Linh is a student at Harvard Law School.
On Wednesday, the Sixth Circuit ruled in favor of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect work safety regulations passed in the past 50 years. An Ohio general contracting company, represented by Jones Day and supported by conservative advocacy groups, challenged that most OSHA rules were unconstitutional because the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 gave the Agency too much discretion. Affirming the district court’s decision, a 2-1 Sixth Circuit panel held that OSHA’s rulemakings are within the powers approved by lawmakers intended in the Act, and while the Agency’s discretion on which hazards to regulate is “significant,” it is not unconstitutional.
The NLRB issued a direct final rule that will make the union election process faster and less complex. Set to take effect on Dec 26, 2023, the new regulation rolls back Trump-era changes to how workers vote for union representation, returning the procedure to a 2014 rule that “codified best practices, simplified representation case procedures, made those procedures more transparent and uniform across regions, and modernized those procedures in view of changing technology.”
In response to several high-profile strikes by screenwriters, actors, and hotel workers in California, legislators are making last-minute efforts to pass a bill that would extend unemployment benefits to striking workers after two weeks off the job. Current state law excludes workers from unemployment benefits if they leave work to go on strike. A similar proposal failed in the California Senate in 2019, and now even with a Democratic-majority Senate and Assembly, support for the bill remains tenuous.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
September 24
UAW expands strike, files ULP against a Republican senator and hosts Biden on the picket line. NLRB ALJ issues first Cemex bargaining order.
September 22
Biden and Lula announce Partnership for Workers’ Rights; GAO clears Su to serve as acting Secretary of Labor indefinitely.
September 21
DHS policies for Venezuelan migrants; reduced arbitration fees under No Surprises Act; increasing religious objections to workplace DEI policies.
September 19
Canadian autoworkers continue negotiations with Ford’s operations in Canada, Trump announces a rally in Detroit next week with union workers, and talk shows backtrack on plans to return to air without writers.
September 18
UAW enters its fourth day of striking with plans to meet Stellantis at the negotiating table; 13 of the 14 bargaining units representing Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) will negotiate new contracts in the next six months; a Brazilian labor court ordered Uber to pay ~$205 million in fines for irregular working relations with app drivers; unions across many sectors press lawmakers to curb potential threats from artificial intelligence
September 17
Updates from UAW’s strike, Dartmouth College athletes file petition to unionize, visual effects artists at Marvel Studios unanimously vote to unionize, and California’s legislature passes a variety of pro-worker bills.