Big Law Steps in as Scrutiny of Employers' DEI Programs Grows: The Morning Minute
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August 11, 2023 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
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WHAT WE'RE WATCHING
'LANDMINES EVERYWHERE' - As employers across the country face increasing scrutiny of their DEI efforts following the U.S. Supreme Court's June reversal of affirmative action in college admissions, Big Law firms are stepping up to provide specialized teams to audit employers' efforts and defend them in litigation. In the past week, Davis Wright Tremaine and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett have announced new lawyer teams to address clients' DEI issues while Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher launched a task force in late July. In interviews with Law.com's Dan Roe, attorneys involved in the groups said their clients are facing scrutiny from a variety of stakeholders such as politicians, conservative think tanks, consumers and shareholders. The pushback against employers' diversity efforts has come in the form of legal threats and lawsuits targeting hiring practices, affinity groups, performance management, diversity training, vendor diversity and fiduciary duties to investors.
THEY CARE A LOT - The U.S. Department of Justice's efforts to enforce the False Claims Act in the health care industry have shifted from hospitals and brick-and-mortar medical practices to bogus reimbursement claims in telehealth, corporate lawyers told Law.com's Maydeen Merino. The FCA allows the DOJ, as well as private plaintiffs, to sue individuals, companies or other entities that may have defrauded the government. The act has been the DOJ's "most effective anti-fraud enforcement tool for many, many years. The recoveries they have got are in the billions," said Meredith Auten, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. The pandemic-compelled closures of hospitals and doctors' offices in 2020 to all but emergency cases spurred the use of telehealth and a shift in DOJ's focus to illegal Medicare and Medicaid claims for medical services provided remotely.
ON THE RADAR - 3M, Chemours, Corteva Agriscience, DuPont, DuPont, Chemours Company Fc LLC and Eidp Inc. were sued Aug. 7 in South Carolina Circuit Court for Richland County. The lawsuit was brought by South Carolina Attorney General Alan M Wilson. Counsel have not yet appeared for the defendants. The case is 2023CP4004111, South Carolina Attorney General Alan M Wilson vs 3M Company , defendant, et al. Stay up on the latest state and federal litigation, as well as the latest corporate deals, with Law.com Radar.
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Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
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