News in Brief August 30 – Williams-Sonoma, Google and More

Williams-Sonoma Faces Lawsuit Over Email Collection

Williams-Sonoma has been accused of illegally capturing customers’ emails and credit card numbers. Lead plaintiff Benjamin Goff claims that he wasn’t informed that providing his email was optional and wasn’t required to give any identifying information when using the same credit card for a different purchase. This tipped him off to the theory that the store was also storing his financial information. According to the proposed class action, the retailer violated the Song-Beverly Credit Card Act by collecting the information – and allegedly planned to use the email addresses for marketing purposes.

Google Settles Browser Tracking MDL

Google has agreed to pay $5.5 million to settle a multidistrict litigation over alleged privacy violations. According to the litigation, Google would routinely bypass users’ internet browser privacy settings to get a look at their communication habits and usage trends. As a part of the settlement, Google will make payments to organizations dedicated to promoting awareness, education and research related to internet privacy and security (like the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, for example).

Non-Arbitration Uber Drivers File Their Own Lawsuit

Uber drivers who chose to opt out of the arbitration agreements that held back other lawsuits have filed their own case, claiming that they were misclassified as independent contractors. Like the other suits you’ve seen in the headlines, this one claims that Uber underpaid its drivers and justified it by saying they weren’t officially employees, all in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

RadioShack Settles Fluctuating Workweek Suits

The now-bankrupt RadioShack has agreed to hand over $41 million of its liquidated assets to settle two class actions over the way it calculated store managers’ overtime. The lawsuits claimed that RadioShack paid its managers on a fluctuating workweek basis, essentially eliminating their ability to earn overtime no matter how much they worked.