By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik Seyfarth Synopsis:  In Handloser v. HCL Technologies LTD, No. 19-CV-1242, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45183 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 9, 2021), Plaintiffs alleged that an Indian-based company with its U.S. headquarters in California gave preferential hiring treatment to foreign visa-holders over U.S. citizens.  Citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, 564 U.S. 338, 352 (2011), a California federal court denied Plaintiffs’…

By Karla Grossenbacher, Thomas E. Ahlering & Andrew R. Cockroft Seyfarth Synopsis: Both Portland and New York City have followed the example set by Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (“BIPA”), a statute that has spawned thousands of cookie-cutter class action suits regarding the alleged collection of biometric information. Like BIPA, these new ordinances create a private right of action for individuals that could subject local businesses to potentially millions of dollars in liability. Businesses…

By: Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Christopher DeGroff, Matthew J. Gagnon, and Alex S. Oxyer Seyfarth Synopsis: The EEOC recently released its enforcement and litigation statistics for Fiscal Year 2020. Notably, the statistics indicate that 2020 saw a dramatic drop in filed charges, with the lowest number of charges filed in over 20 years. For example, despite the #MeToo movement remaining an enforcement priority for the Commission in 2020, the number of gender…

 By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Thomas E. Ahlering Seyfarth Synopsis: Following in the footsteps of New York, Maryland recently introduced a standalone biometric information privacy bill, House Bill 218, that mirrors Illinois’ highly litigious Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS § 14/1 et seq., “BIPA”) in many respects.  Most notably, as presently drafted, Maryland’s proposed bill, like Illinois’ BIPA, provides for a private right of action, statutory penalties, and plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees…

By: Gerald L. Maatman, Jr., Ian Morrison, Brett Bartlett, and Kerry Friedrichs Seyfarth Synopsis: Please join us on Tuesday, February 23rd for the 17th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report webinar! Register now to secure your spot and review the workplace class action developments of 2020 and what employers should expect for 2021. In Seyfarth’s 17th Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report Webinar, speakers will provide an interactive analysis of 2020 class…

By Gerald L. Maatman, Jr. and Alex W. Karasik Seyfarth Synopsis:  In EEOC v. JBS USA, LLC, No. 10-CV-2103, 2021 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13012 (D. Colo. Jan. 25, 2021), an EEOC-initiated lawsuit alleging a meatpacking engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, and religion, the U.S. District Court in Colorado denied the EEOC’s motion to reconsider the previous dismissal of the EEOC’s pattern or practice claims, thereby…

By Jennifer A. Riley and Michael L. DeMarino Seyfarth Synopsis: The ABA’s “anti-contact” rule prohibits attorneys from communicating with represented parties concerning the subject matter of the case. In Moore, et al., v. Club Exploria, LLC, No. 19-CV-2504, 2021 WL 260227 (N.D. Ill. Jan. 26, 2021), the court sanctioned defense counsel for calling plaintiff’ s cell number as part of investigating whether the number was associated with another individual in defense of plaintiff’s claim that…