Emily Miller is a student at Harvard Law School.
The National Labor Relations Board is expected to issue a ruling this summer on whether graduate students are employees with the right to unionize, reports the Wall Street Journal. Many expect the Board to rule in favor of the graduate students, which would overturn their 2004 decision that graduate students are not employees. Universities have taken a firm stance against graduate students’ ability to unionize, arguing in a brief to the NLRB that collective bargaining agreements may hinder educational quality. The AFL-CIO, on the other hand, has argued that graduate students, who provide essential services to universities, are employees who should be entitled to unionize.
The New York Times published an editorial this past Friday on a class action lawsuit against McDonald’s that was recently certified in California, lauding the decision as “another step forward in the battle for fair pay for low-wage workers.” The lawsuit alleges wide-scale wage theft through unpaid overtime, misrecording of time cards, and failure to pay the minimum wage. The missing pay is estimated to be tens of millions of dollars for over 500 employees. McDonald’s maintains that its franchisees, rather than the McDonald’s Corporation, are solely responsible for pay and working conditions.
Fox Searchlight has reached a preliminary settlement with a group of unpaid interns, according to JD Supra. The case, which began in 2010, resulted in a 2013 decision by the Second Circuit applying the “primary beneficiary” test to determine whether an intern is an employee. The plaintiffs have said the test “presented “significant risk to [them] on the merits and with regard to certification.” The settlement, which would pay out $495 to anyone who interned with Fox for at least two weeks from 2005-2010, is awaiting approval by Judge William Pauley.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 8
In today’s news and commentary, Apple wins at the Fifth Circuit against the NLRB, Florida enacts a noncompete-friendly law, and complications with the No Tax on Tips in the Big Beautiful Bill. Apple won an appeal overturning a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that the company violated labor law by coercively questioning an employee […]
July 7
LA economy deals with fallout from ICE raids; a new appeal challenges the NCAA antitrust settlement; and the EPA places dissenting employees on leave.
July 6
Municipal workers in Philadelphia continue to strike; Zohran Mamdani collects union endorsements; UFCW grocery workers in California and Colorado reach tentative agreements.
July 4
The DOL scraps a Biden-era proposed rule to end subminimum wages for disabled workers; millions will lose access to Medicaid and SNAP due to new proof of work requirements; and states step up in the noncompete policy space.
July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.