Lawsuits

Giant robot throwing man in a trash can. Artifical intelligence replacing jobs concept. Vector illustration.

EEOC Breaks New Ground by Settling First-Ever AI Discrimination Lawsuit: 10 Pointers to Avoid Robot Bias

by Fisher Phillips in Human Resources, Technology. Posted September 28, 2023

We’ve reached another milestone in the AI revolution: the federal agency charged with enforcing anti-bias laws just recorded its first-ever settlement in a case involving AI discrimination in the workplace. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) August 9 legal filing in a New York federal court revealed that a tutoring company agreed to pay $365,000 ...

Avoiding The Blame Game: How To Limit Your Liability To Other Companies’ Employees

by Edward Harold in Food & Beverage, Human Resources, Insurance & Loss Prevention, Legal, Risk Management. Posted January 16, 2018

Numerous individuals who work in retail stores are actually employed by a company other than the retailer itself. These include vendor employees stocking product, sampling employees who offer customers tasty treats, inventory company employees, cleaning crews, security guards, and delivery personnel. Whether you could be liable as a retailer for the conduct of one of ...

Recent Verdict Strengthens the Growing Need for Websites to Increase Accessibility to Disabled Individuals

by Garvey Schubert Barer in Legal, Technology. Posted September 21, 2017

A recent case in federal district court in Florida foreshadows the beginning of an expanded reach of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As a whole, the Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability. Recently, a growing number of lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and private litigants threatening ...

No Sexual Harassment, but Retaliation Claim Survives

by Sid Steinberg in Human Resources, Legal. Posted September 19, 2017

Just as the adage is that “the coverup is worse than the crime,” we know that in employment law, “the retaliation claim is more dangerous than the underlying discrimination.” The latest example of this is in the recent decision of Austin v. Bloomin’ Brands, 2:16-CV-06509-TR (Aug. 30). MOSTLY HISPANIC KITCHEN STAFF Mark Austin began working ...

Businesses Should Prepare For Predictive Scheduling Laws

by Jordan Schwartz in Food & Beverage, Human Resources, Legal. Posted September 5, 2017

Last month, Victoria’s Secret agreed to pay $12 million to settle a class action lawsuit in California brought by hourly employees that were denied pay as a result of the store’s use of on-call shift scheduling. In that lawsuit, the employees relied on a California law requiring employees, who report for work on a scheduled ...

Is Your Company’s Hurricane Plan Ready?

by David Barron in Human Resources, Insurance & Loss Prevention, Legal. Posted July 13, 2017

With the first tropical storm of the season bearing down on the Gulf Coast, it is a good time to dust off your HR Department’s Hurricane Plan and make sure it is up to date. If you don’t have one, it is an even better time to put one together. Attachedis Cozen O’Connor’s HR Guide for ...

A New Trend — States Banning Questions Regarding Salary

by Jordan Schwartz in Human Resources, Legal. Posted May 24, 2017

In light of the current political climate and the corresponding lack of legislation being enacted at the federal level, some of the more liberal states and localities have begun to take matters into their own hands and enact their own legislation. One trend that is starting to gain significant momentum is in the field of ...

Where Does Hotel Industry Joint Employment Liability End?

by Buchalter in Hotel Development, Human Resources, Legal, Lodging. Posted January 6, 2017

A big issue facing hotel owners is who is the employer—is it the owner or the manager, the franchisor or the franchisee, the client or the contractor? Who has the liability for employment claims? Many hotel owners today are real estate investment trusts, private funds, insurance companies and other institutional owners, which muddies dividing lines, ...

How to Build a World-Class Legal Department

by Barker Gilmore in Legal. Posted June 23, 2016

by Robert Barker & John Gilmore General Counsel Panel Answers 5 Key Questions Uncertain global markets … cybersecurity … tightening credit sources … increasing regulatory demands … antitrust. Obstacles to business success have never loomed larger. And corporate legal departments have never played a larger role in addressing them. As general counsel and other corporate ...

Lyft agrees to revised $27 mln deal in driver lawsuit

by Dan Levine in Legal, Safety & Security, Travel. Posted May 12, 2016

Lyft has agreed to pay $27 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by California drivers who claimed they should be deemed employees instead of independent contractors, after a U.S. judge rejected a previous $12.25 million deal as too small. Lyft and larger rival Uber are attempting to resolve lawsuits by drivers who contend ...