Alexa Kissinger is a student at Harvard Law School.
President Trump’s nominee for Labor Secretary, Andrew Puzder, has been scheduled for a hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on February 16. This is the fourth time the hearing has been scheduled after delays which, according to The Hill, gave Puzder more time to separate himself from CKE, which owns the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s fast food chains. Today, Senate Democrats including Senator Chuck Schumer and labor advocates demanded President Trump withdraw the nomination.
According to a survey and report compiled by The Upshot, about 40 percent of Americans in their early twenties receive some financial assistance from their parents for living expenses. The report cites a rapidly changing labor market where skilled work is increasingly concentrated in high-rent metropolitan areas, making monthly expenditures such as rent difficult for young workers to keep up with.
Fortune published an article about what U.S. businesses might expect should Judge Gorsuch become Justice Gorsuch. According to the piece, Judge Gorsuch has recently ruled in favor of enforcing arbitration clauses and has favored employers in recent employment discrimination cases. If you’re interested in more details, check out previous On Labor pieces about Judge Gorsuch’s record.
Economist Jared Bernstein wrote a piece in the Washington Post evaluating pressures at play in U.S. labor markets and unemployment numbers. He argues there are three reasons we have yet to reach full employment: the underemployment employment rate is still too high; employment rates are still too low; and wage pressures are still too mild.
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 […]