In today’s news and commentary, the Supreme Court will not review its opt-in test in ADEA cases in an age discrimination and federal wage law violation case; the Fifth Circuit rules that a jury will determine whether Enterprise Products unfairly terminated a Black truck driver; and an employee at Berry Global Inc. will receive a trial after being fired for requesting medical leave for a disability-related injury.
Bloomberg Law reports that the Supreme Court will not hear Eli Lilly & Co.’s challenge to a process that permits workers who allege age discrimination and federal wage law violations to come together and sue. In Hoffmann-La Roche Inc. v. Sperling et al., decided 36 years ago, the Court ruled that judges could provide notice of an Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) lawsuit to absent class members so long as the court did not encourage them to join the suit or cited approval of the suit. Under this current process, workers can sue collectively where workers not named as parties expressly opt in, as opposed to the opt-out process that applies to most class actions.
Meanwhile, the Fifth Circuit ruled that a jury must determine whether Enterprise Products Co., an oil and gas company, recently terminated a Black truck driver, Justin Phillips, due to poor performance or due to his complaints regarding race discrimination. There is conflicting evidence regarding Phillips’ termination, with some evidence showing that he improperly used a cell phone while...
The U.S. Department of Justice said it recovered more than $6.8 billion through settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act during the fiscal year ending September 2025, marking the large...