Emily Miller is a student at Harvard Law School.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka announced the federation’s opposition to the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch on Thursday, reports Politico. Last week, Gorsuch faced questioning from Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee for past decisions siding with employers on issues like worker safety, discrimination, and unions. Meanwhile, Committee Republicans have expressed support for Gorsuch, who has defended his decisions as merely following the law.
The New York Times Editorial Board published a piece Sunday arguing that Alexander Acosta, President Trump’s nominee for labor secretary, may be focused more on protecting employers rather than promoting the rights of workers. The article cites Acosta’s testimony at his confirmation hearings, particularly that he dodged questions about upholding several Obama-era Labor Department rules, and argues that his failure to answer these questions suggests that he will “embrace the Trump Administration’s demolition approach to sensible regulation.”
Grocery delivery startup Instacart recently agreed to settle a nationwide class action with workers for $4.6 million. According to Buzzfeed News, the suit alleged that the workers were misclassified as independent contractors. Since the original suit was filed, Instacart has reconfigured its workplace so that its in-store shoppers are classified as employees, while delivery drivers remain classified as contractors, although it has also cut wages and made it more difficult for customers to tip. The settlement will not reclassify the drivers as employees, but will facilitate tipping on the Instacart app, and allow workers who have been deactivated to request reconsideration of the deactivation.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
March 13
Republican Senators urge changes on OSHA heat standard; OpenAI and building trades announce partnership on data center construction; forced labor investigations could lead to new tariffs
March 12
EPA terminates contract with second-largest union; Florida advances bill restricting public sector unions; Trump administration seeks Supreme Court assistance in TPS termination.
March 11
The partial government shutdown results in TSA agents losing their first full paycheck; the Fifth Circuit upholds the certification of a class of former United Airline workers who were placed on unpaid leave for declining to receive the COVID-19 vaccine for religious reasons during the pandemic; and an academic group files a lawsuit against the State Department over a policy that revokes and denies visas to noncitizens for their work in fact-checking and content moderation.
March 10
Court rules Kari Lake unlawfully led USAGM, voiding mass layoffs; Florida Senate passes bill tightening union recertification rules; Fifth Circuit revives whistleblower suit against Lockheed Martin.
March 9
6th Circuit rejects Cemex, Board may overrule precedents with two members.
March 8
In today’s news and commentary, a weak jobs report, the NIH decides it will no longer recognize a research fellows’ union, and WNBA contract talks continue to stall as season approaches. On Friday, the Labor Department reported that employers cut 92,000 jobs in February while the unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.4 percent. A loss […]