
Holt McKeithan is a student at Harvard Law School.
In today’s News and Commentary, Waffle House workers allege rampant wage theft, employers of seasonal migrant workers in Colorado systematically violate labor laws without consequence, and striking journalists at Law360 win a contract.
Waffle House workers, along with the Union of Southern Service Workers, accused the restaurant of a massive scheme of wage theft in a complaint with the United States Department of Labor. A survey by the Strategic Organizing Center found that 90% of Waffle House workers claimed to have had wages stolen by the chain in the past year. The DOL complaint alleged that Waffle House violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by requiring tipped workers to perform untipped labor, often up to three hours per shift.
Nearly one in ten Colorado employers relying on seasonal migrant workers have stolen wages or illegally charged their workers, according to an investigation by the Denver Post. Common violations include failing to reimburse workers for visa applications or transportations, illegally deducting fees for Medicare and Social Security, and failure to pay for housing and work supplies. Immigrant and Latino workers are the most likely to suffer wage theft. This rampant abuse occurs despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that Colorado farmers overwhelmingly rely on H-2A visa workers. Though the Denver Post’s investigation revealed systematic violations, the state and federal governments rarely bar the companies from hiring H-2A visa workers.
Journalists at Law360 reached a deal with their employer following a week-long ULP strike. The five-year contract guarantees an average wage increase of 12%, increases family leave, and ensures job protections surrounding AI.
Daily News & Commentary
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August 27
The U.S. Department of Justice welcomes new hires and forces reassignments in the Civil Rights Division; the Ninth Circuit hears oral arguments in Brown v. Alaska Airlines Inc.; and Amazon violates federal labor law at its air cargo facility in Kentucky.
August 26
Park employees at Yosemite vote to unionize; Philadelphia teachers reach tentative three-year agreement; a new report finds California’s union coverage remains steady even as national union density declines.
August 25
Consequences of SpaceX decision, AI may undermine white-collar overtime exemptions, Sixth Circuit heightens standard for client harassment.
August 24
HHS cancels union contracts, the California Supreme Court rules on minimum wage violations, and jobless claims rise
August 22
Musk and X move to settle a $500 million severance case; the Ninth Circuit stays an order postponing Temporary Protection Status terminations for migrants from Honduras, Nicaragua, and Nepal; the Sixth Circuit clarifies that an FMLA “estimate” doesn’t hard-cap unforeseeable intermittent leave.
August 21
FLRA eliminates ALJs; OPM axes gender-affirming care; H-2A farmworkers lose wage suit.