Late last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive federal student loans exceeded his executive authority. The Court’s decision will prevent tens of millions of indebted Americans from seeing as much as $10,000 or $20,000 in student debt erased. The 6-3 majority ruling was... Read More »
On Thursday, the United States Supreme Court put the final nail in the coffin of affirmative action. In a divided decision, the Court ruled that colleges and universities can no longer consider race as a specific basis for granting admission, ending a decades-long debate over the legality of affirmative action... Read More »
On Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a Christian web designer has the legal right to turn away same-sex couples. The landmark decision is controversial not only because it opens the door for future “religious” objections to working with marginalized classes of people, but also because the case itself... Read More »
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court repudiated a legal theory that threatened to radically reshape the way elections are conducted in the country. If allowed to proceed unchecked, the controversial legal doctrine would have granted state lawmakers carte blanche to control state and federal elections without judicial review. The so-called... Read More »
The California Supreme Court ruled that police officers can be liable in civil court for misconduct that occurs during an investigation. The decision significantly broadens liability for law enforcement, rolling back years of decisions protecting the police from litigation. The case concerned the conduct of several sheriff’s deputies in Riverside... Read More »
On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the conviction of a federal prisoner despite subsequent changes in the law rendering his conviction invalid. The ruling prevents inmates from seeking federal review of a conviction, even an unlawful conviction, if they already sought federal relief in the past. In 2000, Marcus... Read More »
Three construction workers were injured recently in a fire on a Bronx construction site which had been the subject of numerous safety violations. The recent fire is another data point in the country’s growing construction fire problem. The fire in question occurred while the three workers were conducting waterproofing. The... Read More »
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) recently issued a report on the state of discrimination and harassment in the construction industry. The report paints a stark picture of race- and gender-based discrimination and harassment on construction sites nationwide. Drawing on evidence presented at a May 2022 hearing, academic research,... Read More »
The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld a lower court decision prohibiting race-based gerrymandering. In a surprise 5-4 decision, the Court narrowly avoided a complete gutting of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Two of the Court’s conservative members, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined the liberal-leaning justices to... Read More »
The U.S. Supreme Court declined the opportunity to review California’s test for determining whether a worker should be classified as an “employee” or as an “independent contractor.” The denial of certiorari comes as the National Labor Relations Board issues its own more stringent test for classifying workers. Originally signed into... Read More »
According to federal investigators, Prudential Financial unlawfully rejected more than 200 life insurance claims over a recent three-year period. Prudential denied the payouts based on a missing form from the application, despite happily collecting premiums for years. Prudential’s unlawful practices concerned supplemental life insurance policies offered as an employee benefit.... Read More »
A recent fatal construction accident serves as a tragic reminder that the New York Department of Buildings must continue amplifying its efforts to keep New York construction workers and civilians safe from the risks of building collapse. Last March, the back wall of a three-story building under demolition in Lower... Read More »
Four contractors are now facing criminal charges after a collapse at a Bronx construction site killed a worker. Three of the individuals are facing homicide charges, an extremely rare result following a fatal workplace accident. Construction is a dangerous industry. Every year, nearly one in five workplace deaths happen in... Read More »
The battle over the “gig economy” continues to rage as the State of California seeks rehearing or review of a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that found that Assembly Bill 5 may have violated the rights of Uber, Postmates, and their drivers. California Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5) was... Read More »
Auto manufacturers Hyundai and Kia agreed to settle class action claims that their vehicles are especially prone to theft. The Korean automakers will pay roughly $200 million to settle claims with as many as nine million vehicle owners nationwide. The lawsuit alleges that the covered vehicles--model years 2015-2019 Kia and... Read More »
