The Goodlettsville-based Dollar General Corp. is being sued for allegedly violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Nashville Business Journal reports. The lead plaintiffs in the suit are hourly, non-exempt Dollar General employees whose pay was subject to an automatic 30-minute meal-break deduction. The suit alleges that the plaintiffs were forced to work during their meal breaks and were not allowed to leave the premises. The class-action lawsuit comes on the heels of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s suit against the retailer last month, alleging its use of criminal background checks was discriminatory.

A 14-year-old boy was recently transferred to adult court in a short amount of time by Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County magistrate Dan Michael -- and this has Department of Justice due process monitor Sandra Simkins questioning the move. Simkins was appointed by the DOJ to oversee changes to the court following a two-year investigation in 2009, which revealed civil rights concerns, routine violations of due process protections, and transfer hearings set only two weeks after a child’s arrest. “The rushed time frame [of transfers], added to the woefully low allocation of resources, challenges the integrity of the entire system,” she said. The Memphis Flyer has the story.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, is renewing his push for more stringent oversight of drug compounders, as the fungal meningitis death toll stemming from a Massachusetts-based company rises to 61, the Memphis Business Journal reports. The Pharmaceutical Compounding Quality and Accountability Act, introduced by Alexander and health committee chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, with Sens. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, and Al Franken, D-Minnestoa, calls on compounding manufacturers to be regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, while preserving states' roles in regulating traditional pharmacy activity. In stressing urgency, Alexander pointed to a new outbreak stemming from a compounded product from a pharmacy in Newbern, Tenn., which has infected more than 20 people.

In a July 1 letter from a national organization of clinical law professors to the American Bar Association’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar, the organization called current law school accreditation requirements for experiential learning "dismal.” The Clinical Legal Education Association is pushing for dramatically higher requirements for skills training for every prospective JD graduate. Law 360 has more.

Department of General Services Commissioner Steve Cates and Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Bill Gibbons are appealing U.S. District Court Judge Aleta Trauger's ruling last month that they were liable for damages to Occupy protesters both in their capacities as state officials and individually  The commissioners helped institute “new rules” for Occupy Nashville protestors on War Memorial Plaza in 2011. According to the Nashville City Paper, Trauger criticized Cates and Gibbons for failing to consult with the attorney general before creating rules that led to the arrest of Occupy protesters.

A legal opinion issued earlier this week by state Attorney General Bob Cooper said that only full-time law enforcement officers can use blue flashing lights while escorting funeral processions in Tennessee -- and even then it must be part of their official duty to do so. The opinion, requested by Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet, stated non-law enforcement may not use blue or red flashing lights of any kind, though escort vehicles can be equipped with amber lights. News Channel 5 has more.

Now that Jeremy Kane has resigned as CEO of LEAD Public School, speculation is that he may make a run for Nashville mayor in 2015, the Tennessean political blogs reports. So far, the lone candidate to show visible signs of launching a mayoral campaign is At-large Councilwoman Megan Barry. Other names believed to be weighing a run include: Businessman Stuart McWhorter, former school board chair David Fox, At-large Councilman Jerry Maynard; businessman Bill Freeman; former U.S. Attorney Jerry Martin and Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall.

Knox County lawyer Vanessa Lynn Lemons received a public censure for not appearing for court hearings or communicating with her client whom she was appointed to defend in several criminal cases. Lemons was removed from the case. She has failed to respond to this complaint of misconduct, but is currently serving a four year suspension pursuant to Supreme Court Order filed Jan. 25. Download the BPR notice.

An antitrust lawyer filed a lawsuit yesterday to block the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways on behalf of nearly 40 consumers, claiming the deal would hurt consumers by driving up airfares. The U.S. Department of Justice is reviewing the proposed merger, which would make American the biggest airline in the word. American Airlines and US Airways spokesmen have called the lawsuit “baseless” and lacking merit. WRCB has the story.

Judge Walter Kurtz will decide by the end of next week whether to release confidential portions of state files connected to the investigation into former Knox County Judge Richard Baumgartner, WBIR reports. Herbert Moncier, who represents the families of murder victims Channon Christian and Chris Newsom, asked Judge Kurtz to release up to 2,000 additional pages of information contained in the files put together by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in order to find out how the judge got away with his prescription drug abuse for so long.