By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik Seyfarth Synopsis: In an EEOC disability discrimination lawsuit alleging that an employer failed to accommodate and then wrongfully terminated a laundry technician with anxiety, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment, holding the EEOC did not establish that the employee was disabled for purposes of the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101, et seq.…

By: Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christopher J. DeGroff, Matthew J. Gagnon, and Ala Salameh Seyfarth Synopsis: The Trump Administration has succeeded in replacing several open  positions within the upper echelons of the EEOC. Employers are anxiously looking for any sign as to how this slate of leadership will put its stamp on the agency’s mission and, more importantly, which employers and business practices the agency will most heavily target. But even though…

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Christina M. Janice Seyfarth Synopsis: In complex class actions, courts have looked to Rule 23 to authorize class actions either for trial, or for approval of a previously negotiated settlement. Now as thousands of public entities nationwide pursue financial relief from opiate manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel A. Polster has ordered into effect a third and “innovative” type of class action. In the litigation…

By: Gina R. Merrill, David B. Ross, and Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. Seyfarth Synopsis: In a decision with far–reaching implications for workplace class actions, the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed the denial of class certification of a Rule 23(b)(3) class on the grounds that the proposed class contained uninjured class members in the case of In Re Rail Freight Fuel Surcharge Antitrust Litigation, Dakota Granite Co, et. al. v. BNSF Railway Co., et. al.…

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Michael L. DeMarino, and Andrew Cockroft Seyfarth Synopsis: Complex class actions often present a scenario in which some or most of the putative class members are subject to arbitration agreements, but the named plaintiff is not. In Gembarski v. PartsSource, Inc., No. 2018-0125, 2019 Ohio LEXIS 1639 (Ohio Aug. 14, 2019), the Supreme Court of Ohio concluded that because the defendant could not have raised an arbitration defense against…

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik Seyfarth Synopsis:  After a federal magistrate judge in California ordered the EEOC to provide written discovery responses relative to the substance its pre-suit investigation of a sex discrimination charge in EEOC v. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., No. 17-CV-5382, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129046 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 1, 2019), the EEOC objected to the order and sought review; thereafter, the district judge granted EEOC’s motion for…

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Thomas E. Ahlering and Andrew R. Cockroft Seyfarth Synopsis: While most employers are likely familiar with the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), they should know that Illinois is not the only state with a biometric privacy law and many other states are not far behind from joining that group.  In addition to states with existing biometric privacy laws (Illinois, Texas, and Washington), various state legislatures are considering similar…