Jon Weinberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
In a historic move, California will grant farm workers an expanded right to overtime pay that now matches that of other workers. According to The Los Angeles Times, new rules will be phased in over four years beginning in 2019, and “will lower the current 10-hour-day threshold for overtime by half an hour each year until it reaches the standard eight-hour day by 2022″ as well as ” phase in a 40-hour standard workweek for the first time. The governor will be able to suspend any part of the process for a year depending on economic conditions.” More than 90% of California farm workers are Latino, and more than 80% are immigrants.
The faculty lockout at Long Island University continues. Inside Higher Ed reports that “Long Island University’s American Federation of Teachers-affiliated faculty union filed an unfair labor charge against the university with the National Labor Relations Board.” Charges include “repudiation of contract, refusal to bargain/bad faith bargaining, changes in terms and conditions of employment, and lockout.”
The battle over the classification of gig economy workers is just as robust across the Atlantic. The Guardian published an op-ed on whether UK employment law adequately protects gig economy workers. As in the US, UK law looks to the activities performed by workers to determine their status, irrespective of any contractual agreements. The writer concludes that “the law ought to be reviewed, given that more and more people are working within the gig economy and losing out on rights.
In other news, The Boston Globe reports on a rally by MBTA drivers protesting partial privatization of the city’s transit system, while Fusion shows the changing face of American labor in 12 photographs.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
September 16
In today’s news and commentary, the NLRB sues New York, a flight attendant sues United, and the Third Circuit considers the employment status of Uber drivers The NLRB sued New York to block a new law that would grant the state authority over private-sector labor disputes. As reported on recently by Finlay, the law, which […]
September 15
Unemployment claims rise; a federal court hands victory to government employees union; and employers fire workers over social media posts.
September 14
Workers at Boeing reject the company’s third contract proposal; NLRB Acting General Counsel William Cohen plans to sue New York over the state’s trigger bill; Air Canada flight attendants reject a tentative contract.
September 12
Zohran Mamdani calls on FIFA to end dynamic pricing for the World Cup; the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement opens a probe into Scale AI’s labor practices; and union members organize immigration defense trainings.
September 11
California rideshare deal advances; Boeing reaches tentative agreement with union; FTC scrutinizes healthcare noncompetes.
September 10
A federal judge denies a motion by the Trump Administration to dismiss a lawsuit led by the American Federation of Government Employees against President Trump for his mass layoffs of federal workers; the Supreme Court grants a stay on a federal district court order that originally barred ICE agents from questioning and detaining individuals based on their presence at a particular location, the type of work they do, their race or ethnicity, and their accent while speaking English or Spanish; and a hospital seeks to limit OSHA's ability to cite employers for failing to halt workplace violence without a specific regulation in place.