Edgeworth Insights

“Dark patterns” is a term used to describe potentially deceptive app or website designs that could manipulate consumers to make choices they would otherwise not make.

In class action litigation, a court’s decision as to whether a particular class should be certified turns, in part, on the question of predominance. In antitrust class actions in particular, the predominance assessment relies heavily on economic analysis.

In late June 2024, a four-day bench trial was held in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas to determine if American Airlines had violated its duties to employees by allowing the asset managers of its employees’ 401(k) plans to pursue environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) goals.

California’s minimum wage increased by 25% to $20 per hour on April 1 for limited-service restaurants with at least 60 locations in the U.S. Little attention has been paid to a part of the law that will cause thousands of managers in these businesses to lose their exempt status and may increase wage and hour lawsuits against these businesses.

On April 30, the FTC published updated business guidance concerning multilevel marketers, or MLMs. This 2024 guidance details the current principles and practices that the FTC claims to consider in its assessment of whether an MLM is offering an unlawful compensation structure and operating as a pyramid scheme.

On April 1 the minimum wage in California increased by 25% to $20 per hour for limited-service restaurants with at least 60 locations in the U.S.

Companies may be interested in assessing their compensation policies for a number of reasons. In a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, three-quarters of firms responded that they regularly audit for pay equity across a variety of characteristics such as gender, race or ethnicity, and age.

The recent 25% increase in California’s minimum wage from $16 to $20, for limited-service restaurants (including fast-food restaurants, coffee shops, and juice bars) with at least 60 locations nationwide, has sparked controversy.

In April, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its final overtime rule,under which the salary level for the white-collar Fair Labor Standards Act overtime exemption will be $1,128 per week, effective January 2025.

The ABA Antitrust Section’s 2024 Spring Meeting panel “Failure to Communicate? Improving Expert Testimony” provided a lively discussion about the evolving role of the expert witness, what makes an effective expert witness, and changing trends in trial procedure that may help streamline expert testimony.

In the Final Rule “Defining and Delimiting the Exemptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside Sales, and Computer Employees” (Rule), the Department of Labor (DOL) dismisses concerns that the proposed mechanism for automatically updating the standard salary level will result in increases to the salary level above and beyond those related to wage growth. 

At the 72nd ABA Antitrust Spring Meeting panel “The Price is Right (Or Is It?),” panelists discussed concerns related to “dark patterns,” specifically focusing on pricing and disclosure practices such as “junk fees,” automatic renewals, and negative options.

This article provides a preview of the range of H-2B wage increases mandated by the DOL. As explained in a recent analysis volatility in H-2B prevailing wages is caused by the DOL’s methodology and limited sample sizes, especially in less populated labor market areas, and may discourage employers from relying on the H-2B program.

To comply with the Immigration and Nationality Act, the U.S. Department of Labor requires that H-2B visa workers, who are employed in less-skilled seasonal work, must be paid at least the prevailing wage for their occupation and work location.

The use of economic analysis as a tool to assess issues in per se criminal antitrust violations has been a source of debate.

The American Bar Association Labor and Employment Section held its annual Equal Employment Opportunity Law Conference in Boston from March 19 to March 22, 2024. Over 200 attendees took part in the four-day conference.

We have developed a tool that provides a preview of the prevailing wages that the OFLC will officially announce on July 1, 2024. Our interactive tool focuses on 34 occupations that account for a majority of H-2B visas in over 3,000 combinations of states and counties.

Mike Kheyfets compiled a unique database of over 100 BIPA settlements and studied the evolution of damages issues BIPA litigation cases.  The research, including a look ahead to what the findings may mean for the future, were published today in Bloomberg Law.

Sushrut Jain and Valentina Bernasconi discuss damages estimation in class action suits with allegations of excess "slack-fill" in the packaging of consumer goods.

Our research into settlements in data breach class actions suggests that settlements in these matters may be less informative for assessing the value of a case as whole, as well as the value of the data exposed in the cyberattack.

Over 130 countries – including some that are reputed tax havens – have, in recent years, moved to align their tax policies. Consequently, Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) will sustain a higher tax floor as countries adapt a global minimum corporate tax rate (GMT), and bear more oversight as standardized transfer pricing methods are instituted.

Federal anti-discrimination laws in the U.S. protect applicants, employees, and former employees from employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, and genetic information. One dimension not included is discrimination based on an individual’s “caste.”

Farmers and ranchers who hire seasonal workers on H-2A visas will face prevailing wages in 2024 that are about 5.54% higher, on average, than in 2023.  This occurs after a large increase in H-2A wages between 2022 and 2023.  The H-2A visa program requires that visa workers, and domestic workers in corresponding employment, are paid at least the prevailing wage, or Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR).  AEWRs are determined by the US Department of Labor (DOL) and vary by region.  AEWRs will increase in every region between 2023 and 2024 with the largest increases in Hawaii (8.64%), Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina (7.39%), and Oregon and Washington (7.12%).

On November 9, 2023, the American Bar Association Antitrust Law Section held its annual Fall Forum focused on the theme “Can Antitrust and Consumer Protection Keep Up with Artificial Intelligence (AI)?” This exciting program brought together computer scientists performing cutting-edge AI research, policymakers considering proper legislation for regulating these new technologies, and practitioners navigating the implications of this changing legal landscape in the scope of antitrust, privacy, and consumer protection.