Worldwide: Employment Litigation/ Tribunals

A recent New Jersey appellate decision demonstrates how proper engagement in the interactive accommodation process can shield employers from disability discrimination claims.

A Cruise employee injured while off-duty in an autonomous vehicle as a customer sued the company, which sought arbitration under both employment and customer agreements. The trial court denied arbitration, but the Court of Appeal reversed, finding valid assent to the online arbitration provision through a clear sign-in wrap process and extending coverage to related entities based on agency and alter ego allegations.

A California Court of Appeal issued a peremptory writ of mandate directing a trial court to vacate its order compelling arbitration in an employment dispute. The court found that the arbitration clause in the employment agreement was too narrow to cover the employee's statutory discrimination, accommodation, and retaliation claims, as these arose from public policy protections rather than contractual interpretation or breach.

The National Labor Relations Board has confirmed that the Wright Line standard remains the governing framework for evaluating employee discipline related to offensive conduct during protected Section 7 activity. This decision resolves a multi-year legal dispute between the Board and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals over which standard employers must apply when navigating these complex workplace situations.

A federal court in Michigan denied plaintiffs' motion for court-facilitated notice in a collective action alleging unpaid pre-shift and post-shift work violations under the FLSA. The court found that six declarations from employees across multiple facilities were insufficient to demonstrate that thousands of workers were similarly situated, particularly given evidence of differing policies, handbooks, and collective bargaining agreements across the company's six plants in four states.

After the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) finally re-established a quorum with the installation of a Trump-appointed majority, many observers have been expecting the current iteration of the NLRB to overturn several precedents from the Biden administration.

A federal court in North Carolina has rejected the traditional two-step approach for certifying FLSA collective actions, instead requiring rigorous scrutiny of whether workers are similarly situated at the outset of the case. This decision adds to a growing circuit split where courts are moving away from bifurcated discovery processes that previously allowed plaintiffs easier paths to conditional certification. The ruling has significant implications for how companies defend against wage and hour collective

In Verheggen v. Adams County Department of Human Services, the Colorado Court of Appeals held that a wage demand letter that discusses an employee’s wages may qualify as protected activity under both the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act and Equal Pay for Equal Work Act.

The Second Circuit refused to enforce the NLRB’s 2022 Tesla decision, which subjected all employer dress codes, even partial restrictions, to strict scrutiny-like review.