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The Supreme Court Rejects a Watered-Down Approach to Preliminary Injunctions

On June 13, 2024, the United States Supreme Court held that when considering the National Labor Relation Board’s (the “Board” or “NLRB”) request for a preliminary injunction under Section 10(j) of the National Labor Relations Act (the “NLRA”), district courts must apply the traditional four-factor test for injunctive relief rather than a less stringent two-factor test used by many courts in evaluating the Board’s injunction requests.  Starbucks Corp. v. McKinney, No. 23-367 (See here).Continue Reading Can I Please Get Four Shots of Espresso Instead of Two?

On April 12, 2024, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision, held that transportation workers need not work in the transportation industry to be exempt from coverage under section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”).  Bissonnette, et al. v. LePage Bakeries Park St., LLC, et al., No. 23-51.  (See here.)  The Court found the determining factor to be the nature of the employee’s work for the company, not what the company does generally.  Continue Reading Delivering the Goods:  The Exemption from Arbitration Focuses on the Worker, Not the Industry

In January 2022, the Supreme Court held in Hughes v. Northwestern University, 142 S. Ct. 737, that courts must apply a context-specific inquiry to determine whether plan participants state plausible breach of fiduciary duty claims against plan fiduciaries for violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) when selecting and monitoring investment funds and recordkeeping services under a plan.  In so doing, the Supreme Court reversed the Seventh Circuit’s decision in Divane v. Northwestern University, 953 F.3d 980 (7th Cir. 2020) (now known as Hughes), stating “The Seventh Circuit erred in relying on the participants’ ultimate choice over their investments to excuse allegedly imprudent decisions by [Northwestern fiduciaries].”  142 S. Ct. at 742.  Hughes is pending before the Seventh Circuit on remand.Continue Reading Seventh Circuit Applies Hughes v. Northwestern University to Dismiss