By Gregory P. Feit Last month, in 1-800 Contacts, Inc. v. JAND, Inc., DBA Warby Parker, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addressed whether purchasing a competitor’s trademarks in the context of keyword search advertising amounts to trademark infringement. Adopting what it termed the “consensus view,”...
By Gregory P. Feit Recently, in Kemp v. Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.,[1] the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that an employer can violate the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) merely by discouraging an employee’s request for FMLA leave, even if the employer ends up granting...
By Gregory P. Feit Our Firm has previously reported (here and here) on the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 (“EFAA”; 9 U.S.C. §§ 401-402), which invalidates and renders unenforceable, at the election of a complainant, pre-dispute arbitration agreements in cases relating to sexual...
Recently, in Rajaram v. Meta Platforms, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that 42 U.S.C. § 1981 bars discrimination against U.S. citizens in hiring decisions when such decisions are made on the basis of their U.S. citizenship. The holding directly conflicts with a prior federal...
Earlier this month, in Smith v. Spizzirri, the U.S. Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) requires district courts to stay a lawsuit pending arbitration when asked by a party to do so, and that district courts lack the inherent authority to instead dismiss such...
Our Firm has recently reported (here and here) on courts’ application of the New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL) and the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) to nonresident plaintiffs asserting employment discrimination claims, and specifically on courts’ interpretation of the rule announced in Hoffman v. Parade Publications...
Only rarely do decisions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit delve into the realm of pre-motion letters and pre-motion conferences. But that’s what happened recently in Kowalchuck v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority.[1] The court’s ruling there provides helpful guidance on pre-motion issues and related procedural safeguards....
Under New York Labor Law (NYLL), employers generally must pay “manual workers” on a weekly basis. Following a 2019 appellate-level court decision recognizing a private right of action for violations of this requirement, numerous class action lawsuits have been filed by employees and former employees claiming damages for “late paid”...
by Gregory Feit On August 25, 2023, in Perry et al. v. City of New York,[1] the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that if an employer requires overtime work, knows about it, or should have known about it through reasonable diligence, then the employer is...
In Groff v. DeJoy, [1] the U.S. Supreme Court recently held that an employer that denies an employee’s religious accommodation request on “undue hardship” grounds must be able to show – in order to avoid liability on Title VII discrimination claims – that “the burden of granting an accommodation would...