› Plant Closing. RUSPC is handling a law suit brought by a labor union which alleges that Knight-Celotex closed its Marrero, Louisiana plant in October 2006 without giving 60 days advance notice to its workers as required by the federal WARN Act. The employer contends that a sudden down turn in the home housing market necessitated the layoff. The Union contends that there was no lawful basis to fail to give the notice required by law. United Steelworkers Local 13-447 v. Knight-Celotex.

› On March 28, 2007, Bill Lurye participated on a panel which addressed covenants not to compete, trade secrets and related laws, at the midwinter meeting of the Employee Rights Committee of the ABA Labor & Employment Section.

› Christy Carroll delivered a speech on March 9, 2007 to the Labor and Employment Section of the Louisiana Bar Association, entitled "Retaliation Claims Post: Burlington: The Divergence of Federal and State Law."

› Maria Cangemi participated on an "Ethics" panel at the February 2007 mid-winter meeting of the Employee Benefits Committees of the ABA Labor & Employment Section. She is also the Union co-chair of the Ethics chapter of the Employee Benefits Committee's treatise on ERISA.

› Pipefitter/Welder Pay: RUSPC has settled litigation against Inland Fabricators. RUSPC filed suit under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for pipefitters/welders stiffed by a fabrication shop for their last two weeks of pay.  The firm is defunct, but the FLSA allows recovery against principal officers of a company for unpaid wages.  Double wages (as FLSA liquidated damages) plus attorney fees are sought. The CEO has agreed to pay a substantial share of the wages due.

› RUSPC has joined with other firms to challenge payment practices of contractors working in New Orleans on the Katrina reconstruction efforts. In two separate lawsuits, the litigation seeks to cure the failure to pay overtime wages by Belfor USA Group, International Catastrophe Solutions and CLS Construction Services to its largely unskilled labor force. The lawsuits allege that workers were misclassified as independent contractors to avoid paying the overtime wages required by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

› Bill Lurye spoke to the Louisiana Trustees Educational Conference concerning fiduciary duties and trustee conflict of interest on January 17, 2007.

› Bill Lurye delivered a speech on December 14, 2006 on "Recent Developments in Labor and Employment Law" at the Louisiana Association for Justice/LTLA annual "Review of the Law" seminar.

› Julie Richard-Spencer delivered a speech on November 10, 2006 to the Loyola University Labor & Employment Law Conference, on "Potential Claims Under the Fair Labor Standards Act."

› Jefferson Parish Firefighters: RUSPC has filed suit for Jefferson Parish firefighters denied promised 2006 pay raises.  In 1990, the Jefferson Parish Firefighters negotiated a comprehensive agreement with the Parish, which, among many other protected benefits, provides for longevity pay raises.  After Hurricane Katrina, the Parish Council “froze” all Parish pay raises, but forgot the separate ordinance guaranteeing Firefighter raises.

› Monroe, Louisiana Firefighters: RUSPC has filed suit for Monroe, Louisiana Firefighters. For years the Monroe Fire Department has paid overtime in a fixed amount regardless of the number of hours actually worked.  Suit has been filed to have the fixed payment calculated into formula that complies with the FLSA and recover amounts due to the firefighters.

› Prep Time Pay:
Autry v. City of Shreveport, Civil Action No.: cv02-2428, Western District of Louisiana

Louis Robein recently represented sanitation workers against the City of Shreveport. The lawsuit was a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act for nonpayment of wages. On January 19, 2007, the City of Shreveport entered into a stipulated judgment in favor of Plaintiffs, 50 sanitation workers. The judgment required payment of the City’s sanitation workers’ attorneys’ fees and payment to the City’s sanitation workers for “off the clock” work pre-tripping garbage trucks. The sanitation workers were required by the City to check fluid levels; check and repair hydraulic brakes, and otherwise ensure the trucks were in good working order. The City required that the trucks leave the yard by 7:00 A.M. and only paid the sanitation workers for work after 7:00 A.M. The Court ruled on a motion for summary judgment filed on the sanitation workers’ behalf that such work was compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act and not de minimis.

› Julie Richard-Spencer has been named Union co-chair of the American Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section's Equal Employment Opportunity Committee.

› Nancy Picard has been elected Vice-President of the Louisiana Bar Association's Labor & Employment Section.

› Bill Lurye has been named Union Co-chair of the American Bar Association's Labor and Employment Section's Continuing Legal Education Committee's National Programs Committee. He is also serving on the ABA Labor and Employment Committee's Katrina Task Force.

› Louis Robein delivered a paper titled "Unpaid Wage & Benefit Recovery Litigation Under Federal & Louisiana Law: A Plaintiff's Perspective" to the Louisiana Bar Association's Labor & Employment Section on March 10, 2006.

› Bill Lurye moderated a round table at the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee's annual conference on May 1, 2006, which addressed avoiding the NLRB in organizing campaigns.