July 3rd 2022
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After the Supreme Court announced in Janus that the First Amendment prohibits mandatory agency fees in the public sector, plaintiffs supported by right-to-work groups flooded the courts with related claims. At the time, we feared that these plaintiffs, aided...
The Supreme Court has rejected Jade Thompson's appeal claiming she has a First Amendment right not to be represented by a union. The appeal argued that the Court should overturn Minnesota State Board v. Knight to weaken public sector unions' powers derived from...
Yesterday the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Babb v. Wilkie. The question before the Court was whether federal workers alleging age discrimination under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) must show that the adverse action would not have happened...
The House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill on Thursday that would bring major changes to the American retirement system. The bill, H.R. 1994 (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, or SECURE Act), seeks to ease some of...
The Department of Labor issued a new opinion letter saying that the Department considers gig workers in the so-called “sharing” economy (like Uber drivers or Instacart shoppers) to be independent contractors, rather than employees. The letter is a notable shift...
On Tuesday the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court upheld the right of unions to serve as the exclusive representatives of employees in public sector bargaining units. In Branch v. Commonwealth Employment Relations Board, four government employees represented by...
In an opinion released Tuesday, the ninth circuit has rejected a First Amendment challenge to exclusive representation. As Jared reports, the ninth circuit joins the eighth circuit in affirming the constitutional validity of exclusive representation, even in the...
Later this morning, Senator Richard Blumenthal and Representatives Hank Johnson and Jerry Nadler will hold a press conference announcing the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, a bill that would amend the Federal Arbitration Act to exempt mandatory...
In Janus, the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment prohibits mandatory agency fees in the public sector. Although Janus had nothing to do with the constitutional status of exclusive representation, the majority's opinion mentions exclusive representation...
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is challenging public sector workers’ right to exclusive union representation at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The NRWLDF, the anti-union organization that represented the plaintiff in Janus, is...
The Massachusetts legislature this week passed a new bill that would limit the use of noncompete clauses in that state. The new law, which still must be signed by Republican Governor Charlie Baker, would allow employers to prevent their workers from moving to a...
It's a good moment to think creatively and expansively about how to revitalize the U.S. labor movement. This important work is underway, with contributions from academics, labor lawyers, union organizers, and others. Substantive debates about the future of labor...