In today’s news and commentary, Governor Hochul signs various protections into law, a university professor successfully appeals a speech retaliation case, and a Teamsters pension fund wins $23 million. 

On Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed two bills aimed at protecting workers into law. The bills, A584 and S3072, prohibit mandatory “Training Repayment Agreement Provisions” in employment contracts and restrict employers from accessing a worker’s credit report while making decisions about hiring or compensation, respectively. A584, named the Trapped at Work Act, took immediate effect but is expected to undergo revision in January clarifying that voluntary tuition assistance programs are permissible. S3072 will take effect 120 days from Friday, during which time it will undergo technical edits for clarity. 

On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that officials at the University of Washington illegally retaliated against a professor exercising his free-speech rights. In an attempt to mock and parody the university’s recommendation, Professor Stuart Reges included a “land acknowledgment” in his course syllabus disputing claims that the university’s land once belonged to Native tribes. In response, Reges was “investigated, reprimanded, and threatened with future discipline after he refused to remove it.” Writing for a fractured court, Judge Daniel A. Bress found that this conduct, plus Reges’ interests in speaking on issues of public concern, outweighed the university’s competing interests. Judge Bress went on to describe the “special” importance of First Amendment rights in upholding academic freedom in the university setting. The decision overruled the lower court, which had ordered summary judgment against the professor. 

Also on Friday, NLRB Judge Brian Gee ordered Oak Harbor Freight Lines Inc. to pay $23 million in damages to the Teamsters 206 Employers Trust for unlawfully withholding contributions to the trust over fifteen years ago. The dispute was first ruled on in 2012, with the NLRB finding that Oak Harbor’s conduct violated federal labor law. The case was subsequently vacated, revived, and appealed before several years of disputes on the amount owed by Oak Harbor. The company may challenge the decision before the NLRB, which recently regained quorum, but its attorneys have not yet indicated if they plan to do so.