News in Brief June 20 - Abercrombie, Starbucks and More

Abercrombie Hit with Suit Over Uniforms, “Call-In” Shifts

Abercrombie & Fitch was hit with a putative class action in California alleging that the clothing retailer violated state and federal labor laws. The suit claims that the company requires it employees to wear Abercrombie clothing, as well as shoes purchased through a third-party retailer, without providing reimbursement for these expenses.

The suit also takes issue with the company’s use of “call-in” shifts. The plaintiffs say it’s illegal to require employees to call in an hour before their scheduled shifts to see if they need to come in when they’re not getting paid for this time.

The suit is looking to cover current and former employees in Massachusetts, Florida and California.

NJ Transit Settles Race Discrimination Suit for $3.6 Million

On Friday, NJ Transit settled a lawsuit alleging that the company discriminated against black employees working in marketing, sales, procurement and finance. The six current and former employees listed on the complaint claimed they were passed over for promotions and paid less, all because of their race. While the suit did not reinstate the one employee who was terminated, it did provide $3.65 million in damages.

NJ Transit is no stranger to discrimination lawsuits. Last year, the company paid out nearly $6 million to settle claims brought by 10 police officers who said they were also victims of racial discrimination.

Starbucks Can’t Escape “Too Little” Drink Suit

Starbucks can’t get out of a lawsuit that claims the company sold drinks with a little too much skimmed off the top. The coffee chain petitioned to have the case thrown out, but a federal judge ruled that it could continue with a few edits. And, if you’re new to this whole thing, let me explain why this suit was filed in the first place.

Consumers are claiming that even when they ask for, say, a “tall” or 12-ounce drink, they’re getting a little less than those 12 ounces. The reason? The suit claims that the company’s standard recipe for making drinks amounts to less than what the cups can actually hold.

Now, back to present day. The judge said that a few claims must be struck – but these mostly deal with how customers can collect damages should the case settle. He also cut out consumers’ bid for an injunction against Starbucks, but as far as the suit itself, the show must go on.

Stay tuned to ClassAction.org, as this case is sure to stay extra hot.

Char-Broil, Grill Enthusiasts Reach Settlement

The suit alleging that certain Char-Broil grills are defective has come to an end. On Friday, both the plaintiffs and Char-Broil LLC told the court that they had reached an agreement that will resolve claims that the grills’ ignitors were defectively designed and could cause explosions. Details of the settlement have not been released.

Time Warner Privacy Case Thrown Out

A class action alleging that Time Warner Cable violated privacy laws by holding onto previous customers’ personal information (including Social Security numbers) has been dismissed. Judge Pamela Pepper found that the suit lacked standing due to the recent ruling in Spokeo v. Robins, which required that consumers must suffer particularized, concrete injury to have grounds for a class action. Judge Pepper found that the plaintiffs in the Time Warner case didn’t suffer actual injuries and, therefore, tossed the suit from Wisconsin federal court.