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On September 26, 2023, the FLRA issued a decision laying out a revised standard for determining whether an arbitrator’s award impermissibly interferes with management rights, CFPB & NTEU, Chapter 355, 73 FLRA 670 (Sept. 26, 2023). The decision—issued by a bipartisan FLRA that is currently comprised of two members—overturns a Trump-era decision that had been in place since 2018.

Maryland has long disfavored agreements that limit economic competition, so-called “non-compete” and “conflict of interest” agreements.  Such agreements are banned in Maryland for workers making less than $15 per hour (or $31,200) per year since 2019.

On September 10, 2023, MGM Resorts detected a breach of its network and data. In the ensuing 10 days, its operations were disrupted as a gang of hackers held its network for ransom. This led to disruption of the company’s ability to manage an array of resort and casino services, including managing booking for its hotel, dining, entertainment, pool, and spa services.

In the first of multiple cases containing similar allegations, a federal district court has concluded that 401(k) participant may litigate their claims that their employer, Genworth Financial, Inc., violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) by making low-cost BlackRock LifePath Index Funds date funds their default investment options, despite allegedly low performance.

Brendan Harrington, a former bartender at District Winery in Washington, DC, filed suit on behalf of himself and similarly situated servers and bartenders against the restaurant, as well as its two founders and owners, for violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the District of Columbia Minimum Wage Act (DCMWA).

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reviewed an appeal from the City of Sparks, Nevada appealing the decision by the lower court to not enforce an arbitration agreement within a Collective Bargaining Agreement. In Forbush v. City of Sparks, Civil Action No. 22-15079, the plaintiff alleged that his employer retaliated against him because he engaged in conduct protected by the First Amendment.

Flowers Foods, a producer and marketer of baked goods, has a reached a settlement agreement in a class action with approximately 475 plaintiffs. Daniel Ludlow brought the lawsuit against Flowers Foods, alleging that he and other drivers were misclassified as independent contractors.

On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) issued a decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, that establishes a new, employee-friendly standard for determining when an employer has unlawfully refused to recognize and bargain with a majority representative.

After less than two hours of deliberations, a federal jury in Omaha, Nebraska, awarded $75,000 in actual damages and $36 million in punitive damages to a Deaf truck driver. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which brought the lawsuit, alleged that Werner Enterprises, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary, Driver’s Management, LLC, discriminated against the driver and violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when it failed to hire him for a truck-driving job.

An M&T Bank customer filed a lawsuit on August 25th, alleging that M&T Bank negligently handled the personal and financial information of over 95,000 of its customers. The lawsuit, filed in federal Court in Buffalo, New York, on behalf of a class of affected M&T customers, alleges the data was misappropriated in a data breach that occurred some time between May and June of this year.