
Sophia is a student at Harvard Law School. Prior to law school she was an organizer at SEIU 32BJ in New York City where she helped building service workers unionize. She is on the bargaining committee for the Harvard Graduate Student Union's (HGSU-UAW Local 5118) current contract campaign.
In today’s news and commentary, the Michigan Supreme Court grants heightened judicial scrutiny over employment contracts that shorten the limitations period for filing civil rights claims; the California Labor Commission gains new enforcement power over tip theft; and a new Florida law further empowers employers using noncompete agreements.
Michigan law grants workers a three-year limitations period to bring a civil rights claim against their employer. However, some employers deploy a boilerplate employment contract that shortens that window to just six months. On Thursday, in a 5-1 opinion in the case of Rayford v. American House Roseville I LLC, the Michigan Supreme Court held that a boilerplate employment agreement that shortens the statute of limitations period for civil rights claims below three years must be reviewed by judges for reasonableness in addition to unconscionability. The state court also noted that an adhesion contract — a contract where the parties are of such disproportionate bargaining power that the weaker party could not have negotiated changes to the terms — may be procedurally and substantively unconscionable. The decision is a win for workers across the state who feel forced to sign unreasonable employment contracts in order to make a living.
On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 648 into law, which authorizes the State Labor Commissioner to investigate and issue a citation or file a civil action against any employer found guilty of withholding or taking their workers’ tips. Before SB 648 employees were only able to pursue lengthy civil court actions to recuperate stolen gratuities even though Section 351 of the California Labor Code declared “[e]very gratuity” to be the “sole property” of the worker who received the tip. The state labor commission’s new enforcement power over tip theft under SB 648 will hopefully deter employers from violating the law and help workers avoid lengthy and draining litigation.
Florida lawmakers passed the Contracts Honoring Opportunity, Investment, Confidentiality, and Economic Growth (CHOICE) Act, which went into effect on July 1. Under the new law, Florida employers may now restrict their former employees and independent contractors from working for a competitor for up to four years by issuing a covered garden leave agreement or a covered noncompete agreement. The CHOICE Act establishes that these two types of covered agreements are not restraints of trade or attempts to monopolize commerce and even more notably, requires a court to issue a preliminary injunction upon a covered employer’s motion seeking enforcement of an agreement. To get a preliminary injunction, a covered employer no longer has to show that it has a legitimate business interest to protect, that the former employee disclosed confidential information, or that the employer will suffer irreparable harm absent an injunction. This law empowers Florida employers to win preliminary injunctions against former employees on an allegation of breach of a covered agreement alone.
Daily News & Commentary
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August 1
The Michigan Supreme Court grants heightened judicial scrutiny over employment contracts that shorten the limitations period for filing civil rights claims; the California Labor Commission gains new enforcement power over tip theft; and a new Florida law further empowers employers issuing noncompete agreements.
July 31
EEOC sued over trans rights enforcement; railroad union opposes railroad merger; suits against NLRB slow down.
July 30
In today’s news and commentary, the First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) revocation of parole grants for thousands of migrants; United Airlines’ flight attendants vote against a new labor contract; and the AFL-CIO files a complaint against a Trump Administrative Executive Order that strips the collective bargaining rights of the vast majority of federal workers.
July 29
The Trump administration released new guidelines for federal employers regarding religious expression in the workplace; the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing former union president for repayment of mismanagement of union funds; Uber has criticized a new proposal requiring delivery workers to carry company-issued identification numbers.
July 28
Lower courts work out meaning of Muldrow; NLRB releases memos on recording and union salts.
July 27
In today’s news and commentary, Trump issues an EO on college sports, a second district court judge blocks the Department of Labor from winding down Job Corps, and Safeway workers in California reach a tentative agreement. On Thursday, President Trump announced an executive order titled “Saving College Sports,” which declared it common sense that “college […]