Alexa Kissinger is a student at Harvard Law School.
The New York Times’s “Live Briefing” is tracking Day 3 of the Trump Administration’s Cabinet confirmation hearings. Today, General James Mattis, nominee for defense secretary, Rep. Mike Pompeo, nominee for CIA director, and Dr. Ben Carson, nominee for housing and urban development secretary will testify.
According to Business Insider, Amazon announced today that it would create more than 100,000 full-time jobs with benefits in the United States over the next 18 months, growing its U.S. workforce to over 280,000. Although Amazon has also been drastically expanding automation projects in some fulfillment centers, many of these new jobs will reportedly range from engineering to software-development positions.
In response to growing demand by customers, U.S. produce industry groups published a proposal for eliminating worker abuse in produce supply chains. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, the plan, termed the “Ethical Charter” is an “attempt to get the network of growers, distributors and retailers to follow basic values governing the treatment of workers, many of whom toil on large export farms in Mexico.” The two-page proposal sets out the aspirational goal of creating a channel for laborers to submit complaints, and calls for involved parties to “respect all laws and principles inspired by ‘international expectations.’” Individuals critical of the plan have lambasted the plan for feeble enforcement provisions, a lack of details or auditing processes, and ineffective methods of dealing with contract labor concerns.
Earlier this week in Karlo v. Pittsburgh Glass Works, the Third Circuit created a circuit split by holding that “‘subgroup’ disparate-impact claims are cognizable under the ADEA.” As reported in JD Supra, under this ruling, employees in a subgroup over 40 can bring disparate impact ADEA claims against their employer alleging that they were “disfavored relative to younger employees,” even if the younger employees are themselves 40 or older. The court parted from the Second, Sixth, and Eighth Circuits and relied on precedent in O’Connor v. Consolidated Coin Caterers. The opinion stated that “the fact that one person in the protected class has lost out to another person in the protected class is thus irrelevant, so long as he has lost out because of his age.”
The New York Times published a beautiful series of photos by Xyza Bacani, documenting the struggle of illegally trafficked migrant workers in Hong Kong and New York.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
February 21
In today’s News & Commentary, Trump spending cuts continue to threaten federal workers, and Google AI workers allege violations of labor rights. Trump’s massive federal spending cuts have put millions of workers, both inside and outside the federal government, in jeopardy. Yesterday, thousands of workers at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs research office were […]
February 20
President Trump's labor secretary pick retreats from some of her pro-labor stances during Senate confirmation hearing and Lynn Rhinehart discusses implications of NLRB and other agency removals.
February 19
In today’s news and commentary, Lori Chavez-Deremer’s confirmation hearing, striking King Soopers workers return to the bargaining table, and UAW members at Rolls-Royce authorize a strike. Lori Chavez-Deremer, President Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor, faces a Senate confirmation hearing today. Chavez-Deremer may face more No votes from Republicans than other Trump cabinet members. Rand […]
February 18
In today’s news and commentary, an air traffic union examines the impact of federal aviation worker firings, Southwest Airlines lays off 15% of its corporate workforce, and the NLRB’s General Counsel withdraws Biden-era memos Following the Trump Administration’s dismissal of hundreds of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), a […]
February 17
President Trump breaks campaign promise to support workers and Utah’s governor signs a law banning public sector collective bargaining
February 16
Unions fight unlawful federal workforce purges; Amazon union push suffers setback in North Carolina.