In Janus, the Supreme Court held that agency fees amount to compelled speech that violates the First Amendment. As I’ve explained, the underlying premise of this theory is that agency fees are employees’ money that employees pay to a union. Because... More »
In the grim aftermath of Janus v. AFSCME, discussion has focused on what the decision portends for agency fee agreements in the private sector. Given the cloud of doom that has descended on many of us, it’s not surprising that pessimism abounds. There is... More »
Janus is a major blow, but Sharon and I lay out some ideas for moving forward in this Vox piece. More »
Recognizing the potential folly in engaging with a Trump tweet, I thought it was worth two quick comments on what the President had to say about Janus. Here’s the tweet: Supreme Court rules in favor of non-union workers who are now, as an example, able t... More »
The Harvard Law Review dedicated its latest issue to Judge Reinhardt and published a series of In Memoriam pieces about the Judge. The series is available here. My own contribution focused on Rizo v. Yovino, the Equal Pay Act case that Judge Reinhardt authored... More »
In September, we worried that the Trump Administration was using Epic Systems (aka Murphy Oil) to lay the groundwork for curtailing protection of concerted activity outside the union organizing and collective bargaining context. To our relief, Epic Systems do... More »
The Competitive Enterprise Institute has weighed in on our debate over flexibility in the gig economy with a new piece by Trey Kovacs. Their bottom line: they agree with my analysis of the law but object to the “burdens” (what I’d call minimu... More »
Professor Estlund argues that if gig firms have to classify their workers as employees (as I believe the law now requires, and as the Dynamex decision makes more likely), those firms will respond by “exercising greater control over hours and scheduling, ... More »
Today’s Philadelphia Inquirer reports on the death of Pablo Avendano, a 34-year old bike messenger who was killed while delivering food for Caviar, the app-based food delivery service. Because Avendano was classified as an independent contractor and not ... More »
We’ll have more complete analysis in the days ahead, but, as Ross reports, the California Supreme Court has issued a decision with major implications for Uber, the gig economy, and the question of worker classification more broadly. In Dynamex Operations... More »
In the weeks ahead, we’ll be sharing more about a project that Sharon and I are launching at Harvard Law School, “Rebalancing Economic and Political Power: A Clean Slate for the Future of Labor Law.” With support from the Ford Foundation and joined by a wide ... More »