Jon Weinberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
Despite surviving multiple court challenges, the revolutionary Seattle municipal ordinance giving gig economy independent contractors the right to unionize appears to be on hold.
According to Bloomberg BNA, a Seattle city attorney announced the city will delay enforcement of the law in proceedings before the district court hearing the challenge to the ordinance last week. Uber, Lyft and a third ride hailing company had been due to submit driver information today to a union recognized as a “qualified driver representative” pursuant to the ordinance. Seattle will not requite the companies to disclose the driver information until Judge Robert S. Lasnik of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington rules on a motion filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which brought the lawsuit challenging the ordinance.
More per Bloomberg BNA:
The judge said he’d try to reach a decision by Friday, March 31, but that it could come as late as Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week, April 4 or 5, said [Seattle University School of Law Professor Charlotte] Garden, who teaches labor law. A source familiar with the litigation confirmed to Bloomberg BNA the delay in enforcement and the timeline for Lasnik’s ruling.
And with respect to the motion at issue:
Lasnik must find a likelihood of the Chamber’s success down the road in order to grant its request for a preliminary injunction or a temporary restraining order. The Chamber, Uber, Lyft, and East Side for Hire all contend that federal labor and antitrust laws preempt Seattle’s ordinance.
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December 8
Private payrolls fall; NYC Council overrides mayoral veto on pay data; workers sue Starbucks.
December 7
Philadelphia transit workers indicate that a strike is imminent; a federal judge temporarily blocks State Department layoffs; and Virginia lawmakers consider legislation to repeal the state’s “right to work” law.
December 5
Netflix set to acquire Warner Bros., Gen Z men are the most pro-union generation in history, and lawmakers introduce the “No Robot Bosses Act.”
December 4
Unionized journalists win arbitration concerning AI, Starbucks challenges two NLRB rulings in the Fifth Circuit, and Philadelphia transit workers resume contract negotiations.
December 3
The Trump administration seeks to appeal a federal judge’s order that protects the CBAs of employees within the federal workforce; the U.S. Department of Labor launches an initiative to investigate violations of the H-1B visa program; and a union files a petition to form a bargaining unit for employees at the Met.
December 2
Fourth Circuit rejects broad reading of NLRA’s managerial exception; OPM cancels reduced tuition program for federal employees; Starbucks will pay $39 million for violating New York City’s Fair Workweek law; Mamdani and Sanders join striking baristas outside a Brooklyn Starbucks.