OnLabor

Law. Workers. Organizing.

Editorials

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March 11, 2020

Jon Levitan

Jon Levitan is a student at Harvard Law School and a member of the Labor and Employment Lab.

All by Jon

Daily News & Commentary

Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all

November 3

Fifth Circuit rejects Thryv remedies, Third Circuit considers applying Ames to NJ statute, and some circuits relax McDonnell Douglas framework.

November 2

In today’s news and commentary, states tackle “stay-or-pay” contracts, a new preliminary injunction bars additional shutdown layoffs, and two federal judges order the Trump administration to fund SNAP. Earlier this year, NLRB acting general counsel William Cowen rescinded a 2024 NLRB memo targeting “stay-or-pay” contracts. Former General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo had declared that these kinds […]

October 31

DHS ends work permit renewal grace period; Starbucks strike authorization vote; captive-audience ban case appeal

October 30

Sweden’s Tesla strike enters its third year; Seattle rideshare drivers protest Waymo’s expansion in the city.

October 29

9th Circuit rejects challenge to NLRB's constitutional structure; preemption challenges to state labor peace statutes

October 28

Two federal unions oppose CBA cancellations, another federal union urges Democrats to end the government shut down, and Paramount plans for mass layoffs

OnLabor In The News

Wired

Hundreds of Video Game Workers Join New Union as Trump Attacks Labor Rights: Prof. Sachs on challenges to union organizing under the second Trump Administration.

Los Angeles Times

Column: How anti-union southern governors may be violating federal law: Ben Sachs quoted in a column about the anti-union governors' letter and the fragmentation of labor law; John Fry's post referenced on the question of whether state level card-check bans are preempted by the NLRA.

Fast Company

Amazon’s Labor Union is divided but closing in on electing leadership: Prof. Sachs on Amazon's use of legal roadblocks to delay negotiations.

Semafor

Unions’ picket power now extends to U.S. boardrooms: Prof. Block on the influence of labor unions on other playing fields.

Bloomberg Law

Boeing Talks Will Test Unions’ Sway as Labor Market Softens: Prof. Block on Boeing's labor negotiations with the International Association of Machinists.

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I had the opportunity to participate in a recent symposium on John Witt’s new book, The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America, hosted by Balkinization. This is my contribution to the symposium. I highly recommend the book, and the symposium as a whole – both are certainly relevant to OnLabor readers. For […]

What Critics of the “Faster Labor Contracts Act” Get Wrong

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Earlier this month, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on the bipartisan Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA). The bill is virtually identical to the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act’s First Contract Arbitration provision, with one crucial difference: it has a chance of becoming law in today’s Congress. Whereas the PRO Act had […]

Aftershocks of Jarkesy: An Omen for Agency Adjudication

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In July, the Third Circuit ruled that the Department of Labor (DOL) cannot adjudicate certain employment-related claims essential to its mission, citing the landmark 2024 U.S. Supreme Court case, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy. DOL recently requested rehearing en banc. But in the meantime, DOL’s ability to vindicate workers’ rights remains unclear. Sun Valley Orchards and […]

The Sixth Circuit Made It Harder to Hold Employers Liable for Customer Harassment. It Shouldn’t Have.

Oct 8, 2025 Madeline Cargill

Customer harassment of service workers is all too common in the United States. Across industries, workers — especially women — report facing sexual harassment from customers. In addressing this issue, the EEOC and courts have typically applied a negligence standard to determine employer liability for third-party harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits sex harassment […]

The Expanding Scope of the Ministerial Exception

Oct 3, 2025 Ryan Zhang

Our nation’s cornerstone workplace discrimination law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from “discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Since its enactment, Title VII has applied broadly across the American workforce, but its reach has often been contested by religious institutions asserting religious freedom. Addressing […]

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