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About 240,000 people are expected to be eligible for the settlement, Chris Seeger, a lead lawyer for the plaintiffs, said at a press conference. The money will be paid out from 2023 to 2029, and $1 billion will be in the form of 3M stock, the company said in a statement. Some analysts' estimates of the company's potential liability from the earplug litigation had been as high as $10 billion. The Combat Arms earplugs were made by Aearo Technologies, a company 3M acquired in 2008. Aearo filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, with 3M pledging $1 billion to fund its liabilities stemming from the earplug lawsuits.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Chris Seeger, Seeger, Bryan Aylstock, Clayton Clark, M, Casey Rodgers, Aearo, Rodgers, Brendan Pierson, Kannaki, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot Organizations: New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, U.S, 3M, Aearo Technologies, District, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Minnesota, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pensacola , Florida, New Yorkk, Bengaluru

The 3M logo is seen at its global headquarters in Maplewood, Minnesota, U.S. on March 4, 2020. The Combat Arms earplugs were made by Aearo Technologies, a company 3M acquired in 2008. They were used by the U.S. military in training and combat from 2003 to 2015, including in Afghanistan and Iraq. Aearo filed for bankruptcy in July 2022, with 3M pledging $1 billion to fund its liabilities stemming from the earplug lawsuits. 3M argued that the mass tort litigation was unfair because Rodgers had kept scientific evidence favorable to the company out of trials and allowed thousands of "unvetted" claims to swell the court's docket.

Persons: Nicholas Pfosi, M, Casey Rodgers, Aearo, Rodgers, Brendan Pierson, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot Organizations: REUTERS, U.S, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal, Aearo Technologies, 3M, District, Thomson Locations: Maplewood , Minnesota, U.S, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pensacola , Florida, New York

The logo of Robinhood Markets, Inc. is seen at a pop-up event on Wall Street after the company's IPO in New York City, U.S., July 29, 2021. The Massachusetts Supreme Judiciary Court reversed a lower-court judge's decision in favor of Robinhood in a lawsuit it filed after Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin in 2020 accused it of encouraging inexperienced investors to place risky trades. Galvin is seeking to have Robinhood's state broker-dealer license revoked. She noted that Galvin deemed the rule necessary "to protect investors confused by the increasingly blurred line between broker-dealers providing investment advice and investment advisers." "The rule that has been upheld by the Supreme Judicial Court today will give the highest protections to Massachusetts investors when brokers provide investment advice," Galvin, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Persons: Andrew Kelly, Bill Galvin, Galvin, Lucas Moskowitz, Robinhood's, Robinhood, stockbrokers, Dalila Wendlandt, Galvin permissibly, Nate Raymond, Jonathan Oatis, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: Inc, REUTERS, BOSTON, Court, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, Robinhood, Menlo, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Massachusetts, Menlo Park , California, Friday's, Boston

A logo of low cost carrier Spirit Airlines is pictured on an Airbus plane in Colomiers near Toulouse, France, November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Spirit Airlines Inc FollowNEW YORK, Aug 24 (Reuters) - Spirit Airlines Inc (SAVE.N) has agreed to pay up to $8.25 million to settle a class action lawsuit by passengers who said the low-cost carrier blindsided them with surprise carry-on bag fees on tickets bought through third-party travel services. Like other low-cost airlines, Miramar, Florida-based Spirit relies on added fees to help make up for lower base fares. Plaintiffs in the 2017 lawsuit accused the carrier of advertising misleading low prices on travel websites that concealed the "gotcha" bag fees travelers would have to pay at the airport. The plaintiffs originally sought $100 million in punitive damages, though that was dropped from a later version of the lawsuit.

