No-Poach Agreements and Hidden Fees In this issue, our leading headline goes to an investigation into a couple of tech and finance companies and their alleged agreement not to poach each other’s employees – effectively and illegally eliminating competitive wages for workers. From there, Ring is in hot water yet again over possible security vulnerabilities in its devices and how the company handles its customers’ sensitive information. Plus, two new lawsuits are alleging Chipotle and Bank of America, respectively, are picking the pockets of their customers with hidden or unfair fees. Keep reading for the details, as well as the latest in class action settlements. - Ty Armstrong, Writer/Community Manager |
| Working as a software engineer automatically puts you in a competitive field – but what happens when your company conspires with its competitors not to hire one another’s employees? New job offers and better pay suddenly become hard to find. Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are currently investigating claims that nCino, a leading financial tech company, and Live Oak Bank did exactly this by entering into a so-called “no-poach” agreement. This practice is illegal under federal antitrust laws, and if such an agreement exists, a class action lawsuit could help software engineers recover the difference between what they earned and what they could have earned. Before they can get a lawsuit off the ground, however, attorneys working with ClassAction.org need to speak to employees who may have been affected. So, if you worked for nCino or Live Oak Bank as a software engineer at any point within the last four years, share your story with us here. |
Ring Hit with New Lawsuit Over Privacy Concerns Ring, LLC, the company behind a popular line of indoor and outdoor motion-activated cameras, is facing a proposed class action claiming that it has egregiously failed to safeguard the privacy of its customers. The lawsuit states that Ring’s devices are plagued by cyber-security vulnerabilities that make it easy for outsiders to gain access – despite previous breaches and the company’s promise to provide “peace of mind” by putting “security first.” On top of that, Ring is being accused of actively sharing its users’ sensitive information (e.g., names, IP addresses, mobile network carriers, etc.) with third parties without obtaining permission. With customers’ data, the complaint says, third parties are able to build “comprehensive and unique digital fingerprints” as a means of tracking consumer behavior and engaging in the surveillance of a customer’s home. If you own a Ring system, you can read more about the lawsuit here. |
 Our settlements page is always being updated. Have you checked to see if you're covered by any open settlements? You can also check out the latest settlements as they happen by following us on Twitter. |
| Latest Settlements - Hill’s Pet Food
This settlement is open to those who bought Hill’s Prescription Diet or Science Diet canned dog food products between September 1, 2018 and May 31, 2019. - Walmart, Sam's Club - Employee Palm Scans
This settlement covers current and former Walmart and Sam's Club employees in Illinois who used a palm scanner to access the cash recycler system between January 28, 2014 and April 24, 2019. - Golden Entertainment - Phishing Attack
All customers, vendors, and current and former employees of Golden Entertainment who were mailed a notice about a cyberattack that took place between May 30, 2019 and October 6, 2019 may be included in this settlement. | | |
To view a complete list of settlements and to find out how you can file a claim, click here. |
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| | ~ In Other News ~ | With the pandemic still ongoing, many of us continue to turn to delivery instead of going out to a restaurant’s physical location. In response to this trend, many companies have included free and reduced-cost delivery deals in the hopes of getting more business. But in the case of Chipotle, the restaurant’s “free delivery” and “$1 delivery” promotions are fake – at least according to a recently filed lawsuit. According to the complaint, Chipotle promotes free and heavily reduced delivery prices while at the same time adding on hidden fees and item markups – which end up making the same food cost much more than if the customer had just gone to a physical location to place their order. The lawsuit looks to represent consumers nationwide who ordered food for delivery through the Chipotle app or website and were overcharged. Want more? Head over to our newswire for the details. |
| Continuing with the theme of hidden fees, here’s a story for Bank of America customers. A new lawsuit has been filed claiming that the bank has duped accountholders into paying fees for automated clearinghouse (ACH) transfers when the service is actually free so long as money is being sent to an authorized payee. The complaint says that while nearly any transfer made over the National Automated Clearinghouse (NACHA) system comes at no additional charge, Bank of America exploits consumers’ lack of knowledge regarding this financial mechanism and levies a $3 or $10 ACH fee per transfer onto accountholders. Essentially, the lawsuit says that Bank of America takes advantage of the fact that it knows more about how the system works than consumers do and tricks the average person into paying fees that they don’t need to. For a closer look at the claims being made, we have you covered. |
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