News in Brief May 3 – American Airlines, Uber and More

American Airlines Faces Federal Wage and Hour Class Action

American Airlines has been hit with a proposed class action claiming that it illegally prevented its baggage handlers from collecting overtime. The lawsuit claims that the airline sustains policies that keep employees from receiving all of their earned wages, including time-and-a-half pay for hours worked over 40 per week. American Airlines has also been accused of setting up its employees’ time clocks to round down the amount of time they worked. According to the proposed class action, as many as 5,000 workers have been affected.

Shell Oil Settles Consumer Protection Suit

Shell Oil Products will “shell out” $2.2 million to settle allegations that it broke state consumer protection laws. A class action against the oil giant claimed that the company deceived consumers with the terms of a free ski lift ticket offer that said customers who bought ten gallons of gas would be given a free lift ticket – when, in reality, the would-be skiers were given a “two-for-one” lift ticket instead.

Uber Settles Lawsuit Over Ride Refusals

Uber Technologies Inc. has agreed to settle a California class action the claimed the company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by refusing rides to blind customers with service animals. According to the settlement, Uber will change its policies to allow blind riders to use the ride-hailing service without being discriminated against.

Johnson & Johnson – $55 Million Talcum Powder Verdict

Johnson & Johnson has been hit with a $55 million verdict in a case that claimed its talcum powder can cause ovarian cancer when used for an extended period of time. This is the second trial to result in a defeat for J&J in a multidistrict litigation alleging a link between the body powder and ovarian cancer.

Uber Faces Another Diver Classification Lawsuit

So, you probably heard about Uber settling the California and Massachusetts class actions over driver misclassifications already, but now the ride-hailing company is facing a similar lawsuit to cover drivers from the other 48 states. Much like the two that were already settled, this lawsuit claims that Uber drivers should be classified as employees and be able to earn overtime. The previous lawsuits ended with Uber paying $100 million to its drivers; however, the company wasn’t required to reclassify their drivers from contractor to employee. Only time will tell if this new lawsuit will end the same way.

Frontier League Baseball Accused of Not Paying Minimum Wage

Frontier League Baseball has been accused of violating the Fair Labor Standards Act by failing to pay its players the minimum wage and overtime pay. Plaintiffs Casey Henn and Alex Kaminsky claim that the league also failed to keep an accurate record of its employees’ hours and was often late to pay its players. In their complaint, Henn and Kaminsky also said that, despite working more than 40 hours in a week (often over seven-day workweeks), the players make close to only $650 per month.