Anjali Katta is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, Biden’s NLRB pick heads to Senate vote, DOL settles a farmworker lawsuit, and a federal judge blocks Albertsons-Kroger merger.
Democrats have moved to expedite re-confirmation proceedings for NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran, which would grant her another five years on the Board. If the Democrats succeed in finding 50 Senate votes for McFerran’s re-confirmation they can lock in a 3-2 majority on the Board. If McFerran is left unconfirmed, however, President-elect Trump will have the ability to flip the NLRB’s majority. With only two weeks left in the session, time is running out.
The DOL has settled a lawsuit with farmworker organizations, including the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, who alleged that the DOL violated the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by failing to coordinate the enforcement of statutes that protect farmworkers. The DOL has agreed to establish a committee coordinating farm labor enforcement across the Department’s various offices, including the Wage and Hour Division and OSHA. The attorney for the farmworker organizations, Michael Kirkpatrick from Public Citizen Litigation Group, stated that the settlement’s “enforcement mechanisms[] will ensure that DOL lives up to its responsibilities to serve and protect farmworkers.”
After a three-week hearing, U.S. District Judge Adrienne Nelson temporarily halted the supermarket merger of Kroger and Albertsons. The merger, proposed in 2022 and valued at $24.6 billion, would be the largest grocery store merger in U.S. history. The FTC sued earlier this year asking Judge Nelson to block the deal until an administrative judge at the FTC could consider the implications. The FTC argues that the merger would eliminate head-to-head competition between the top two traditional grocery chains, leading to higher prices for shoppers and reduced bargaining power for unionized workers. Kroger and Albertsons will likely appeal the ruling.
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 […]