Newsletters

11.16.22

California Court Reverses Dismissal of EPA Claim

A California appellate panel reversed dismissal of a female employee’s Equal Pay Act claim, finding her evidence that a single male comparator was paid more than she was to be sufficient to survive summary judgment.


11.16.22

Rounding Policy Falls Flat in California

An employer’s quarter-hour rounding policy did not comply with California law because the company could and did track the exact time in minutes that employees worked each shift—but did not pay them for it, according to a California appellate panel.


11.16.22

Federal Lawmakers Consider Ban on Noncompetes

Continuing a crackdown on noncompetes at the federal level, a new bill introduced in the House of Representatives would ban noncompete agreements nationwide for nonexempt employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.


11.15.22

Inventor’s Own Provisional Application Invalidated Invention When Priority Denied

In Konda v. Flex Logix Technologies, Inc., the Federal Circuit held that a provisional application incorporated by reference in a Patent Cooperation Treaty application was prior art against the later filed claims of the U.S. patent application when the provisional application failed to provide ...


10.28.22

Contract Terms Protect Seller From Marketer’s TCPA Violations

A contract prohibiting Telephone Consumer Protection Act violations protected a seller when its marketer allegedly ran afoul of the statute, according to a decision from a Tennessee federal district court.


10.28.22

Company Policy Protects TCPA Defendant

Evidence of a company policy requiring employees to inform customers about receiving texts helped a Telephone Consumer Protection Act defendant win a partial summary judgment motion in Texas federal court.


10.28.22

TCPA Suit Over Doctor’s Calls Fails

A doctor’s calls to his patients informing them of his plans to reduce his caseload and encouraging them to join his new, limited practice fell under the “health care messages” exception to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a Maryland federal court found, granting the ...


10.20.22

Bots Beware: Website Chat Bots Become Latest Target for California Class Actions

California class action lawyers have turned their sights on a new target: websites that employ “chat bots,” digital assistants that allow companies to communicate with customers without employing live website customer service representatives.


10.20.22

DOL Releases New Rule on Worker Classification

On October 13, 2022, the Department of Labor released a new proposed rule on the question of whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act.


10.20.22

California Employers Face Privacy Law Requirements

Following the failure of a measure that would have delayed effectiveness of the California Privacy Rights Act, employers in California now must comply with the state’s privacy law beginning January 1, 2023.