Justin Cassera is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary, Trump delays student loan wage garnishment, Valero Energy Corp. announces layoffs, and a federal court orders a Wisconsin medical care partnership to pay back wages.
On Friday, the Department of Education announced that it has paused efforts to garnish the wages of borrowers who have defaulted on their student loan payments. Garnishment was slated to begin last week for the first time since the pandemic, but instead will be paused “for a bit.” The decision comes as President Trump and the GOP begin to build an affordability agenda for the 2026 midterms. If the garnishment pause does come to an end, it may affect up to 5 million delinquent borrowers.
On Thursday, Bloomberg News reported that Valero Energy Corporation plans to let go 237 employees at its Benicia refinery as part of its efforts to “wind[] down operations” at the fuel-making plant. The decision to shut down the plant was announced in 2025, and California government efforts to sustain the plant amid fuel shortages have proven unsuccessful. The affected workers are not represented by a union. Valero expects the shutdown to be permanent and to take place sometime between March 15 and July 1 of this year.
On Thursday, the Department of Labor announced that a federal court has ordered North Central Healthcare, a Wisconsin-based medical care partnership, to pay $162,486 in back wages and liquidated damages to 68 employees following periods of unpaid work and overtime. These violations occurred between 2021 and 2023, and the department’s complaint sought relief under the Fair Labor Standards Act. This is one of the first recoveries for the department in 2026, which recovered more than $259 million in back wages for over 176,000 employees in 2025.
Daily News & Commentary
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February 13
Sex workers in Nevada fight to become the nation’s first to unionize; industry groups push NLRB to establish a more business-friendly test for independent contractor status; and UFCW launches an anti-AI price setting in grocery store campaign.
February 12
Teamsters sue UPS over buyout program; flight attendants and pilots call for leadership change at American Airlines; and Argentina considers major labor reforms despite forceful opposition.
February 11
Hollywood begins negotiations for a new labor agreement with writers and actors; the EEOC launches an investigation into Nike’s DEI programs and potential discrimination against white workers; and Mayor Mamdani circulates a memo regarding the city’s Economic Development Corporation.
February 10
San Francisco teachers walk out; NLRB reverses course on SpaceX; NYC nurses secure tentative agreements.
February 9
FTC argues DEI is anticompetitive collusion, Supreme Court may decide scope of exception to forced arbitration, NJ pauses ABC test rule.
February 8
The Second Circuit rejects a constitutional challenge to the NLRB, pharmacy and lab technicians join a California healthcare strike, and the EEOC defends a single better-paid worker standard in Equal Pay Act suits.