It seems sensible to require some licensing for professions closely connected with public health and safety (e.g. doctors, dentists, dental hygienists), or positions that involve public trust (e.g. lawyers), but a new White House report chronicles the costs both to consumers and to workers of our current system, in which approximately 30% of the U.S. […]
Author Archives: Scott Michelman
Washington State regulations concerning the dispensing of medicine require timely delivery of medications. There's an exception if a provider has a religious objection, but that exception applies only where there's another pharmacist who can provide timely delivery. A pharmacy owner and two pharmacists challenged these regulations under the Equal Protection Clause and Free Exercise Clause […]
A CNBC article this week provocatively titled "Aging Amtrak tunnel is a reminder of crumbling America" chronicles the recent troubles that have plagued passenger train travel in the northeast U.S. and highlights the absence of crucial fixes. For instance: For the fifth time in a week of breakdowns and electrical failures, thousands of passengers were […]
As Vijay Das of Public Citizen and physician Adam Gaffney observed in a CNN op-ed this week: [A]cross the nation, black males in 2010 had a life expectancy almost five years lower than white males; black women could expect to live three years fewer than white females. In addition to inequalities in health outcomes (which have […]
In April, we told you about about a decision from the Third Circuit — the court that has given the strictest reading of ascertainability — in which the panel refused to extend the doctrine further and one judge suggested it should be cut back. (See here.) On Tuesday, we flagged a Seventh Circuit opinion taking […]
On the heels of news that D.C. voters will likely have the opportunity to vote in a $15 minimum wage in November 2016 (see the Washington Post's story here, from last week), an analysis from Brookings takes on claims from business that the region can't afford it. The short answer from Brookings is that we […]
We've covered numerous times the rise of a heightened "ascertainability" requirement in the Third Circuit. (See, for instance, here, for a summary and a recent development. Brief summary: ascertainability is the court-developed notion that a class must show an administratively feasible means of identifying class members; the test is particularly strict and plaintiff-unfriendly in the Third […]
After discussing various cases against Chipotle based on misclassification and off-the-clock work, the story goes on to claim that private wage/hour enforcement is rising in general. The reaction of the industry representative interviewed for the story is telling: “Plaintiffs’ attorneys, the employees’ attorneys, became aware that this was sort of lucrative ground for them to […]
Brian posted earlier this morning about cyber-security concerns leading to some of the recalls. Two other notable aspects of today's recall and $105 million fine, the largest in U.S. history, are: -The company will offer to buy back up to half a million Dodge Ram pickups because of suspension problems that can result in a […]
Yesterday, in a product-defect class action about Volvos with faulty sunroofs, the Third Circuit addressed two important class action questions — one arising in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in Comcast Corp. v. Behrend, the other to be examined in the upcoming term in Tyson Foods v. Bouaphakeo. The Comcast question, which we've […]