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D.C. Circuit Creates Split over the Reach of the First-to-File Bar

Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.18.14

In U.S. ex rel. Shea v. Verizon Co., the D.C. Circuit held that (1) two complaints may be "related" even if they involve different agencies or contracts, (2) the bar applies even when the same relator filed the earlier action, and (3) it continues to operate even after the earlier-filed action is resolved. The third holding (which drew a dissent) conflicts with dicta from two other circuits and the Fourth Circuit's 2013 opinion in U.S. ex rel. Carter v. Halliburton Co., petition for cert. filed (discussed here), holding that the first-to-file bar only applies while the earlier action is still pending.

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Client Alert | 3 min read | 02.11.26

California SB 947 ("No Robo Bosses Act"): New Proposed Guardrails on Use of Automated Decision Systems in Employer Discipline and Termination Decisions

Employers are increasingly relying on artificial intelligence and automated decision systems (ADS) in workplaces across California and the world as avenues to boost productivity or achieve cost savings. However, some state legislators have raised concerns about the lack of worker protections and oversight in discipline and termination decisions made by ADS....