In a significant case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit just held it to be in error for a district court to order notice be sent to employees as part of a certification who, by a preponderance of the evidence, entered into a valid arbitration agreement.  If the employer fails to establish the existence of a valid arbitration agreement as to a particular employee, that employee would receive the…

The U.S. Supreme Court may finally weigh in on the hottest issue in data breach litigation, whether a demonstration of actual harm is required to have standing to sue. Standing to sue in a data breach class action suit, largely turns on whether plaintiffs establish that they have suffered an “injury-in-fact” resulting from the data breach. Plaintiffs in data breach class actions are often not able to demonstrate that they have suffered financial or other…

Concluding that a student at a for-profit cosmetology academy was the “primary beneficiary” of the hours he spent training at the academy’s salon, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the district’s court’s determination that the student was an intern, and not an not employee entitled to minimum wage or overtime under the FLSA or the New York Labor Law. Velarde v. GW GJ, Inc., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 3536 (2d Cir. Feb. 5,…

Earlier today, the Illinois Supreme Court handed down a significant decision concerning the ability of individuals to bring suit under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). In short, individuals need not allege actual injury or adverse effect, beyond a violation of his/her rights under BIPA, in order to qualify as an “aggrieved” person and be entitled to seek liquidated damages ($1000 per negligent violation/$5,000 per intentional or reckless violation) and injunctive relief under the Act.…

In New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act’s (FAA) Section 1 exemption applies to transportation workers, regardless of whether they are classified as independent contractors or employees. No. 17-340 (Jan. 15, 2018). Please click here to access our article discussing this recent decision.…

On the last day of the year, we take a look back at some highlights and our most-read employment class action articles of 2018. #5-Department of Labor Nullifies “80/20” Tip Credit Rule In November, the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor (DOL) rescinded Obama-era enforcement guidance that had made the tip credit unavailable to tipped employees who spend more than 20% of their time performing allegedly non-tip generating duties. The so-called 80/20 Rule had spawned a number of lawsuits, many…