News in Brief March 25, 2016 – Petco, Paxil and More

Welcome to the news. Today we’ll touch on a Petco wage dispute, the revival of a dormant Chobani lawsuit, developments in the litigation against antidepressant Paxil, and the suspicious donations of the NFL’s political action committee.

Petco Hit with Proposed Wage and Hour Class Action

Petco is facing a proposed class action claiming that it required its employees to work off the clock, without overtime pay. According to the lawsuit, Petco intentionally failed to pay its Texas workers for all of the hours they worked – in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Paxil Litigation Begins to Mirror Zoloft

During the first of nine cases against Paxil, an expert witness claimed that there are clear links between the antidepressant and cardiac birth defects. Skeptics might note that Anick Berard is the researcher from the University of Montreal who was barred from presenting her opinion in a Zoloft MDL in 2014 because she failed to use proper epidemiological methodology.

Chobani “All Natural” Class Action Revived, then Put on Hold

A proposed class action claiming that Chobani misled its customers by referring to its products as “natural” was revived on Thursday, vacating a previous dismissal. The case was then put on hold so that the FDA could define the term “natural” as well as the suitability of using the term “evaporated cane juice” for sugar. The FDA has announced that it will be able to inform food fakers of the requirements for using “evaporated cane juice” on their packaging and in advertisements by the end of the year.

NFL PAC Donated $300K to House Members Reviewing Concussions

The NFL has recently been the subject of media scrutiny and litigation concerning concussions among its players, which has brought attention to how its political team has been donating money. Reports indicate the NFL’s political action committee has donated $300,000 (since 2008) to members of the U.S. House of Representatives who were part of a roundtable discussion on concussion research last week. The House has not announced any plans for future discussion, and a lawsuit brought against the NFL by its players has already settled. The players are currently fighting the terms of the settlement.