As the government shutdown lumbers into its 28th day, federal workers are beginning to file for unemployment en masse, reports the New York Times. About 380,000 furloughed federal employees are eligible for unemployment, and the longest government shutdown on record is forcing tens of thousands of these workers to seek unemployment benefits […] More »
Yesterday Representatives Bobby Scott, Stephanie Murphy, and Mark Pocan and Senators Patty Murray and Bernie Sanders announced their introduction of the Raise the Wage Act of 2019. The bill would gradually increase the federal minimum wage from its present rate of $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour by 2024. […] More »
This week, United Teachers Los Angeles called their first strike in decades. While the parties are negotiating over wages and staffing, a central issue in the dispute is the much bigger question of underfunding of the public... More »
Yesterday, the Supreme Court announced a rare, unanimous victory for workers in New Prime v. Oliveira, ruling that transportation workers cannot be forced into mandatory arbitration when their rights are violated at work. Section 1 of the Federal Arbitration Act has a carveout for “contracts of employment of seaman, railroad […] More »
Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled in New Prime v. Oliveira that transportation workers, both employees and independent contractors, can sidestep forced arbitration and sue their bosses in court. The decision has big implicati... More »
The federal government shutdown is precipitating a wave of lawsuits and talk of sick-outs and strikes. That should be no surprise when approximately 400,000 federal employees are being required to work without pay. Wait, “req... More »
More than 32,000 teachers in Los Angeles went on strike yesterday asking for higher pay, smaller class sizes, and schools fully staffed with nurses, counselors, and librarians. After negotiations stalled between the school district and the teachers’ union, United Teachers Los Angeles, an overwhelming 98% of teachers voted to authorize […] More »
Last week, OnLabor reached our one millionth page view! We are thrilled and grateful to all of you—our readers, contributors, and community—who have helped us grow into a hub of conversation about labor law, politics, and pow... More »
A group of federal employees working without pay are suing President Trump and their bosses for a violation of the 13th Amendment, the Washington Post reports. The lawsuit is not the first by federal workers during the shutdown, but it is the only one likening the workers’ predicament to involuntary […] More »
Sunday is day 22 of the shutdown. Furloughed federal employees will receive back pay for these days, as approved by the House and Senate late last week. Contractors’ back pay will be attended to in separate legislation, now pending. As the Washington Post explains, employees in unpaid status who must […] More »
January 18th, 2019