News

Musicians succeed on appeal, reversing summary judgment in complex contract dispute

September 10, 2018

In a significant opinion at the intersection of labor law and the interpretation of collective-bargaining agreements, the United States Court of Appeals for Ninth Circuit reversed a district court ruling granting summary judgment to Paramount Pictures Corporation on a claim filed by the American Federation of Musicians (“AFM”). American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada v. Paramount Pictures Corp., 903 F.3d 968 (9th Cir. 2018).

Bredhoff & Kaiser defends inauguration protesters in mass criminal prosecution

Summer 2018

As reported in major media outlets, such as Buzzfeed, Rolling Stone, and The Huffington Post, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia obtained mass criminal felony indictments against demonstrators who gathered to protest the January 20, 2017 inauguration of Donald J. Trump.

Machinists prevail over Boeing in proceedings over appropriate bargaining unit in South Carolina facility

May 21, 2018

The Regional Director for Region 10 of the National Labor Relations Board rejected Boeing’s challenge to the appropriateness of a unit for a representation election involving Flight Readiness Technicians and Flight Readiness Technician Inspectors at Boeing’s South Carolina facility.

Bakery workers prevail in first appellate decision interpreting certain recent amendments to the federal Pension Protection Act

April 26, 2018

In the first Court of Appeals decision interpreting certain recent amendments to the federal Pension Protection Act, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a ruling that candy maker Just Born II, Inc. (“Just Born”), is required to make pension contributions on behalf of newly hired employees at its Philadelphia manufacturing facility and that its defenses were properly dismissed.

Bakery workers win summary judgment against Just Born: decision affirms narrow scope of negotiated no-strike clause

December 29, 2017

Local Union No. 6 of the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union of America won summary judgment against Just Born, Inc., a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania candy manufacturer that sued the Union claiming that a September 2016 strike violated the collective-bargaining agreement, which Just Born claimed had been orally extended.

Court rejects challenge to pension plan’s rate of interest on unpaid contributions

December 29, 2017

In a matter of first impression, the District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee rejected an employer’s challenge to the interest rate applied by a multiemployer pension plan to overdue contributions and withdrawal liability payments.

D.C. Circuit requires OSHA to reconsider omission of certain medical removal protections from new silica standard

December 21, 2017

The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sustained the new silica standard promulgated by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (“OSHA”) against a multipronged challenge by industry employers impacted by the standard.

Seventh Circuit holds that Indiana amendment to teacher tenure law violates the Constitution

December 4, 2017

In Elliott v. Board of School Trustees of Madison Consolidated Schools, No. 16-4168, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that an Indiana law that eliminated the right of tenured teachers to be retained over non-tenured teachers in the event of a reduction in force violated the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution. Bredhoff & Kaiser filed an amicus brief on behalf of labor economist Jesse Rothstein in support of the challenge to the Indiana law.

Second Circuit affirms judgment in ERISA class action, sustaining class-wide relief without proof of reliance

July 6, 2017

In Osberg v. Foot Locker, Inc., 862 F.3d 198 (2d Cir. 2017), the Second Circuit Court of Appeals rejected employer arguments that would have made it far more difficult to obtain class relief in employee-benefits cases under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, holding that reformation of a pension plan document and monetary relief to a class composed of pension plan participants and beneficiaries did not require proof that each individual class member relied on a mistaken understanding of the plan. The Court sustained a class-wide judgment based on generalized evidence, where the trial court had found that the employer deliberately misled the plan’s participants about a crucial aspect of the plan. Bredhoff & Kaiser represented the class on appeal.