Persons: Regis, Brendan Pierson, Alexia Garamfalvi, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Spirit Airlines, Airbus, REUTERS, Spirit Airlines Inc, Lawyers, Thomson Locations: Colomiers, Toulouse, France, Brooklyn, Expedia, Miramar , Florida, New York

The American Alliance for Equal Rights sued Perkins Coie in Dallas and Morrison & Foerster in Miami two months after the Supreme Court sided with another group founded by activist Edward Blum and rejected affirmative action policies used by many colleges to increase enrollment of racial minorities. The federal lawsuits accused both law firms of unlawfully discriminating against white candidates by limiting which law students could be considered for paid fellowships designed in part to help support the recruitment of people of color. "Excluding students from these esteemed fellowships because they are the wrong race is unfair, polarizing and illegal," Blum, who is white, said in a statement. Perkins Coie, founded in Seattle, offers "diversity fellowships" that provide stipends of $15,000 to $25,000 and paid positions as summer associates, a position that at major law firms can lead to full-time jobs with six-figure salaries. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham, Alexia Garamfalvi and Alistair BellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Edward Blum, Perkins Coie, Morrison, Foerster, " Blum, Perkins, Nate Raymond, Will Dunham, Alexia Garamfalvi, Alistair Bell Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, Activision, American Alliance for Equal Rights, Activision Blizzard, Kellogg, Gannett, Civil, American, American Alliance for Equal, Atlanta, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, Washington , U.S, Dallas, Miami, Seattle, United States, Asia, San Francisco, Blum's Texas, Boston

Jenkins denied a motion by McDonald's and Kempczinski to dismiss Peaster's race discrimination and retaliation claims. The judge did dismiss claims that McDonald's had created a hostile work environment and intentionally caused Peaster emotional distress. Carmen Caruso, a lawyer for Peaster, said he looks forward to bringing the surviving claims to trial. At a 2021 meeting at McDonald's corporate headquarters, Peaster, the company's vice president of global safety, security, and intelligence, said Kempczinski's response to the incident had been insufficient. Peaster claims that following the meeting, Kempczinski and other executives retaliated against him by refusing to meet with him and making it impossible for him to do his job.

Persons: Chris Kempczinski, District Judge Linsday Jenkins, Michael Peaster, Peaster, Jenkins, Kempczinski, McDonald's, Carmen Caruso, Lori Lightfoot, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot Organizations: McDonald's, McDonald's Corp, District, Chicago, Peaster, Thomson Locations: Chicago, U.S, Albany , New York

☆ Mallinckrodt second bankruptcy would cut $1 billion from opioid settlement
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The agreement announced Wednesday would reduce Mallinckrodt's debt by about $1.9 billion and cancel existing equity shares. The new deal would leave opioid creditors with $1 billion less than the $1.7 billion settlement that Mallinckrodt agreed to pay as part of its 2022 exit from the company's earlier bankruptcy. Mallinckrodt failed to make a $200 million payment to the opioid trust due in June, prompting the company to launch a negotiation with its stakeholders. Mallinckrodt said that its current level of creditor support should allow the company to complete its second bankruptcy by the end of 2023. Drug manufacturers, drug distributors and pharmacy chains have agreed to pay more than $50 billion in settlements to resolve lawsuits related to the U.S. opioid crisis.

Persons: Hydrocodine, Mallinckrodt, George Frey, Siggi Olafsson, Pratik Jain, Mariam Sunny, Khushi, Dietrich Knauth, Maju Samuel, Shinjini Ganguli, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Provo , Utah, U.S, Ireland, Bengaluru, New York

Aug 21 (Reuters) - Indivior (INDV.L) has agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed in a U.S. court by health plans accusing the drugmaker of illegally suppressing generic competition for its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone. The settlement, disclosed on Saturday in a filing by lawyers for the health plans in federal court in Philadelphia, must still be approved by a judge. Indivior is still facing claims by drug wholesalers that bought Suboxone from the Virginia-based company directly, with a trial scheduled in October. Lawyers for the health plans did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Indivior agreed in June to pay $102.5 million to settle related claims by 41 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.

Persons: Indivior, Mark Crossley, Suboxone, Brendan Pierson, Will Dunham, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: U.S, D.C, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Thomson Locations: U.S, Philadelphia, Virginia, Washington, United States, New York

An AI (Artificial Intelligence) sign is seen at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, China July 6, 2023. Only works with human authors can receive copyrights, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell said on Friday, affirming the U.S. The Copyright Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. The Copyright Office has also rejected an artist's bid for copyrights on images generated through the AI system Midjourney, despite the artist's argument that the system was part of their creative process. Howell agreed with the Copyright Office and said human authorship is a "bedrock requirement of copyright" based on "centuries of settled understanding."

