Melissa Greenberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
This post is part of OnLabor’s continuing analysis of National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA.
As reported by Law360, the Supreme Court has informed the parties in Murphy Oil, Ernst & Young, and Epic Systems that the Court will postpone oral argument until next term, which begins in October 2017. The Court granted certiorari in January. Law360 points out that Judge Neil Gorsuch will likely be confirmed to the Court by this fall, assuming that Senate Democrats do not decline to confirm his nomination. Some followers of the Court believed the justices would be evenly split on the enforceability of class action waivers in employment contracts, and Gorsuch could provide the tie-breaking vote. A separate Law360 piece analyzing Gorsuch’s previous arbitration agreement and class action decisions suggested that “employers may have reason to be optimistic” in Murphy Oil with Gorsuch on the Court.
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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.