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Senate approves proposal to repeal NLRB's joint employer rule

The US Senate has taken a significant step by approving a proposal to repeal a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule related to worker classification. In 2023, the NLRB released a final rule that would make franchisors and franchisees jointly liable for labor standards. The new rule had implications for the franchise business model, potentially forcing liability on companies for another business' employees, even if they did not directly manage them. The rule created uncertainty for small and local businesses regarding their legal liabilities, potentially leading to higher operational costs and fewer job opportunities.

US Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) cosponsored and voted in support of H.J. Res.98, a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution of disapproval. The resolution aims to overturn the NLRB's new joint employer rule and protect the franchise business model in America. If President Biden vetoed the resolution, then it would require a two-thirds vote in both the Senate and House to overturn.

Muslim women awarded $17.5 million in lawsuit against NYC over hijab mugshots

New York City has agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by two Muslim women, who claimed that their rights were infringed upon when they were forced to remove their hijabs before the police took their arrest photographs. In 2018, Jamilla Clark and Arwa Aziz filed the class-action lawsuit after they were detained for allegedly breaking protection orders.

Over 3,600 people are eligible for reimbursements under the preliminary financial settlement, with each beneficiary to receive between $7,824 and $13,125 after legal fees are deducted. The payout is expected to be approximately $13.1 million, but it might go up if enough of the more than 3,600 qualified class members file their claims.

In response to the lawsuit, New York's City’s Police Department allowed both males and females to cover their heads during mugshots as long as their faces were visible.

"This settlement resulted in a positive reform for the NYPD," said police spokesman Nicholas Paolucci. "The agreement carefully balances the department's respect for firmly held religious beliefs with the important law enforcement need to take arrest photos."

New York City agrees to pay $28.7 million over attempted suicide at Rikers Island

New York City recently agreed to a record $28.7 million settlement with the family of an inmate who attempted suicide while in custody on Rikers Island. The lawsuit, filed by the inmate’s grandmother Madeline Feliciano, alleges that three correction officers and a captain failed to intervene as 18-year-old Nicholas Feliciano attempted suicide. A report by the Correction Department Oversight Board found that Nicholas was left hanging for seven minutes and 51 seconds, resulting in brain damage. The incident was captured on surveillance video, with correction officers and others present at the time. Three correction officers and a captain were indicted on reckless endangerment and official misconduct charges in 2022. Two of the guards have already pleaded guilty to official misconduct, while the other cases are still pending. Madeline Feliciano and her lawyers are also calling for the closure of Rikers Island.

Court rejects another Trump bid to delay looming hush money trial

Former president Donald Trump dealt another blow last week in his effort to delay the upcoming hush money trial, after his lawyers were blocked from forcing NBC to turn over materials related to the TV network’s recent documentary about porn actor Stormy Daniels, a key prosecution witness. Judge Juan Merchan ruled last week that the defense’s subpoena was “the very definition of a fishing expedition” and didn’t meet a legal burden for requiring a news organization to provide access to its notes and documents.

The judge has yet to rule on another defense delay request which alleges that Trump won’t get a fair trial over “prejudicial media coverage.” The hush money trial accuses Trump of falsifying his company’s records to hide the nature of payments to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who allegedly buried Trump’s negative stories during his 2016 campaign. Cohen has been accused of paying Daniels $130,000 to suppress her claims of an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump years earlier.

Trump pleaded not guilty last year to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels. His lawyers argue the payments to Cohen were legitimate legal expenses.

Tesla settles 2018 Model X crash in California involving Autopilot driver-assisted technology

Tesla has settled with the family of a driver who died in a 2018 crash in California involving a Tesla Model X equipped with the company’s driver-assisted AutoPilot system. The fatal accident led to the death of a 38-year old Apple engineer Walter Huang, whose Tesla Model X veered off a highway and collided with a barrier. The company’s Autopilot system was allegedly steering the vehicle at the time of the crash.