Persons: Aly, Beryl Howell, Stephen Thaler, Thaler, DABUS, Ryan Abbott, Howell, Blake Brittain, Alexia Garamfalvi, Conor Humphries Organizations: Artificial Intelligence, REUTERS, United, Washington , D.C, District, Autonomous, Copyright, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, United States, U.S, Washington ,, United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Washington

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 21 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge has blocked the state of Georgia from enforcing a new Republican-backed law that bars doctors from providing hormone replacement therapy to treat gender dysphoria in transgender children under age 18. The ruling marked the latest instance of a federal judge blocking a law banning medical procedures for transgender youth. The judge said that amounts to a form of unconstitutional sex discrimination because a minor's sex at birth determines whether that child can receive a given form of medical treatment. The state argued that banning hormone therapy was justified by the risk that an individual may later in life regret the physical changes brought on by hormone replacement therapy. By contrast, research showed mental health benefits from allowing the treatment of gender dysphoria, the judge said.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Sarah Geraghty, Christopher Carr, Kara Richardson, Brian Kemp, Geraghty, Joe Biden, Georgia, Nate Raymond, Will Dunham, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: Trump, City Hall, REUTERS, Republican, U.S, U.S . Constitution, Circuit, Appeals, Democratic, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Georgia, Atlanta, U.S ., Boston

People walk outside Madison Square Garden before a Knicks game amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., February 23, 2021. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 21 (Reuters) - The National Basketball Association's New York Knicks sued rivals the Toronto Raptors in Manhattan on Monday, accusing the Raptors' new coaching staff of hiring a "mole" who gave the team their scouting reports and other confidential material. The Raptors hired Darko Rajakovic, previously an assistant coach with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, as their head coach in June. "Apparently, given his non-traditional path to his head coaching job, Defendant Rajakovic did not have his own, so he chose to exploit the Knicks' methods," it said. The Knicks requested an unspecified amount of damages and asked the court to permanently block the Raptors and Azotam from misusing their trade secrets.

Persons: Eduardo Munoz, Ikechukwu Azotam, Darko Rajakovic, Defendant Rajakovic, Rajakovic, Azotam, Blake Brittain, Alexia Garamfalvi, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: Knicks, REUTERS, Association's New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Raptors, Representatives, MSG Sports, NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, NBA, Thomson Locations: Madison, Manhattan, New York City , New York, U.S, Washington

Ex-Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and former Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker are board members. The complaints come as many experts expect an uptick in challenges to corporate diversity programs following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June that prohibited race-conscious college admissions policies. “There certainly is a deep psychological effect that is putting the brakes on the forward movement of diversity in the workplace,” Rossein said. America First has also filed lawsuits accusing Target Corp and Progressive Insurance of breaching their duties to shareholders by adopting diversity programs and progressive marketing campaigns, for instance celebrating LGBTQ Pride Month. Commissioner Andrea Lucas, a Trump appointee, filed a dozen charges last year, more than any of her colleagues.

Persons: Trump, Stephen Miller, Donald Trump's Mar, Jonathan Ernst, Activision's, Kellogg, Morgan Stanley, Donald Trump, Mark Meadows, Matthew Whitaker, Rick Rossein, ” Rossein, Hershey, Andrea Lucas, Lucas, Gene Hamilton, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, Activision Blizzard Inc, Kellogg, U.S, Opportunity Commission, America, Starbucks Corp, McDonald's Corp, Anheuser, Busch Companies, Hershey Co, Republican, Trump, Supreme, City University of New York School of Law, Target Corp, Progressive Insurance, Activision, Democratic, Thomson Locations: Lago, Palm Beach , Florida, U.S, America, Albany , New York

☆ Trucking firm Estes Express submits $1.3 billion bid for Yellow's shipment centers
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Semi truck trailers are pictured at freight trucking company Yellow’s terminal near the Otay Mesa border crossing between the U.S. and Mexico in San Diego, California, U.S., August 7, 2023 after the company filed for bankruptcy protection. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Trucking firm Estes Express has submitted a $1.3 billion bid to acquire bankrupt Yellow Corp's shipment centers, attorneys said on Thursday at a U.S. bankruptcy court hearing. Yellow's attorney Allyson Smith said the Estes proposal was received while Yellow was negotiating several offers for bankruptcy financing. Apollo initially offered to fund Yellow's bankruptcy with a $142.5 million loan, but instead bowed out after Yellow received competing offers with lower fees and interest rates. The union, which represents about 22,000 Yellow employees, said the Nashville, Tennessee-based company "mismanaged" its way to bankruptcy.

