increasing Overtime Salary Threshold
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") released a final rule, raising the salary threshold for certain overtime exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act ("FLSA"), the federal law establishing minimum wage and overtime pay, among other things. Under the FLSA, employees who work more than 40 hours in a week must receive ...
Michigan Court Denies Fiat Chrysler’s Motion to Dismiss Claims that Company Failed to Include Shift Differentials and Bonuses in Workers’ Overtime Pay
On Friday, March 29, 2024, a federal court in Michigan denied Fiat Chrysler's motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the company failed to properly calculate workers' overtime pay. Specifically, assembly workers, welder repair workers, and stock workers, among others, allege that Fiat Chrysler paid them a base hourly rate, such as about ...
2nd Circuit Confirms Legitimate Non-Discriminatory Reason for Termination Does Not Necessarily Beat Discrimination Claims
In Bart v. Golub Corporation, No. 23-238, 2024 WL 1281069 (2d Cir. March 26, 2024), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals provided additional clarity to analyzing claims of discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Specifically, the Court addressed whether an employee needs to show an employer's legitimate, non-discriminatory ...
SEC Announces Settled Charges Against Two Investment Advisers Regarding Their AI Claims
On March 18, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") announced that it settled charges against two investment advisers, Delphia (USA) Inc. and Global Predictions Inc., for making false and misleading claims about their use of artificial intelligence ("AI"). According to Bloomberg Law, the charges mark "the beginning of a ...
SEC Adopts New Disclosure Rules Governing SPAC IPOs and De-Spac Transactions
The use of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies ("SPAC")[1] for going public transactions ("IPOs") has grown significantly over the last few years. So has litigation involving SPACs. On January 24, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") adopted new rules to widen the disclosure requirements for SPAC IPOs and subsequent transactions ...
McDonald’s Workers Sue for Lack of Breaks and Private Space for Nursing, in Violation of PUMP Act
On February 14, 2024, McDonald's workers Kathleen Faber and Lexis Mays brought a nationwide collective action against the company and its franchisees for failing to provide sufficient breaks or private spaces for employees who were lactating, in violation of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (the "PUMP Act"). ...
New York State to Expand Protections for Freelance Workers
Employees possess a wide range of legal protections and benefits that freelancers, who work for themselves, do not. This often leaves freelancers vulnerable to the whims of their clients, who can potentially threaten a freelancer's livelihood in ways that would be plainly illegal if done to an employee. On March 20, 2024, New York will make ...
FDA Announces Formal End to PFAS in Food Packaging Products
On February 28th, 2024, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially announced an end to per- and polyfluoralkyl substances (PFAS) in food packaging. This effects potential exposure to these harmful substances from materials like "fast-food wrappers, microwave popcorn bags, take-out paperboard containers and pet food bags". This update, ...
New York Prohibits Employers from Requesting Access to Employees or Applicants’ Social Media Accounts
On March 12, 2024, bill S2518A/A836 will go into effect, prohibiting employers from requesting employees and/or job applicants provide usernames, passwords, and/or other personal information necessary to access their social media accounts or from requesting or requiring an employee access their accounts in the employer's presence. Employers ...
ESG Investing and Securities Class Actions
Social media was envisioned to network people, and its development has shifted global perspectives and redefined the Information Age. In securities class actions, social media has made it more convenient to issue notices for suits and to help investigations of potential witnesses, class members, and defendants. But social media has revolutionized ...
SECOND CIRCUIT DECERTIFIES CLASS IN GOLDMAN, ENDING 13-YEAR SAGA
After thirteen years, several trips to the Second Circuit and one to the U.S. Supreme Court, last year the Second Circuit delivered the death blow to the securities fraud 10b-5 class action Arkansas Teacher Retirement System v. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., 77 F. 4th 74 (2d Cir. 2023), when it held that the Southern District of New York had erroneously ...
NYC Enacts Law Allowing Lawsuits for Violations of Earned Safe and Sick Time Act
On January 20, 2024, New York City enacted a law allowing employees to sue for violations of the City's Earned Safe and Sick Time Act ("ESSTA"). Until now, the only way to enforce rights under the ESSTA was to file a complaint with the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection ("DCWP"). The DCWP would investigate the complaint and, ...
SEC Approves 11 Exchange-Traded Products Holding Bitcoin In Landmark Order
On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") approved 11 exchange-traded products ("ETPs") holding bitcoin, known as spot bitcoin ETPs, in a landmark decision for crypto advocates. ETPs are investment instruments that track underlying securities, commodities, or other financial products, and trade on exchanges just ...
New Jersey Passes Legislation Affording Domestic Workers $15.13 in Minimum Wages and Other Protections
On January 12, 2024, New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy signed the New Jersey Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, which guarantees New Jersey's approximately 50,000 domestic workers, including childcare providers, home caretakers, and caregivers, a minimum wage of $15.13 along with other protections. Previously, domestic workers were exempt from ...
Southern District of New York Concurs with SEC Finding That Terraform Cryptocurrencies Are Securities
On December 28, 2023, the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment in favor of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on their claim that Terraform Labs Pte Ltd. and DO Hyeong Kwon ("Defendants") offered and sold unregistered securities in violation of Section 5(a) and 5(c) of the Securities Act of 1933[1] ("Securities ...
Securities And Exchange Act Claims Against TaskUs, Inc. Survive Motion To Dismiss
Recently, the Southern District of New York affirmed that repeated assertions conveying a false impression—i.e., a positive workplace culture backed by "low attrition" and Glassdoor ratings—were actionable. Although the analysis was not in favor of Plaintiffs in this case, the District Court tacitly supported the "core operations" doctrine ...
FTC Considering Significant Expansion of Children’s Online Data Privacy
The Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") is poised to open its updated rulemaking for the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) open for public comment. First adopted in 2000, the Rule forbids online service providers and websites from collecting the personal information of individuals under the age of 13 absent verified consent from ...
FTC Bans Rite Aid from Using AI Facial Recognition
On December 19, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission and Rite Aid agreed that Rite Aid will be banned from using facial recognition technology for surveillance purposes for five years to settle FTC charges that the retailer failed to implement reasonable safeguards to prevent its consumers from being falsely identified as shoplifters. In a complaint ...
NYC Enacts Law Requiring Employers to Provide “Workers’ Bill of Rights” to Employees
On December 3, 2023, NYC enacted a new law, Int 0569, requiring employers to provide a yet-to-be-drafted "workers' bill of rights" to employees, beginning July 1, 2024. NYC's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) will write the workers' bill of rights in coordination with the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MOIA), the NYC ...