Alexa Kissinger is a student at Harvard Law School.
After loud resistance from Democrats, the FCC voted to repeal Obama-era rules requiring broadband providers to treat all internet traffic as equal. The New York Times reports the now-repealed Obama-era regulations regulated high-speed internet as if it were a utility, prohibiting providers from blocking certain websites or charging for select services or content. This decision, though expected, was preceded by an extremely messy comment period with a record-breaking 22 million comments infiltrated by a mix of bots, memes, and fake accounts. Several groups, including the trade group for Facebook and Google have said they are contemplating legal action.
On Thursday, President Trump announced his administration’s plan to shrink the Code of Federal Regulations to its 1960 size. After the remarks, the White House issued a statement saying agencies have issued 67 deregulatory actions while imposing only three new regulations since the President took office. This follows the Executive Order the President signed shortly after his Inauguration requiring agencies to slash two regulations for every new regulation put into place. According to POLITICO, the current Administrator of OIRA tempered the President’s remarks saying “returning to 1960 levels would likely require legislation.”
In a party-line vote, the National Labor Relations Board overturned Browning-Ferris Industries, reinstating the prior standard for joint-employer liability. Browning-Ferris Industries’ indirect control requirement had given workers leverage when challenging the labor practices of large chains. Now, a company will only be deemed a joint employer with proof of direct control over the employee.
The Senate HELP Committee advanced two key Department of Labor appointees to the full Senate. Preston Rutledge has been nominated to be assistant secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration and Kate O’Scannlain to serve as DOL’s solicitor.
The New York Times published a series of essays on the recent revelations on sexual harassment and women and power in the workplace. Worth a read.
Daily News & Commentary
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November 21
Workers at electric vehicle battery production complex in Kentucky launch campaign to join the UAW; Amazon workers at company’s largest air facility on the West Coast start union drive to join the Teamsters; and medical residents and fellows affiliated with Brown University organize to join CIR/SEIU Healthcare.
November 20
Philadelphia unions plan a joint strike, Greece faces a 24-hour general strike, and University of California unions set strikes for today and tomorrow.
November 19
Fifth Circuit hears challenges to NLRB; Democratic NLRB majority may be ending soon; building trades unions criticize Democratic party
November 18
In today’s News & Commentary, the Democratic Party Union blasts staff layoffs and Philadelphia city workers threaten mass strike. The Democratic National Committee Staff Union has criticized party leadership following several days of layoffs in the wake of the 2024 election loss. The union claims these cuts go beyond typical post-election turnover and have impacted […]
November 17
DOL overtime rule struck down; Cornell Graduate Student Union speaks on campus repression.
November 15
In today’s News & Commentary, Philadelphia’s largest city workers union authorizes a strike, video game union at Microsoft completes one-day strike, and Massachusetts teachers’ unions are fined. District 33, a union of Philadelphia city workers, has authorized a strike. The union represents 9,000 mostly blue-collar workers, including sanitation workers. Workers are dissatisfied with the city’s […]