Alexander W. Miller is a student at Harvard Law School.
The United States Department of Labor acknowledged Friday that an investigation of Google “found systemic compensation disparities against women” working for the company. The allegations come amidst a Labor Department effort begun during the Obama Administration to use its ability to police companies bidding for government contracts to uncover wage and hiring discrimination based on race or gender. Recently, that effort has focused on Silicon Valley, with lawsuits also being brought against Palantir and Oracle.
In the aftermath of President Trump’s first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, the New York Times covers the far-reaching impact of a Chinese decision last year to publicly question domestic subsidies given to buyers of solar panels. With Chinese consumer demand dropping due to the uncertainty’s impact on financing plans, local manufacturers drastically reduced prices. The result—large layoffs at solar manufacturers in the United States and Europe, and the centralization of much of the production capacity in China—demonstrates the difficulty of identifying common ground on trade policy.
Efforts in Chicago to start the largest union of charter school teachers in the country have turned contentious, with teachers at the Noble Network filing charges with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that their employer has begun surveilling union activity and been enforcing “an overly broad non-solicitation policy.” The employer denied the conduct and blamed outside union organizers for trying “to disrupt our Noble family.” If the union organizing drive is successful, it would impact 800 teachers and staff educating more than 12,000 students, providing a test for the notion common among charter proponents that union contracts impede the flexibility needed for student achievement.
With the confirmation Friday of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, the San Francisco Chronicle looks at some areas where his presence could immediately be felt. After this week’s ruling by the Seventh Circuit that sex discrimination under Title VII includes sexual orientation discrimination created a circuit split on the issue, the paper suggests that the high court could hear the issue as soon as next term. Challenges to public sector unions and the appropriate deference to Labor Department rules on tipping may also reach the Court in the coming year.
Though not discussed by the Chronicle, in a more obscure case that could also eventually be impacted by a newly strengthened conservative majority, a Massachusetts Superior Court judge ruled this week that Massachusetts’s somewhat unusual campaign finance law permitting contributions to candidates by unions but not by corporations is constitutional. Federal law has long treated unions and corporations the same under campaign finance regulations, though the logic of that symmetry has been challenged. The Massachusetts law, which the judge found sufficiently serves the government’s interest in preventing corruption and does not discriminate against corporations, addresses some of the problems of that equivalence.
Daily News & Commentary
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August 30
Worker interviews raise concerns about the enforcement of California’s new indoor heat protections; SAG-AFTRA celebrates the progress of an AI regulation bill in California; preventable trench collapses threaten worker safety.
August 29
Federal labor and antitrust agencies enter agreement to collaborate on merger investigations; United Airlines Flight Attendants vote 99.99% for strike authorization; and Cornell and UAW reach tentative agreement on new labor contract.
August 28
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) found merit to allegations that Chipotle Mexican Grill violated federal labor law, over 4,000 Fred Meyers workers began a strike in Portland, Oregon, and unionized software workers filed a labor complaint against Activision Blizzard and Microsoft.
August 26
NLRB bids adieu to consent orders; New research on teachers' strikes; 5th Circuit vacates DOL rule.
August 23
NLRB: Amazon is joint employer of drivers; UAW threatens Stellantis strike; Canada intervenes in railway labor dispute.
August 22
Dartmouth College players union files an unfair labor charge and two prominent Canadian Railways are planning to institute worker lockouts.