Gilbert Placeres is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News & Commentary, two reversals in the Trump administration’s firing of federal labor employees as a judge orders the reinstatement of NLRB Board Member Gwynne Wilcox and the Department of Labor reinstates about 120 employees who were facing termination.
On Thursday, a federal district court judge ordered the reinstatement of NLRB Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, whom President Trump had fired in the first day of his second term. Divya covered the oral arguments in the case last week. In her ruling, Judge Beryl Howell wrote that “the President does not have the authority to terminate members of the National Labor Relations Board at will, and his attempt to fire [Wilcox] from her position on the Board was a blatant violation of the law,” as well as that “an American president is not a king.” The Trump administration has already filed an appeal in the case.
The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) announced Friday that about 120 probationary employees in the Department of Labor had been reinstated immediately and told to report back to duty on Monday. The Labor Department employees were reinstated a day after U.S. President Donald Trump told his cabinet members that they, not Elon Musk, had the final say on staffing and policy at their agencies. He also told cabinet members to approach workforce cuts with a “scalpel” instead of a “hatchet.”
Daily News & Commentary
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October 21
Some workers are exempt from Trump’s new $100,000 H1-B visa fee; Amazon driver alleges the EEOC violated mandate by dropping a disparate-impact investigation; Eighth Circuit revived bank employee’s First Amendment retaliation claims over school mask-mandate.
October 20
Supreme Court won't review SpaceX decision, courts uphold worker-friendly interpretation of EFAA, EEOC focuses on opioid-related discrimination.
October 19
DOL issues a new wage rule for H-2A workers, Gov. Newsom vetoes a bill that regulates employers’ use of AI, and Broadway workers and management reach a tentative deal
October 17
Third Circuit denies DOL's en banc rehearing request; Washington AG proposes legislation to protect immigrant workers; UAW files suit challenging government surveillance of non-citizen speech
October 16
NLRB seeks injunction of California’s law; Judge grants temporary restraining order stopping shutdown-related RIFs; and Governor Newsom vetoes an ILWU supported bill.
October 15
An interview with former NLRB chairman; Supreme Court denies cert in Southern California hotel case