
Iman Masmoudi is a student at Harvard Law School.
Temple Graduate Students reach a tentative agreement and the Department of Labor clarifies the application of the FLSA and the FMLA to remote workers.
After three weeks of striking, the Temple Graduate Students Union has reached a tentative agreement with the administration that would increase student stipends over the next three years, but would not appear to meet student demands to expand health insurance coverage to dependents. The labor dispute made headlines after the University cut of health insurance and tuition remission for striking student employees. As part of the agreement, the Union will withdraw unfair labor practice charges it filed and the University will reimburse tuition and health costs incurred by students during the cut off period. A vote will happen on the proposed agreement over the next few days, but students are still on strike until ratification.
The Department of Labor has issued a guidance to clarify the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to remote workers. The bulletin, published on February 9, directs officials to ignore location when calculating hours – regardless of short (<20 min) breaks – worked, extend the requirements of reasonable break time and place to express milk for nursing employees who are teleworking, and emphasize the importance of employers’ tracking hours for FMLA purposes and that the size of the worksite for purposes of the 50-employee exception is not based on their physical location but on the worksite “they report to.” These clarifications provide important protections for remote workers and ensure that remote work is not used an exception to both the FLSA and the FMLA.
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July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]
June 27
Labor's role in Zohran Mamdani's victory; DHS funding amendment aims to expand guest worker programs; COSELL submission deadline rapidly approaching
June 26
A district judge issues a preliminary injunction blocking agencies from implementing Trump’s executive order eliminating collective bargaining for federal workers; workers organize for the reinstatement of two doctors who were put on administrative leave after union activity; and Lamont vetoes unemployment benefits for striking workers.