glass_ceiling.jpgBy Laura Maechtlen and Brian Wong

It is not uncommon for an employer to face vague or overbroad class claims premised on one employee’s injury limited to a specific set of facts. However, in a recent ruling in Singleton v. BP Amoco Chemical Co., No. CVV-12-J-255-5 (N.D. Ala. April 3, 2012), an Alabama federal district court judge limited an

Continue Reading Standing Defenses In Class Action Litigation Under Title VII

Front Coverpdf.jpgBy Christopher J. DeGroff and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.

The EEOC promised to file bigger, higher-profile cases in 2011. The EEOC did just that, with a second straight year of a record number of systemic investigations and class-like federal court filings. Indeed, for the last five years, the EEOC’s public strategy has been to further its agenda through prosecution of

Continue Reading The Top 5 Most Intriguing Decisions In EEOC Cases Of 2011

seal.gifBy Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and David Ross

Dukes issues – stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court’s seminal ruling this past spring in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011)  – are twisting, turning, and morphing into all types of class actions. We anticipate that 2012 will be the year that litigants and courts alike increasing

Continue Reading “Second Generation” Dukes Issues – Dismissal Of Class Claims Based On Defective Architecture Of The Class Theories

gavel.jpgBy Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and David Ross

Virtually every class action pending in federal court has undergone a re-examination based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s holding in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. v. Dukes, 131 S. Ct. 2541 (2011). The issues arises either based on a defense motion to strike or decertify a class based on Dukes or in the parties’

Continue Reading Another Decertification Motion Based On Dukes Has Mixed Results

court-gavel.jpgBy Christopher DeGroff and Matthew Gagnon

It is a fact of workplace litigation that trials of employment discrimination cases are rare – only an extremely small number of cases filed in federal district courts ever go to a jury. Most are disposed of by motions or out-of-court settlements. Given scarce funding and a dwindling government headcount, trials of EEOC-initiated lawsuits is even more of a rarity.  Earlier this month

Continue Reading EEOC Wins Sweeping Injunctive Relief Following Illinois ADA Trial