The Wall Street Journal has provided background on an employment law case on the Supreme Court’s docket in the coming term: Sandifer v. US Steel Corp. Current federal law requires employers to pay workers for performing both a job’s “principal activity” and “closely related activities which are indispensible to its performance.” But federal law does not require employers to pay for the time that employees take to “chang[e] clothes . . . at the beginning or end of each workday” if nonpayment has been the “custom or practice” of the employer. U.S. Steel argues that it has not paid its workers for the time it takes them to change into their protective work clothing for over a half-century, and is not required to do so under law. The workers who seek payment contend that their protective gear is not clothing within the meaning of the relevant law. Judge Richard Posner, writing for a unanimous Seventh Circuit panel, agreed with U.S. Steel’s position.
Turning to politics, the Editorial Board of the Washington Post has weighed in on the Larger Retailer Accountability Act, calling on DC Mayor Vincent Gray to veto the proposed legislation. The Editorial Board concludes that the bill, which requires large retailers to pay their DC employees more than $4 /hr above the District’s current minimum wage, will create “an uneven playing field [that] would likely discourage new businesses from investing in the District,” which, of course, “would mean fewer jobs, fewer retail choices and higher prices for residents.”
Meanwhile, Maryland Democrats are readying for a push to require state employers to pay significantly more than the federally mandated minimum wage. With an election year looming, the Washington Post notes that Democrat incumbents hoping to win the support of labor unions have an added incentive to support the pay-raise.
In immigration news, the Wall Street Journal reports that an immigration overhaul may have to wait until 2014, as President Obama’s recent request for congressional authorization to use military force in Syria places a major new issue on the House agenda. The House had been expected to consider immigration bills before addressing the debt ceiling this fall.
Also on the immigration front, the New York Times examines how the Bush family is working to influence the immigration reform debate. The piece explores both the personal and political connections of the Bush family to the debates on political issues that are especially salient to Hispanic voters.
New York City’s unionized workers have been much in the news as of late, and a recent study is shedding light on the demographics of this group. As the New York Times reports, it turns out that this group is comprised mainly of minorities and women. These demographics reflect the broader story of unions in America, as declining private sector unionization and the shuttering of New York factories has coincided with the decline of white male union membership.
Daily News & Commentary
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October 16
Department of Labor reduces wage-and-hour enforcement at unionized workplaces; Fain's victory poses question of federal monitor's extension.
October 15
New reporting examines the rollback of child labor protections; California tries to block a strike; NLRB charges Wisconsin mental health provider with firing workers during union drive.
October 14
Eleventh Circuit overturns ERISA exhaustion rule; DHS finalizes removal of automatic renewal for work permits; AFGE challenges SSA over flexible scheduling policy.
October 13
Chicago hotel workers remain on strike; a coalition of Democratic states sues the Labor Department over canceled unemployment insurance grants; the Federal Labor Relations Authority establishes a new mediation framework for federal worker disputes.
October 12
Workers at the Obama Foundation begin organizing; MLB submits its latest collective bargaining agreement proposal; Brigham & Women's nurses postpone strike.
October 11
UAW President Shawn Fain succeeds in his reelection bid, and Spanish unions call for a general strike.