Tesla argued that Huang was playing a video game on his smartphone at the time of the fatal accident and could have avoided the crash had he been alert. An investigation by the NTSB confirmed that Huang was playing a game on his smartphone at the time of the crash and made no attempt to stop the vehicle as it approached the crash barrier. The lawsuit had been a high profile legal battle for more than 5 years.

The case was settled just as the trial was about to begin. Terms of the settlement, however, were not disclosed in court records

California sued over rules aimed at phasing-out gas-powered trucks

An anti-regulatory business lobbying group backed by former Attorney General Bill Barr has filed a lawsuit against the state of California challenging rules aimed at phasing out gas-powered trucks within the state. The lawsuit accuses California of violating the Clean Air Act by implementing a rule more stringent than its federal counterpart without securing a waiver from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The rule, announced last year, seeks to increase the required percentage of electric trucks sold in the state between 2024 and 2035. It mandates that short-haul trucks be zero-emission by 2035 and requires that half of heavy-duty vehicle purchases by state and local governments be zero-emission this year.

Denver Public Schools agrees to $25,000 settlement in social media suit over free speech violations

Denver Public Schools has agreed to a $25,000 settlement in a social media lawsuit involving former school board Vice President Auon’tai Anderson. The lawsuit, filed by Denver parent Eve Chen, claimed that Anderson violated her First Amendment right to free speech by blocking her from his Facebook page during his time on the Board of Education. The lawsuit aimed to challenge a state law that allows elected leaders to ban anyone from their private social media accounts. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that public officials can sometimes be sued for blocking critics on social media, even when using personal accounts. This case is one of the first to settle after the Supreme Court's decision, highlighting that the First Amendment still protects citizens’ speech online from government censorship.

Denver Public Schools settled to avoid additional costs associated with litigation, even though the Supreme Court recognized that public figures could block anyone under certain circumstances.

Judge slams DOJ for ignoring subpoenas in Hunter Biden probe

US District Judge Ana Reyes last week slammed the Justice Department for instructing two of its employees not to appear for depositions as part of a Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. The House Judiciary Committee sued the two attorneys, Mark Daly and Jack Morgan, both in the Justice Department’s tax division, in an effort to compel their testimony in the panel’s investigation into Hunter Biden. The lawsuit alleges that Daly and Morgan refused to comply with subpoenas related to whether Hunter Biden received “special treatment” from the Justice Department and whether Biden abused presidential power to “impede, obstruct, or otherwise influence” investigations into his son.

Reyes, a Biden appointee, “spent nearly an hour accusing Justice Department attorneys of rank hypocrisy for instructing two other lawyers in the DOJ Tax Division not to comply with the House subpoenas.” At one point Reyes referred to the incarceration of former Trump aide Peter Navarro, saying, “There’s a person in jail right now because you all brought a criminal lawsuit against him because he did not appear for a House subpoena. ... And now you guys are flouting those subpoenas. … And you don’t have to show up?” 

“It was a remarkable, frenetic thrashing in what was expected to be a relatively routine, introductory status conference,” reports Politico