Persons: Mike Blake, Allyson Smith, Estes, Smith, Craig Goldblatt, Yellow, Judge Goldblatt, Dietrich Knauth, Chris Reese, Cynthia Osterman, Alexia Garamfalvi, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: U.S, Trucking, Express, Citadel, MFN Partners, U.S . Treasury Department, Apollo Global Management, Apollo, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Thomson Locations: Mexico, San Diego , California, U.S, Wilmington , Delaware, Nashville , Tennessee

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 17 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Florida on Thursday declined to block the state's law barring citizens of China and other "countries of concern" from owning homes or land in the state. Winsor, an appointee of Republican then-President Donald Trump, denied a bid by four Chinese nationals to block the law pending the outcome of their lawsuit filed in May. Florida's law prohibits individuals who are "domiciled" in China and are not U.S. citizens or green card holders from purchasing buildings or land in the state. The ACLU claims the law violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantees of equal protection and due process and the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA), which prohibits housing discrimination based on race and national origin. The Biden administration filed a brief last month agreeing that the Florida law violates the FHA.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, District Judge Allen Winsor, Winsor, Donald Trump, Ashley Gorski, general's, Ron DeSantis, Biden, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: REUTERS, District, Republican, American Civil Liberties Union, U.S, Chinese Communist Party, ACLU, Housing, Thomson Locations: U.S, Florida, China, Tallahassee , Florida, Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Albany , New York

REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 17 (Reuters) - A federal appeals court on Thursday refused to allow Idaho to enforce a first-in-the-nation ban on transgender women and girls from participating in female sports leagues, saying the measure likely was unconstitutional. That argument was pursued by the ACLU's client, Lindsay Hecox, a transgender athlete who sought to join the women’s track team at Boise State University. Wardlaw said the law also discriminates against all Idaho female student athletes on the basis of sex by subjecting only them and not male athletes to the "invasive" sex dispute verification process. The Biden administration's Department of Education in April proposed a rule change that would prohibit schools from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes from teams that are consistent with their gender identities while offering flexibility on exceptions for the highest levels of competition. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Matthew LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Chase Strangio, Brad Little, Christiana Kiefer, Circuit Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, Bill Clinton, Lindsay Hecox, Wardlaw, Nate Raymond, Alexia Garamfalvi, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Trump, City Hall, REUTERS, Circuit, Republican, American Civil Liberties Union, Christian, Alliance Defending, Democratic, U.S, Boise State University, Idaho, Biden administration's Department of Education, Thomson Locations: New York City, U.S, Idaho, North Carolina, Constitution's, Boston

Celsius Network logo and representations of cryptocurrencies are seen in this illustration taken, June 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/file photoCompanies Celsius Network Limited FollowNEW YORK, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Crypto lender Celsius Network on Monday received a U.S. bankruptcy judge's permission to seek creditor approval for its bankruptcy plan, advancing a proposal to exit Chapter 11 as a new entity owned by its creditors. Some creditors oppose the plan, but the official committee appointed to represent junior creditors supports it and will recommend that Celsius customers vote in favor. Celsius had 600,000 customers who held about $4.4 billion in interest-bearing Celsius accounts when it filed for bankruptcy, according to court documents. This will allow Celsius customers to sell equity shares that they will receive as part of their bankruptcy recovery, according to court documents.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Martin Glenn, Alex Mashinsky, Mashinsky, Dietrich Knauth, Alexia Garamfalvi, David Gregorio Our Organizations: REUTERS, Monday, Arrington, Nasdaq, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, . New Jersey, New York

☆ Hawaiian Electric Industries shares plunge amid deadly Maui wildfire scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Hawaiian Electric was last trading down 35% at $20.90. Hawaiian Electric did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday. Hawaiian Electric Vice President Jim Kelly told CNN Sunday that the company does not comment on pending litigation. He added that Hawaiian Electric does not have a formal shut-off program and precautionary shut-offs have to be arranged with first responders, CNN reported. Morningstar strategist Andrew Bischof said he was lowering his fair value estimate for Hawaiian Electric Industries to $23 per share from $34 due to the reports.

