
Sunah Chang is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s news and commentary: the NLRB drops its appeal of a district court case striking down its joint employer rule, red states reassert challenge to EEOC’s pregnancy rule, and the W.N.B.A. players’ union taps advisors.
Last Friday, the NLRB dropped its appeal of a district court’s decision striking down its 2023 joint employer rule, which would have classified many companies as employers of contract or franchise workers, requiring them to bargain with these workers pursuant to the NLRA. More specifically, the 2023 rule sought to treat companies as “joint employers” of franchise or contract workers so long as they have direct or indirect control over the essential terms and conditions of employment. In its motion to the Fifth Circuit for voluntary dismissal, the NLRB noted that it “remains of the opinion that its 2023 Rule meets the procedural and substantive requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Labor Relations Act.” It remains unclear whether and how this Fifth Circuit dismissal will impact other pending cases concerning the joint employer rule in the D.C. Circuit.
Riding the wave of the recent Supreme Court decision narrowing the power of executive agencies, 17 Republican attorneys general have filed an appeal to the Eighth Circuit challenging the EEOC’s 2024 rule expanding workplace accommodations for abortions. The states seek to reverse a ruling by the Eastern District of Arkansas from earlier this summer, which upheld the EEOC’s interpretation of the Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act under the Chevron doctrine. Citing the Supreme Court’s recent overturning of Chevron in the Loper Bright case, the attorneys general have requested that the Eighth Circuit review the district court decision. Furthermore, while the Eastern District of Arkansas dismissed the original challenge for lack of standing, the attorneys general have argued that the district court’s standing analysis erroneously ignored that the EEOC’s rule “inflicts distinct injuries” to the states by overriding their “sovereign interest in protecting fetal life through constitutional, statutory, and workplace policies.”
Lastly, the union representing W.N.B.A. players has summoned a five-person advisory board to assist the union on its collective bargaining strategy. The union and the W.N.B.A. league are currently locked into a C.B.A. that is set to expire in 2027 unless either the league or the players decide to opt out. If either party opts out by November 1, 2024, the parties will have about a year to negotiate a new agreement until the current C.B.A. expires on October 31, 2025. In order to evaluate the choice to opt out, the union has retained five experts—Claudia Goldin, W. Charles Bennett, Deborah Willig, Tag Garson, and David Cooper—to advise on the decision. Salient issues on top of the union’s priorities include improving travel arrangements, salaries, revenue sharing, and parental and fertility benefits.
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October 14
Census Bureau layoffs, Amazon holiday hiring, and the final settlement in a meat producer wage-fixing lawsuit.
October 13
Texas hotel workers ratify a contract; Pope Leo visits labor leaders; Kaiser lays off over two hundred workers.
October 12
The Trump Administration fires thousands of federal workers; AFGE files a supplemental motion to pause the Administration’s mass firings; Democratic legislators harden their resolve during the government shutdown.
October 10
California bans algorithmic price-fixing; New York City Council passes pay transparency bills; and FEMA questions staff who signed a whistleblowing letter.
October 9
Equity and the Broadway League resume talks amid a looming strike; federal judge lets alcoholism ADA suit proceed; Philadelphia agrees to pay $40,000 to resolve a First Amendment retaliation case.
October 8
In today’s news and commentary, the Trump administration threatens no back pay for furloughed federal workers; the Second Circuit denies a request from the NFL for an en banc review in the Brian Flores case; and Governor Gavin Newsom signs an agreement to create a pathway for unionization for Uber and Lyft drivers.