Jon Weinberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
A major lockout of steelworkers nationally has been ruled illegal by the National Labor Relations Board. The Pittsburgh Business Times reports that the NLRB office in Pittsburgh determined that Allegheny Technology’s lockout of 2,200 workers since August has been illegal. The workers are represented by the United Steelworkers. A hearing will be set for early next year.
New York City is poised to implement some of the nation’s most progressive rules on gender discrimination, including in the workplace. The Associated Press notes that the City’s new guidelines on gender-identity discrimination apply to employers, and “besides overall bans on discrimination in housing and hiring, the new guidelines speak to such specifics as balking at using the personal pronoun of someone’s choice — “Ms.” or “Mr.,” for instance.” Furthermore, businesses will be precluded from having employee dress codes that “require dresses or makeup for women only, for instance, or bar only men from having long hair.”
American may be set for raise in 2016. According to Bloomberg, “After five years in which annual wage increases have averaged around 2 percent, salaries are set to pick up as a taut job market prompts more employers to boost pay to retain or add the workers they need, economists said.” The tight labor market reportedly will lead to upward pressure on wages. The United States is nearing full employment, and “officials last week forecast unemployment would be at 4.7 percent at the end of each of the next three years, lower than previously estimated, showing they intend to run the job market a little hot to spur wage gains.”
A new report from the National Employment Law Project sheds light on how poor regulations in the home health care worker industry could limit enforcement of new labor standards. PBS writes that the reports focus on a lack of oversight of agencies and that while “home care workers this year gained federal minimum wage and overtime protections after a lengthy battle in the federal courts,” strong oversight is needed to ensure compliance.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
May 9
Philadelphia City Council unanimously passes the POWER Act; thousands of federal worker layoffs at the Department of Interior expected; the University of Oregon student workers union reach a tentative agreement, ending 10-day strike
May 8
Court upholds DOL farmworker protections; Fifth Circuit rejects Amazon appeal; NJTransit navigates negotiations and potential strike.
May 7
U.S. Department of Labor announces termination of mental health and child care benefits for its employees; SEIU pursues challenge of NLRB's 2020 joint employer rule in the D.C. Circuit; Columbia University lays off 180 researchers
May 6
HHS canceled a scheduled bargaining session with the FDA's largest workers union; members of 1199SEIU voted out longtime union president George Gresham in rare leadership upset.
May 5
Unemployment rates for Black women go up under Trump; NLRB argues Amazon lacks standing to challenge captive audience meeting rule; Teamsters use Wilcox's reinstatement orders to argue against injunction.
May 4
In today’s news and commentary, DOL pauses the 2024 gig worker rule, a coalition of unions, cities, and nonprofits sues to stop DOGE, and the Chicago Teachers Union reaches a remarkable deal. On May 1, the Department of Labor announced it would pause enforcement of the Biden Administration’s independent contractor classification rule. Under the January […]