#1 California Drywall Company Slapped with Wage & Hour Lawsuit – Again.Riverside County, CA - West Coast Drywall & Co is doing it again: underpaying its piece-rate field employees and instructing them to underreport their hours. The California drywall company settled a lawsuit for the same allegations in 2017, but just two years after the settlement, the company repeated the same California labor law violations. According to this lawsuit filed by Attorney General Rob Bonta, since August 2019 the company has shorted about 7,000 workers by failing to pay wages owed, overtime, and more.
#2 44 Million Americans Drink PFAS-Contaminated Water, Says New StudyWashington, DC - Data released by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that 44 million people in the U.S. have toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS in their drinking water, but that could be just the tip of the iceberg as the full scale of PFAS contamination is likely much more widespread. However, scientists at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) estimated in 2020 that more than 200 million Americans are exposed to forever chemicals in their drinking water.
#3 Suboxone maker Indivior in Trouble with the Law AgainSanta Clara, CA - Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone) was first introduced in 2002 for recovering opioid addicts. The dissolvable tablet was helping people on their road to recovery, but the problems began when a Suboxone film version was introduced in 2013, and it took the drugmakers almost a decade to warn consumers of its side effect: decayed teeth. Many people have experienced permanent damage and Suboxone lawsuits indicate that ruined teeth could have been avoided if the manufacturers warned them and the medical community from Suboxone film side effects. And yes, tooth decay is a legitimate injury that can have devastating effects, both physical and emotional.
#4 Court Won’t Dismiss Doctor’s Bayer Roundup LawsuitPhiladelphia, PA - A Georgia doctor's Roundup weedkiller lawsuit is going ahead, despite Bayer’s argument that federal regulators' approval of Roundup protected it from being sued under state law for failing to warn consumers of the product's risks.
#5 Seroquel Side Effects for the ElderlyPearblossom, CA - Seroquel is a neuroleptic indicated for the treatment of bipolar disorder—and like most drugs carries a host of Seroquel side effects, including diabetes, tardive dyskinesia and even birth defects. However, there is a little-known use for Seroquel off-label that concerned the daughter of one Alzheimer's patient for whom she was caring.
#6 Chemical Exposure LawsuitsSanta Rosa, CA - Toxic chemicals at the workplace, at home, or in the environment can cause severe damage to the human body.
#7 3M Sending Payments for Faulty Combat EarplugsSanta Clara, CA - As part of its $6 billion faulty combat earplug settlement, 3M began sending payments last month to military veterans who suffered hearing loss and other significant injuries. The payments will resolve about 300,000 lawsuits claiming the manufacturing company knowingly sold defective earplugs that caused hearing loss and tinnitus. Those affected are mainly US military who were in training and combat from 2003 to 2015.
#9 Home Depot Wages SettlementSan Francisco, CA - A Home Depot wage & hour class action lawsuit is seeking preliminary approval of a $72.5 million settlement, which will resolve allegations of unpaid off-the-clock work. The complaint was brought under California's Private Attorneys General by the home improvement company’s workers going back to early 2016 and a trial was slated for this year. The preliminary California labor settlement was filed last month in a San Francisco federal court and covers more than 272,000 people employed by Home Depot in the state since March 8, 2012.
#10 Last Dance, Last Chance for the Texas Two-Step in J&J Talc LitigationTrenton, NJ - Until mid-2023, the Johnson & Johnson talcum powder cancer lawsuits consolidated in the District Court of New Jersey have been essentially frozen in place, while the Third Circuit Court of Appeals evaluated J&J’s bankruptcy petitions. The stay involved a complicated bankruptcy scheme, commonly known as the “Texas two-step,” which would have permitted J&J to limit its financial liability by shifting the cancer claims to a newly-created, but severely underfunded subsidiary.
