A recent decision from a unanimous California Supreme Court provides further warning to employers against utilizing rounding policies with respect to timekeeping systems. Specifically, the court held that: (1) employers cannot engage in the practice of rounding time punches in the meal period context; and (2) time records showing noncompliant meal periods raise a rebuttable presumption of meal period violations, including at the summary judgment stage.

Missouri State Senator Eric Burlison is reviving attempts to reform asbestos litigation in the State of Missouri through the introduction of SB 331. This bill was pre-filed on December 29, 2020 and first read on January 6, 2021. The bill establishes disclosure procedures for claimants in asbestos-related lawsuits. 

As an update to our previous alerts regarding the commencement of in-person jury trials in New York City, Lewis Brisbois' Trial Team has been informed, per a letter from the Honorable Lawrence Knipe, Administrative Judge for Civil Matters, that in-person jury trials will begin in Kings County (Brooklyn) as of March 22, 2021

Today, the United States Department of Labor’s (DOL) newly enacted rule concerning the classification of independent contractors was scheduled to go into effect. However, under direction from the Biden Administration, the DOL recently announced a delay of the effective date until May 7, 2021. The rule consists of a multifactor test intended to clarify the analysis that determines whether individuals are independent contractors or employees.

Lewis Brisbois’ New York trial team continues to monitor COVID-19 courthouse restrictions, even as the courts begin reopening for jury trials. We remain heavily engaged in preparing for trials within the parameters of the restrictions that remain in place and are continuously evolving. Currently, our New York office has two federal trials scheduled to commence within the next three weeks.

Jury trials have resumed on a limited basis in Rhode Island’s state courts. At this time, they are only being held in Providence County Superior Court. Further, no jury trial is scheduled without the express, written authorization of the Presiding Justice of the Superior Court where a constitutional, statutory, or otherwise highly critical need has been demonstrated. Currently, jury trials that proceed are held in-person, rather than virtually. The Superior Court has updated its jury trial process, effective September 2020, in the interests of the health and safety of all jurors, court personnel, litigants, and court users.

Although we are still in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, this has not stopped the steady flow of litigation faced by the court system. And with many court houses and in-person legal proceedings on hold as a result of the pandemic, states are seeing massive trial calendar backlogs. Different states have sought different solutions to this problem. In New York and New Jersey, the courts briefly sought to resume in-person jury trials, despite the various shut down orders across both states.

On February 5, 2021, the Kentucky Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Allen v. Wheeler, 2021 Ky. App. Unpub. LEXIS 95, 2021 WL 406308, that raised several interesting issues affecting personal injury actions. The heart of the appeal was whether to affirm a jury verdict awarding the plaintiff zero damages, after determining the defendant was at fault for his injuries.