Persons: Mike Blake, Thomas Hayes, Jim Kelly, ” Kelly, Wells, Morningstar, Andrew Bischof, Wells Fargo, Shreyashi Sanyal, Clark Mindock, Shristi, Brendan O'Brien, Michelle Price, Lisa Shumaker, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: REUTERS, Hawaiian Electric Industries, Electric, Great, Washington Post, Maui Electric, National Weather Service, Hawaiian Electric, CNN Sunday, CNN, Morningstar, Thomson Locations: Kula, Maui, Hawaii, U.S, Lahaina, Great Hill, New York, Bengaluru, Chibuike

☆ Montana judge hands historic win to young plaintiffs in climate change case
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Clark Mindock | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

View of an extension of Denbury Inc's Greencore carbon pipeline which connects to a pump station, in Montana, U.S., 2021. Denbury/Handout via REUTERS/File PhotoAug 14 (Reuters) - Montana is violating the rights of young people with policies that prohibit the state from considering climate change effects when it reviews coal mining, natural gas extraction and other fossil fuel projects, a state judge said Monday. In a June trial, the youths argued that despite its sparse population, Montana is responsible for an outsized share of global emissions. A spokesperson for the Montana attorney general's office called the ruling "absurd," and Seeley an "ideological judge who bent over backward to allow the case to move forward." Julia Olson, an attorney for Our Children's Trust, which represented the young people, called the decision a "huge win for Montana" and said similar decisions were likely to follow in different states.

Persons: Kathy Seeley, hadn't, Seeley, Julia Olson, Clark Mindock, Alexia Garamfalvi, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: REUTERS, Montana, Thomson Locations: Montana , U.S, Handout, Montana, Helena, U.S

☆ Trucking firm Yellow extends bankruptcy loan talks until next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Dietrich Knauth | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Yellow filed for bankruptcy on Sunday with a loan offer for that amount from private equity firm Apollo, a senior lender to the company before its bankruptcy. The trucking company said earlier this week it was seeking alternative financing from MFN Partners, an investment firm that owns 41% of Yellow's stock, and Estes Express Lines, a rival in freight trucking. Yellow intends to use its bankruptcy to sell all of its assets, including 12,000 trucks and over 300 shipping service centers. The union, which represents about 22,000 laid-off Yellow employees, said the Nashville, Tennessee-based company "mismanaged" its way to bankruptcy. Yellow owes the U.S. Treasury over $700 million on a pandemic bailout loan approved by former President Donald Trump's administration in 2020.

Persons: Mike Blake, Pat Nash, Craig Goldblatt, Nash, Dennis Dunne, Donald Trump's, Dietrich Knauth, Mark Porter, Andrea Ricci, Alexia Garamfalvi, Richard Chang Organizations: U.S, Yellow Corp, MFN Partners, Estes Express, Apollo, U.S . Treasury Department, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, U.S . Treasury, Thomson Locations: Mexico, San Diego , California, U.S, Wilmington , Delaware, Nashville , Tennessee

AR-10s for sale at the Belle-Clair Fairgrounds & Expo Center Gun Show, after the state of Illinois passed its "assault weapons" ban into law, in Belleville, Illinois, U.S., January 14, 2023. The state's high court in a 4-3 vote rejected arguments by a group of plaintiffs led by a Republican state Representative Dan Caulkins, that the ban violated the Illinois Constitution by not applying the law equally to all citizens. The plaintiffs also argued the law violated the right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. That Second Amendment argument is central to separate ongoing federal lawsuits also challenging Illinois' law. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alexia GaramfalviOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Kate Munsch, Dan Caulkins, Democratic Illinois Governor J.B, Pritzker, Elizabeth Rochford, Rochford, Lisa Holder White, David Overstreet, Mary Kay O’Brien, Nate Raymond, Jonathan Oatis, Alexia Garamfalvi Organizations: Belle, Clair Fairgrounds, REUTERS, Democratic, Republican, Democratic Illinois Governor, Protect, AK, U.S, Supreme, Thomson Locations: Illinois, Belleville , Illinois, U.S, Highland Park, Protect Illinois, New York, Boston

REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File photoAug 10 (Reuters) - A China-based tutoring company has agreed to settle a U.S. government agency's novel lawsuit claiming it used hiring software powered by artificial intelligence to illegally weed out older job applicants. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) involving a company's use of AI to make employment decisions. The commission, which enforces workplace bias laws, in 2021 launched an initiative to ensure that AI software used by U.S. employers complies with anti-discrimination laws. Many worker advocates and policymakers are concerned about the potential for existing biases to be baked into AI software, even unintentionally. Experts expect an increasing number of lawsuits accusing employers of discriminating through their use of AI software.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, ITutorGroup, EEOC, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Andy Sullivan Organizations: REUTERS, iTutorGroup Inc, U.S, Opportunity Commission, Ping An Insurance, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, New York, California, Albany , New York

Twitter laid off more than half of its workforce as a cost-cutting measure after Musk acquired the company last October. A similar lawsuit was filed last week in California federal court claiming Twitter owes ex-employees more than $500 million in severance. Woodfield also claims that Twitter targeted him to be laid off because he is an "older worker," though the complaint does not state his age. According to the lawsuit, Woodfield signed an agreement to arbitrate work-related legal disputes that requires Twitter to pay the initial fees to allow individual cases to proceed. But Woodfield claims Twitter has refused to pay the fee in his case, blocking it from going forward.

Persons: Chris Woodfield, Musk, Twitter, Woodfield, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Deepa Babington Organizations: Twitter, Elon, Thomson Locations: Delaware, Seattle, California, Albany , New York

Adolph sued Uber in 2019, claiming the company misclassified UberEats drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, who must be reimbursed for work expenses under California law. A unique California law called the Private Attorney General Act, or PAGA, allows workers to sue for employment law violations on behalf of the state and keep one-quarter of any money they win. The California Supreme Court said nothing in that law bars workers from pursuing claims on their own behalf in arbitration while separately litigating large-scale claims in court. Michael Rubin, who represents Adolph, said the ruling could spur companies to reconsider forcing workers' claims into arbitration if large-scale PAGA lawsuits can still proceed in court. Business groups maintain that arbitration is quicker and more efficient than court, allowing workers to recoup more money.

Persons: Erik Adolph, Adolph, Uber, Theane, Michael Rubin, Rubin, Daniel Wiessner, Alison Frankel, Alexia Garamfalvi, Josie Kao Organizations: Technologies, California Supreme, Private, Supreme, Viking, Business, Trade, U.S . Chamber of Commerce, Thomson Locations: California, U.S, Albany , New York, New York

July 13 (Reuters) - A group of Republican U.S. state attorney generals on Thursday warned the country's largest companies that certain workforce diversity policies could be illegal in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision effectively striking down affirmative action in higher education. The attorney generals urged the companies to abandon race-based quotas or preferences in hiring, promotion and contracting and threatened legal action "sooner rather than later" if they do not. "Companies that engage in racial discrimination should and will face serious legal consequences," the attorney generals wrote. They were joined by the attorney generals of Indiana, South Carolina and Missouri, among others. But in Thursday's letter, the attorney generals said well-intentioned race discrimination is still illegal.

Persons: Kris Kobach, Jonathan Skrmetti, Harvard University's, Neil Gorsuch, George Floyd, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Alistair Bell Organizations: Republican, U.S, Companies, Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp, Uber Technologies Corp, Harvard, University of North, Federal, Thomson Locations: Republican U.S, U.S ., Kansas, Tennessee, Indiana , South Carolina, Missouri, Albany , New York

But Twitter only gave laid-off workers at most one month of severance pay, and many of them did not receive anything, McMillian claims. Twitter laid off more than half of its workforce as a cost-cutting measure after Musk acquired the company in October. The lawsuit accuses Twitter and Musk of violating a federal law regulating employee benefit plans. Twitter has already been sued for allegedly failing to pay severance, but those cases involve breach of contract claims and not the benefits law. A pending lawsuit filed last month accuses Twitter of also failing to pay millions of dollars in bonuses it owes to remaining employees.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Elon Musk, Courtney McMillian, McMillian, Musk, Daniel Wiessner, Alexia Garamfalvi, Bill Berkrot Organizations: Elon, Twitter, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: San Francisco federal, Albany , New York

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