Edward Nasser is a student at Harvard Law School.
Public Citizen filed a lawsuit on January 19th asking Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to turn over copies of forms employers were required to file with the government. In 2017, for the first time, OSHA required companies with 250 or more workers and those in high-hazard industries with 20 or more workers to report summaries of their injury and illness records for the year prior. The Obama administration originally intended for such disclosure, but under the Trump administration, OSHA and the DOL reversed their position. The case is Public Citizen Found v DOL, D.D.C., No. 18-117, 1/19/18.
As the shutdown of the federal government drags into its first full workweek, federal agencies will each begin to implement their own contingency plans in full. Most government workers will report to work on Monday to learn if they will need to keep working or be forced to take unpaid leave. Each agency must determine which workers are essential to safeguarding human life or property and thus must continue. The Wall Street Journal reports some interesting examples: nearly 90% of workers at the Department of Homeland Security will continue to work while the Transportation Department will furlough just over 37% of its 55,000 workers.
On Sunday, The Intercept published a piece reporting on how the labor movement is looking ahead to a post-Trump world. The piece details how labor failed to gain the political capital to pass significant reforms in 1978 and 2009 that would have better protected workers and unions. Among the more ambitious proposals being floated as future goals are a push to end at-will firing, and a call for workers to demand their rights be treated as constitutional rights.
The Wall Street Journal reports on the changing face of labor and the effect a ruling against the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Janus might have. The piece includes charts and visuals about union participation rates in the public and private sectors as well as state by state breakdowns. Among the more interesting bits of information: union participation in Wisconsin, a state that famously passed a controversial right-to-work bill in 2015, has fallen 10% between 2000 and 2017.
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September 18
Senate Democrats introduce a bill to nullify Trump’s executive orders ending collective bargaining rights for federal employees; the Massachusetts Teachers Association faces backlash; and Loyola Marymount University claims a religious exemption and stops recognizing its faculty union.
September 17
A union argues the NLRB's quorum rule is unconstitutional; the California Building Trades back a state housing law; and Missouri proposes raising the bar for citizen ballot initiatives
September 16
In today’s news and commentary, the NLRB sues New York, a flight attendant sues United, and the Third Circuit considers the employment status of Uber drivers The NLRB sued New York to block a new law that would grant the state authority over private-sector labor disputes. As reported on recently by Finlay, the law, which […]
September 15
Unemployment claims rise; a federal court hands victory to government employees union; and employers fire workers over social media posts.
September 14
Workers at Boeing reject the company’s third contract proposal; NLRB Acting General Counsel William Cohen plans to sue New York over the state’s trigger bill; Air Canada flight attendants reject a tentative contract.
September 12
Zohran Mamdani calls on FIFA to end dynamic pricing for the World Cup; the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement opens a probe into Scale AI’s labor practices; and union members organize immigration defense trainings.