Hannah Finnie is a writer in Washington, D.C. interested in the intersections of work and culture. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
A Black contract worker at Tesla who alleged he was racially discriminated against at the California-based Tesla factory he worked at won his lawsuit, though a federal judge this week pared down the damages that a jury awarded him. The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing is suing the same factory for racial discrimination and harassment.
A lawsuit against Fox News alleging sexual harassment will test whether or not a new law carving out sexual harassment and assault claims from arbitration agreements will apply retroactively, according to a Bloomberg Law article. The question centers on whether or not the law, which was enacted in March, 2022, covers arbitration agreements made before the law was passed.
Since it was revealed that Starbucks hired Democrat-affiliated PR firm Global Strategy Group (GSG) to help prepare its anti-union strategy, a campaign has continued to get pro-labor Democrats in Congress to stop working with the organization. For example, Rep. David Cicilline, who supports the pro-labor PRO Act, continues to work with Global Strategy Group and has recently been targeted for the continuing connection. Other progressive groups have dropped their ties with Global Strategy Group, including MoveOn.
Finally, President Biden’s Department of Labor released an Equity Action Plan describing both actions the department has already taken to “embed equity in everything the department does” and how it plans to continue doing so moving forward. The plan is available here.
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May 29
AFGE argues termination of collective bargaining agreement violates the union’s First Amendment rights; agricultural workers challenge card check laws; and the California Court of Appeal reaffirms San Francisco city workers’ right to strike.
May 28
A proposal to make the NLRB purely adjudicatory; a work stoppage among court-appointed lawyers in Massachusetts; portable benefits laws gain ground
May 27
a judge extends a pause on the Trump Administration’s mass-layoffs, the Fifth Circuit refuses to enforce an NLRB order, and the Texas Supreme court extends workplace discrimination suits to co-workers.
May 26
Federal court blocks mass firings at Department of Education; EPA deploys new AI tool; Chiquita fires thousands of workers.
May 25
United Airlines flight attendants reach tentative agreement; Whole Foods workers secure union certification; One Big Beautiful Bill Act cuts $1.1 trillion
May 23
United Steelworkers union speaks out against proposed steel merger; Goodwin Procter turns over diversity data; Anthropic AI's fair use claim over authors' creative work