Source: Politico, US government sued over delay in enforcing ban on menthol cigarettes Anti-smoking groups have filed a lawsuit against the US government over the long-awaited ban on menthol cigarettes, which has been idling at the White House for months. The lawsuit aims to force the government to ban menthols, which are disproportionately used by Black smokers and young people. Health officials initially targeted last August to publish the rule eliminating the menthol cigarettes. However, delays have persisted, raising concerns that election-year politics could derail the federal plan. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimates that eliminating menthol could prevent 300,000 to 650,000 smoking-related deaths over several decades, with most of those preventable deaths occurring among Black Americans. Advocates emphasize that banning menthol is crucial for public health, especially given its impact on vulnerable communities. Source: AP Ohio sued by fourteen cities challenging proposed state law restricting tobacco sales Fourteen Ohio cities, including Columbus, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, have filed a lawsuit challenging a yet-to-be-enacted state law that prohibits them from imposing regulations on tobacco sales. The cities argue that the law violates the Ohio Constitution's home-rule provision, which allows local governments to set their own policies. Specifically, the law prevents cities from banning flavored tobacco products. The lawsuit contends that the ban negatively impacts public health and undermines their ability to protect residents. The suit seeks a preliminary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to stop the state ban from going into effect. Proponents of flavored tobacco ban argue that these products have historically targeted minorities and have led to a surge in nicotine use among youth and low-income groups. Source: CincinatiEnquirer Pepsi-bottler sued for more than 100 alleged violations of the Clean Water Act Patriot Beverages, a Pepsi-product manufacturing and bottling company operating a facility in Littleton, Massachusetts, has been sued for more than 100 alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit, filed by nonprofit Conservative Law Foundation, accuses the company of polluting Reedy Meadow Brook and Mill Pond within the Merrimack River Watershed with toxic chemicals. The pollution from Patriot Beverages’ facility affects precious waters used for recreation and wildlife, the suit alleges. Each separate violation of the Clean Water Act could lead to a penalty of up to $66,712 per day, per violation. The Conservation Law Foundation intends to file suit against Patriot Beverages, unless the company is willing to discuss remedies for the alleged violations. Source: MSN Google seeks to block top officials from testifying in Texas Ad lawsuit Google has filed a request in a Texas federal court that seeks to exempt CEO Sundar Pichai and co-founder Sergey Brin from testifying in a lawsuit accusing the company of monopolizing online advertising markets. The company argues that both have "no unique and relevant personal information to share" in the case. Additionally, Google seeks to block further deposition of YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, who "already has faced 14 hours of questioning." According to the lawsuit, Google allegedly engaged in false, misleading, and deceptive acts while selling, buying, and auctioning online-display ads. These practices harmed publishers' ability to monetize content, increased advertisers' costs, and directly affected consumers, the suit contends. The case is set for trial in March next year. Source: Reuters Former NFL player still awaits his $43.5 million medical malpractice verdict Chris Maragos, the former Philadelphia Eagles safety, who won a $43.5 million malpractice lawsuit against his doctors in February 2023, is still waiting to collect the money. Maragos claims that the hospital network, Rothman Orthopaedics, is unable to pay due to poor financial practices. Maragos' lawyers argue Rothman carries minimal insurance and spends excessively on executives, while Maragos' career was cut short due to their negligence. A hearing is scheduled for April 10th to determine if Rothman can further stall the payment. The jury originally held Dr. Bradley and Rothman Orthopaedics liable for the incorrect treatment that forced Maragos to retire from the NFL prematurely. The medical team, led by Dr. James Bradley and Rothman Orthopaedics, allegedly failed to properly treat his torn meniscus. Doctors initially misdiagnosed the injury, claiming it was stable when, in fact, it was not. Philadelphia Eagles have since made changes to their medical staff. Source: SportsIllustrated Walmart reaches $45 million settlement in lawsuit alleging it overcharged groceries Retail giant Walmart has agreed to pay $45 million to settle a class-action alleging it overcharged customers for certain grocery items. According to the lawsuit, the retailer overcharged customers for weighted goods and bagged citrus by falsely inflating product weight, mislabeling bagged products, and charging higher prices than advertised for clearance items and seafood. Customers who purchased weighted goods or bagged citrus between October 2018 and January 2024 may be entitled to compensation as part of the settlement. The amount you may receive depends on your purchases during the settlement period. Claims without receipts can yield $10 to $25, while customers with proof of purchase for each item may secure 2 percent of the total cost, up to $500. Walmart has denied the allegations but opted to settle to avoid prolonged litigation. “We still deny the allegations, however we believe a settlement is in the best interest of both parties,” said a Walmart spokesperson. Source: NPR   Sincerely, Law Slug news@LawSlug.com This message was sent to you by Law Slug. Law Slug is responsible for the content of this email. You are receiving this email because you are a legal professional. Law Slug is committed to fair and accurate reporting of information and to only sending information to persons interested in receiving it. If you would like to no longer receive information from Law Slug, please click here to unsubscribe or contact us at news@LawSlug.com with your opt-out request.   Law Slug 12128 N Division St., Unit # 594 Spokane, WA 99218 Copyright © 2022 Law Slug. All rights reserved.