Mackenzie Bouverat is a student at Harvard Law School.
Sunday saw almost 174,000 new cases of coronavirus. Hospital beds fill across the country, and most of California is returning to lock down (with a bizarre exception for retail establishments). As Rund reported on Friday, November saw the slowest rate of jobs growth since unemployment rates begun improving mid-summer. And the existing repertoire of pandemic aid programs are due to expire within the month: both Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation expire in most states on December 26th, and all Paycheck Protection Program disbursements will conclude by December 31. The Century Foundation reports that these expiries will push 12 million people off employment benefits. Finally, the Federal eviction moratorium will expire on December 31. The congressional stand-off for a coronavirus relief package persists, although the deadlock shows signs of waning as more GOP senators express support. The $908 billion 4-month package features a renewal of unemployment benefits, budget relief for state and local governments, and support for small businesses. It also protects businesses from liability in covid-related lawsuits.
The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint Wednesday charging the company with violating federal labor law for its 2019 termination of Laurence Berland, Kathryn Spiers, and others. The complaint alleges that the company unlawfully monitored and questioned several workers who were then fired for protesting against company policies, thereby “interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed in Section 7” of the National Labor Relations Act. The company, the complaint alleges, uses “terminations and intimidation in order to quell workplace activism.”
Both of the workers featured in the complaint were terminated after attempting to organize opposition to the technology giant’s retention of IRI Consultants, “a firm notorious for its anti-union agenda.” Laurence Berland alleges that he was fired in retaliation for his attempt alerting his coworkers of Google’s relationship with the consulting firm. Kathryn Spiers claims that she was fired because she created a pop-up message informing company employees who visited IRI’s website of their “right to participate in protected concerted activities.” Google defends both of the terminations on the basis of the fact that both of the employees had “violated company policy.”
Daily News & Commentary
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July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]
June 27
Labor's role in Zohran Mamdani's victory; DHS funding amendment aims to expand guest worker programs; COSELL submission deadline rapidly approaching