In today’s news and commentary, the Supreme Court receives a petition to resolve the circuit split over the certification process for FLSA collective actions, unvaccinated healthcare workers lose their religious discrimination cases, and New Jersey’s attorney general sues Amazon over worker misclassification.
The deepening circuit split over the certification process for FLSA collective actions may be headed to the Supreme Court. As I explained back in May, the traditional two-step process helps more workers get back their stolen wages, while the newer one-step processes (adopted by the Fifth Circuit in 2021, the Sixth Circuit in 2023, and the Seventh Circuit earlier this year) make it easier for employers to pocket at least small sums with impunity. Now, a case in the Ninth Circuit, Harrington v. Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, which recently reaffirmed the traditional worker-friendly process, has been appealed to the Supreme Court. If the Supreme Court grants the parties’ petitions for certiorari—both sides have appealed—it could resolve the circuit split, but it is not obvious which side the Supreme Court would come down on.
Reporting in Bloomberg observes that the trend in religious discrimination cases brought by vaccine refusers has turned decisively against the plaintiffs in at least one context: healthcare. As I wrote last month, the landscape among workers in other contexts (firefighters, transit workers, airline workers, etc.) is varied and uncertain. But in...
After three women have been found dead over several days, Jacksonville police are denying any claims that a serial killer is behind the crimes. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff's Offic...