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Is The EEOC’s Role To Enforce The Law, Or Make New Law?
Today I had the privilege of attending the 6th Annual Forum on Defending Employment Discrimination Litigation hosted by the American Conference Institute in New York, New York (I spoke on defense strategies for defending high stakes, multi-party age discrimination lawsuits).
Constance Barker, one of the five Commissioners at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, gave the
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Iowa Supreme Court Dismisses Long-Fought Race Discrimination Class Action
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Gina R. Merrill
It is a truism that complex litigation often becomes a battle of the experts, and this applies with full force to class action employment discrimination cases. Skilled counsel will anticipate this fact and early on identify and develop not only the right experts, but thoroughly assess what data and information is
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New Guidance From The EEOC Requires Employers To Provide Reasonable Accommodations Under The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
By Paul Kehoe
Today, without the fanfare of a public meeting, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published Guidance on its website addressing the treatment of pregnancy under Title VII. Once again, it appears as if the EEOC adopted a position exceeding the statutory mandate that Congress bestowed upon it. Requiring employers to provide a reasonable accommodation under Title VII
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SCOTUS Agrees To Consider Whether Pregnant Workers Must Be Able To Perform The Essential Functions Of The Job
By Laura Maechtlen and Julie G. Yap
Last week, in Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc.,the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to answer the question of whether an employer is required to accommodate an employee who is unable to perform the essential functions of her job due to pregnancy-related restrictions. The Supreme Court’s resolution of this case could provide helpful
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Kudos For The Workplace Class Action Litigation Report
We are humbled and honored by the recent review of our Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report by Employment Practices Liability Consultant Magazine (“EPLiC”) – the review is here. Here is what EPLiC said:
“The Report is the singular, definitive source of information, research, and in-depth analysis on employment-related class action litigation. Practitioners and
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The Franken Amendment Part II: New York Assembly Passes Legislation Limiting State Contractors’ Right To Require Employees To Arbitrate Employment Claims
By Caroline A. Keller and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr.
Class action plaintiffs’ lawyers and their allies generally do not like arbitration, especially where the arbitration agreements effectuate a waiver of the ability of a worker or a consumer to bring a class action. Advocates for workers and consumers have attacked arbitration agreements through various avenues in the courts and in
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Point / Counter-Point: The Debate On The Meaning Of Rule 23
The Ninth Circuit’s ruling in Stockwell v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, Case No. 12-15070 (9th Cir. April 24, 2014), is already sparking a debate over the meaning of Rule 23. Our posting on the ruling is here. The decision ought to be required reading for all corporate counsel concerned about workplace
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New Ruling In The San Francisco Police Officers Case Dilutes Wal-Mart’s Impact On Class Certification Motions
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Laura J. Maechtlen
On April 24, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Stockwell v. City & Cnty. of San Francisco, Case No. 12-15070 (9th Cir. April 24, 2014), overturned an order denying class certification of age discrimination claims filed by a group of police officers against the City
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Discovery Before Conditional Certification? Not So Much.
By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Gina R. Merrill
Deciding yet another discovery battle in Wellens v. Daiichi Sankyo Inc., Case No. 3:13-CV-00581 (N.D. Cal. April 11, 2014), the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California has shut down defendant’s request to secure discovery regarding the 17 opt-in putative class members. (We first blogged on the last discovery
Continue Reading Discovery Before Conditional Certification? Not So Much.