Crosner Legal News Hub: Employee Rights & Class Action Updates
Monday Morning Class Action News Report – October 16, 2016
Consumer News Natural Foods Aren’t So “Natural” Across the nation, consumers are holding companies responsible for food labeling products “All Natural” when in fact, the products contain genetically modified (GMOs) ingredients. The most recent company, Home Run Inn Frozen Foods Corporation, was sued in a class action lawsuit for product liability claims that many of their frozen foods actually containing GMOs. Plaintiff Brain Street brought the class action lawsuit in USDC Northern District...
Open Heart Surgery – Contaminated Heater Cooler Investigation
Since 2012, more than half a million open-heart surgery patients in the U.S. could be at risk for the deadly bacterial infection nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM), due to an essential part of a machine used in life-saving surgeries: the heater-cooler unit. The heater-cooler unit keeps a patient’s organs and circulates blood at a specific temperature during an operation and is used in about 250,000 heart by-pass procedures just in the United States every year. But, over the past year, the...
Law360 Class Action Report – October 2016
California Consumer Gucci's $3.4M Deal Over Consumer Info Gets Final Nod A California federal judge on Friday granted final approval of a settlement valued at approximately $3.4 million to resolve claims that Gucci improperly asked for personal information from California shoppers during credit card transactions, but awarded attorneys' fees significantly lower than the requested amount. Judge Bashant issued an order approving attorneys' fees of about $135,000, well below the $440,000 sought by...
California Consumer Class Action News Report – October 2016
Hertz is accused in a new class action lawsuit of charging their gold members excessive administrative fees each time their gold members go through toll booths without paying the toll. The case is Edward Schwartz v. The Hertz Corp. in USDC Central District of California. Westlaw is facing a subscription auto-renewal lawsuit from plaintiff Pamela Tsao, alleging that West Publishing, who owns Westlaw, included an automatic renewal provision in her one year contract that was not set forth in an...
Tyson Foods Chicken Nugget Recall Lawsuit
According to a recall notice posted Tuesday by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, Tyson Foods recalled more than 65 tons of “Tyson Fully Cooked Panko Chicken Nuggets” based on consumer complaints about finding hard plastic bits within some chicken nuggets. The plastic bits ranged in size from 21mm in length and 6.5mm in diameter. Tyson Foods explained that the plastic bits may have come from a round, hard plastic rod used to connect a plastic transfer belt, as the products pass...
FDA Preempetion In Food Litigation
Since the FDA’s proposed rulemaking in 2013, manufacturers already started phasing out the use of certain active ingredients in antibacterial washes, including triclosan and triclocarban. Manufacturers will have one year to comply with the rulemaking by removing products from the market or reformulating (removing antibacterial active ingredients) these products. Ingredients Not Generally Recognized as Safe and Effective In addition to the individual active ingredients discussed in section...
Do Employers Need To Provide Suitable Seating To Employees: Kilby v. CVS – California Supreme Court Ruling in Seating Case
After losing their motion for class certification, defendants moved for msj, the crt granted, plaintiffs appealed. The Ninth Circuit requested clarification from the California Supreme Court on the proper interpretation of three areas of the suitable seating provision, including the meaning of “nature of work” and “reasonably permits,” and who bears the burden to show suitable seating is available. “Nature of Work” Employers should also consider whether it is feasible for an employee to...
Should College Athletes Be Paid? NCAA & PAC-12 Class Action Lawsuit
Lamar Dawson thinks so. The former University of California linebacker filed a class action complaint this week alleging that the NCAA and PAC-12 should compensate college athletes because the athlete meet the definition of “employees” under federal and California labor laws. The NCAA currently faces another class action that the Supreme Court may here next session. NCAA v. O’Bannon, an antitrust suit originally filed by former UCLA basketball start Ed O’Bannon fighting for players rights to...
PAGA “Pick-offs” Not Likely To Pass Muster
I. QUESTIONS PRESENTED Under California law, may a Defendant company settle with individuals who are part of a class action suit filed under the Private Attorney General Act (PAGA)? II. BRIEF ANSWER It is unclear because there is no case law on point. However, recent case law points to the legislative intent behind PAGA claims. Specifically, that the intent of PAGA claims is not restitution for the individual plaintiff, but punishment for the offending employer for violation of public policy....
Rental Credit Wage Laws – Property Managers
QUESTION PRESENTED: (1) Whether a property management company is allowed to compensate a property manager and/or maintenance personnel with rental credit instead of wages, in spite of substantial hours worked, minimum wage hours and lack of an agreement that provides for such compensation? (2) Is Brock v. Carrion, the case on point, overruled by Von Nothdurft v. Steck? If so, on what grounds. If not, what does this case stand for and has it been overruled? BRIEF ANSWER: Probably not, in...
Sleep Time Pay vs On Call Pay
Question Under California or Federal law, are employees entitled to compensation for “sleep time,” although they worked 24 hour shifts, are on call, and are still under the employer's control? Brief Answer Probably yes. California and federal laws state that employees should be compensated for all hours worked with no exclusions. If a shift includes 24 hours, but this does not include “on call hours,” but instead is a required amount of time worked. During this period, the employee likely...
Labor Code Section 2802 – Employee Expense Reimbursement Policies In California
California law protects employees who use their own money or equipment at work. The Legislature's intent is that employees should not bear losses or expenses incurred in the service of their employers. There are a number of laws and regulations that require employers to reimburse expenses that employee incur or to pay for employees use of their own property. Labor Code Section 2802 Requires Employers To Indemnify Employees Labor Code section 2802 requires an employer to "indemnify his or her...
Wrongful Termination Cases – Damages
If you sue a former employer for wrongful termination, you are asking the jury to award you money, called damages. Monetary damages are usually the only remedy available in a wrongful termination lawsuit. But the jury doesn't just hand over a big pot of cash. The purpose of monetary damages is to make you whole: to compensate you for what you lost because of the employer's actions. You will have to prove not only that you suffered losses because of the employer's wrongful actions, but also the...
Laws For Rest Breaks In California
According to California Labor Code for Rest Breaks, Non-exempt employees are authorized and permitted to take a 10-minute paid rest break for every four hours worked or major fraction thereof. The Company authorizes and permits rest breaks according to the following schedule: A non-exempt employee who does not work more than 3.5 hours in a workday is not authorized and permitted to take a rest break. A non-exempt employee who works more than 3.5 hours in a workday but who does not work more...
California Meal Break Law
Meal Break Obligations You cannot employ someone for a work period of more than five hours without providing an unpaid, off-duty meal period of at least 30 minutes. The first meal period must be provided no later than the end of the employee's fifth hour of work. The employer satisfies its legal obligation to provide an off duty meal period to its employees if it: Relieves its employees of all duty. Relinquishes control over their activities. Permits them a reasonable opportunity to take an...
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