Regulators moved on May 10, 2012, to seize control of pension plans at Dewey & LeBoeuf, the latest sign of likely collapse at what was once a top U.S. law firm. Dewey also faced its first lawsuit over plans to fire hundreds of employees.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation said it would take responsibility for three pension plans covering 1,800 current and future retirees. The plans were underfunded by $80 million, it said. Read more…
Geek Squad workers have filed a class action law suit against parent company Best Buy, alleging they were forced to work off the clock and without rest periods.
Lawsuits accusing employers of not paying their workers properly have exploded in the last few years, as recession lay offs required employers to lean more heavily on fewer workers. Reports suggest that in 2011, companies in the S&P 500 made $420,000 in revenue per employee even as worker output grew and real wages fell. During the same year, workers filed 7,006 lawsuits relating to wage and hour violations in federal courts, according to similar reports. That’s a 32% increase from 2008 and a 378% increase from 2000. Read more…
According to a class action complaint filed in federal court in California, the international law firm Perkins Coie docks paychecks for costs that employers are required to bear, such as workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, Medicare costs, Social Security costs, and “accounting fees.” Lead plaintiff, Harold DeGraff, says he joined the firm’s Menlo Park, California office as a transactional corporate attorney in 2007. Read more…
The National Labor Relations board announced it is charging 24 Hour Fitness USA Inc. with violating federal law by insisting all employment-related disputes be resolved by individual arbitration. In a statement issued April 30, the NLRB said the San Ramon, California-based company, which operates fitness centers across the country, requires employees to agree in writing as a condition of employment to forego any rights to collective or class action lawsuits or arbitrations. This violates the National Labor Relations Act, according to the complaint issued by the agency’s San Francisco regional office. Read more…
Mario Batali, the celebrity TV chef and owner of a string of restaurants, is often seen with actress, Gwyneth Paltrow, taste testing the culinary delights of Spain in their public television series “On the Road Again.” Two years ago, Batali was sued in New York federal court in Manhattan, where he was accused of cheating workers of part of their tips for serving wine. Recently, he and his associate, Joseph Bastianich, agreed to pay $5.25 million to settle the class action lawsuit. Read more…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed a federal district court ruling in favor of Oracle. Under California’s wage and hour laws, the appellate court found Oracle could be liable for unpaid wages if it did not compensate out-of-state computer trainers for overtime work performed in the state. Read more…
