Today’s News & Commentary — July 10, 2017

Recently, a federal magistrate judge in San Francisco ruled to allow a labor lawsuit against GrubHub to go forward, denying the company’s motion for summary judgment.  Lawson v. GrubHub was first filed in 2015, and it is one example of an ongoing case that could help answer the question of whether gig economy workers should be classified as contractors or as employees.

The Fifth Circuit recently reaffirmed the view of many courts that “regular work-site attendance” is essential to most jobs, a position that is in tension with the Americans with Disabilities Act.  In Credeur v. Louisiana, the court held that a lawyer in the Louisiana state attorney general’s office is not entitled to telecommute as an accommodation for complications from kidney transplant surgery.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to focus on private-sector hiring, rather than pubic spending, to spur employment recovery drew praise from French business leaders, reports the Wall Street Journal.  At an annual summer retreat, French business elite generally expressed support for President Macron’s plans to loosen rigid labor rules, while some cautioned that the measures will take time to take effect, given the fact that the overall unemployment rate is nearly ten percent, and about a quarter of young people are unemployed.

The New York Times reports that this week, U.S. Representative Joseph Crowley and other Democratic members of the New York congressional delegation are set to introduce the 9/11 Immigrant Worker Freedom Act, a bill that would give green cards to undocumented immigrants who served in the rescue, recovery, and cleanup efforts after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  “They served our country when we needed a hand, and now we are only showing them, unfortunately, the back of ours,” Mr. Crowley said at a news conference outside City Hall on Sunday. “Instead of gratitude, they are being shown the door.”