Leora Smith is a student at Harvard Law School.
Department of Labor officials told the The Guardian that it is getting harder to conduct workplace investigations because undocumented workers are refusing to cooperate with investigators. According to the report, the current government’s policies have stoked such fear of deportation among undocumented workers that in some instances workers are “declining to accept back wages owed to them and running away from staff who show up at their workplaces.” As a result, it is becoming harder to learn about workplace violations, and to enforce proper standards. The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement have a Memorandum of Understanding, still in place, stating that they will not interfere in Department of Labor investigations.
The Wall Street Journal reports on worker shortages facing the construction and farm industries as a result of “demographic trends coupled with a skills mismatch.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the number of unfilled construction jobs has almost doubled in the last five years with around 150,000 jobs currently unfilled. Farmers also report vast labor shortages that resulted in tens of millions of dollars of crops rotting in their fields before being cultivated. At the root of the problem, according to the article, is an aging workforce – an average construction equipment operator is 46 years old – reduced visas for guest workers, delays in visa processing, and a shrinking undocumented workforce.
And a new group on Capitol Hill, the Blue Bollar Caucus, is working to win back blue-collar voters in traditionally Democratic states. Labor leaders met with Caucus co-chairs, Rep. Marc Veasey of Texas and Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, for a listening session this week.
In international news – a small city council in Canada is taking a novel approach to the problem of underpaid temporary workers, by voting to stop using temporary staffing agencies altogether. A recent report from the province of Ontario, where the City of Brantford is located, found that 75% of temp agencies inspected were violating provincial labor laws.
Daily News & Commentary
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June 6
In today’s news and commentary, Governor Jared Polis directs Colorado’s labor agency to share information with ICE; and the Supreme Court issues two unanimous rulings including exempting a Catholic charity from paying unemployment compensation taxes and striking down the heightened standard for plaintiffs belonging to a majority group to prove a Title VII employment discrimination […]
June 5
Nail technicians challenge California classification; oral arguments in challenge to LGBTQ hiring protections; judge blocks Job Corps shutdown.
June 4
Federal agencies violate federal court order pausing mass layoffs; Walmart terminates some jobs in Florida following Supreme Court rulings on the legal status of migrants; and LA firefighters receive a $9.5 million settlement for failure to pay firefighters during shift changes.
June 3
Federal judge blocks Trump's attack on TSA collective bargaining rights; NLRB argues that Grindr's Return-to-Office policy was union busting; International Trade Union Confederation report highlights global decline in workers' rights.
June 2
Proposed budgets for DOL and NLRB show cuts on the horizon; Oregon law requiring LPAs in cannabis dispensaries struck down.
June 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Ninth Circuit upholds a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration, a federal judge vacates parts of the EEOC’s pregnancy accommodation rules, and video game workers reach a tentative agreement with Microsoft. In a 2-1 decision issued on Friday, the Ninth Circuit upheld a preliminary injunction against the Trump Administration […]