Demand for refunds intensifies among college students

CNBC

Students from Boston University and Brown University are among the latest group to file class-action lawsuits against the universities asking for repayment for tuition, room and board and other costs due to Covid-19-related campus closures and residence hall shutdowns.

“College students enrolled in classes when the Covid-19 outbreak struck were left with no access to their dorms, to classrooms, campus cafeterias or other facilities they paid to use,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Seattle-based Hagens Berman and the attorney for students in the class action lawsuits. read more »

California sues Uber, Lyft over misclassifying drivers as contractors

REUTERS

California and three of its largest cities on Tuesday sued Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc, accusing them of classifying their drivers improperly as independent contractors instead of employees, evading workplace protections and withholding worker benefits.

The suit, joined by Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego, was brought under a new state law intended to protect workers in the so-called gig economy. It argued the companies’ misclassification harms workers, law-abiding businesses, taxpayers, and society more broadly. read more »

SEC Charges Bloomberg Tradebook for Order Routing Misrepresentations

SEC

The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed settled charges against registered broker-dealer Bloomberg Tradebook LLC for making material misrepresentations and omitting material facts about how the firm handled certain customer trade orders.

The SEC’s order finds that Tradebook violated an antifraud provision of the securities laws. Without admitting or denying the findings in the SEC’s order, Tradebook agreed to be censured and to pay a $5 million penalty read more »

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Strikes Tentative $25 Million Bribery Settlement

WALL STREET JOURNAL

Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc. has reached a tentative settlement with U.S. authorities under which the company would pay less than $25 million to resolve claims it violated an antibribery law.

The Boston-based biopharmaceutical company in its annual report Wednesday said it has reached an agreement in principle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to resolve the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation. read more »