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Expert Analysis

• Water Cooler Talk: Investigation Lessons In 'Minority Report'

  

  Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper discuss how themes in Steven Spielberg's Science Fiction masterpiece "Minority Report" — including prediction, prevention and the fallibility of systems — can have real-life implications in workplace investigations.

• Class Actions At The Circuit Courts: February Lessons

  

  In this month's review of class action appeals, Mitchell Engel at Shook Hardy discusses five notable circuit court decisions on topics from property taxes to veteran's rights — and provides key takeaways for counsel on issues including class representative intervention, wage-and-hour dispute evidence and ascertainability requirements.

• NYC Cos. Must Prepare For Increased Sick Leave Liability

  

  A recent amendment to New York City's sick leave law authorizes employees for the first time to sue their employers for violations — so employers should ensure their policies and practices are compliant now to avoid the crosshairs of litigation once the law takes effect in March, says Melissa Camire at Fisher Phillips.

• Employer Trial Tips For Fighting Worker PPE Pay Claims

  

  Courts have struggled for decades to reach consensus on whether employees must be paid for time spent donning and doffing personal protective equipment, but this convoluted legal history points to practical trial strategies to help employers defeat these Fair Labor Standards Act claims, say Michael Mueller and Evangeline Paschal at Hunton.

• Employer Lessons From NLRB Judge's Union Bias Ruling

  

  A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent decision that a Virginia drywall contractor unlawfully transferred and fired workers who made union pay complaints illustrates valuable lessons about how employers should respond to protected labor activity and federal labor investigations, says Kenneth Jenero at Holland & Knight.

• 9 Tools To Manage PAGA Claims After Calif. High Court Ruling

  

  In Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills, the California Supreme Court recently dealt a blow to employers by ruling that courts cannot dismiss Private Attorneys General Act claims on manageability grounds, but defendants and courts can still use arbitration agreements, due process challenges and other methods when dealing with unmanageable claims, says Ryan Krueger at Sheppard Mullin.

• The 7th Circ.'s Top 10 Civil Opinions Of 2023

  

  Attorneys at Jenner & Block examine the most significant decisions issued by the Seventh Circuit in 2023, and explain how they may affect issues related to antitrust, constitutional law, federal jurisdiction and more.

• Where Justices Stand On Chevron Doctrine Post-Argument

  

  Following recent oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, at least four justices appear to be in favor of overturning the long-standing Chevron deference, and three justices seem ready to uphold it, which means the ultimate decision may rest on Chief Justice John Roberts' vote, say Wayne D'Angelo and Zachary Lee at Kelley Drye.

• Calif. High Court Ruling Outlines Limits On PAGA Actions

  

  While the California Supreme Court’s ruling last week in Estrada v. Royalty Carpet Mills held that courts cannot dismiss Private Attorneys General Act claims on manageability grounds, the opinion also details how claims can be narrowed, providing a road map for defendants facing complex actions, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• NY Pay Frequency Cases May Soon Be A Thing Of The Past

  

  Two recent developments in New York state have unfurled to suggest that the high tide of frequency-of-pay lawsuits may soon recede, giving employers the upper hand when defending against threatened or pending claims, say attorneys at Reed Smith.

• A Focused Statement Can Ease Employment Mediation

  

  Given the widespread use of mediation in employment cases, attorneys should take steps to craft mediation statements that efficiently assist the mediator by focusing on key issues, strengths and weaknesses of a claim, which can flag key disputes and barriers to a settlement, says Darren Rumack at Klein & Cardali.

• How To Start Applying DOL's Independent Contractor Test

  

  Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor finalized a worker classification rule that helpfully includes multiple factors that employers can leverage to systematically evaluate the economic realities of working relationships, says Elizabeth Arnold and Samantha Stelman at Berkeley Research Group.

• PAGA Turns 20: An Employer Road Map For Managing Claims

  

  As California’s Private Attorneys General Act turns 20, the arbitrability of individual and representative claims remains relatively unsettled — but employers can potentially avoid litigation involving both types of claims by following guidance from the California Supreme Court’s Adolph v. Uber ruling, say attorneys at Mintz.