Vail Kohnert-Yount is a student at Harvard Law School.
Seven fast food chains will stop enforcing “no poaching” agreements at all of their locations nationwide after an investigation by 11 state Attorney Generals. About 80% of fast food workers are constricted by these anti-competitive clauses, which critics say is an illegal practice that drives down wages for millions of workers. Arby’s, Auntie Anne’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Carl’s Jr., Cinnabon, Jimmy John’s, and McDonald’s have agreed to drop the practice. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have introduced legislation in Congress to make the practice illegal.
Last week, President Trump signed an executive order that would enable his administration to choose administrative law judges for regulatory agencies including the NLRB. Such judges are typically promoted from the federal civil service, but the order will give greater power to Trump-appointed agency heads in the selection process. The move followed last month’s Supreme Court ruling in Lucia v. Securities and Exchange Commission, which upended regulatory procedures for appointments that have been in place since the 1946 Administrative Procedure Act.
A proposed regulation to relax child labor law to allow teenagers to work longer hours in hazardous jobs is one step closer to becoming law. The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division sent the proposed rule, which would change the Hazardous Occupations Orders that prohibit 16- and 17-year-old apprentices from training in certain dangerous jobs including roofing and operating chainsaws, to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on July 14. OIRA will review the proposal before it is published for public comment.
The DC City Council introduced legislation to overturn Initiative 77, also known as One Fair Wage, which voters passed by a 12% vote margin just last month. Seven Council members have already signed on to the repeal legislation, which needs seven votes to pass. Initiative 77 supporters are hoping to convince at least one Council member to withdraw their support or attempt to negotiate a compromise bill. In the meantime, Congressional Republicans introduced an amendment to block Initiative 77, by stipulating that “none of the funds made available under [the budget] may be used by the District of Columbia government to carry out the District of Columbia Minimum Wage Amendment Act of 2017.” DC was poised to become the first major U.S. city to phase out the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers.
Last week, the New York Times reported that “paychecks lag as profits soar” across the United States. While unemployment is at record lows and many industries complain of worker shortages, wages simply aren’t increasing even as prices are. As a result, according to the OECD, American workers’ share of the wealth they produce has fallen rapidly.
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April 24
NLRB seeks to compel Amazon to collectively bargain with San Francisco warehouse workers, DoorDash delivery workers and members of Los Deliveristas Unidos rally for pay transparency, and NLRB takes step to drop lawsuit against SpaceX over the firing of employees who criticized Elon Musk.
April 22
DOGE staffers eye NLRB for potential reorganization; attacks on federal workforce impact Trump-supporting areas; Utah governor acknowledges backlash to public-sector union ban
April 21
Bryan Johnson’s ULP saga before the NLRB continues; top law firms opt to appease the EEOC in its anti-DEI demands.
April 20
In today’s news and commentary, the Supreme Court rules for Cornell employees in an ERISA suit, the Sixth Circuit addresses whether the EFAA applies to a sexual harassment claim, and DOGE gains access to sensitive labor data on immigrants. On Thursday, the Supreme Court made it easier for employees to bring ERISA suits when their […]
April 18
Two major New York City unions endorse Cuomo for mayor; Committee on Education and the Workforce requests an investigation into a major healthcare union’s spending; Unions launch a national pro bono legal network for federal workers.
April 17
Utahns sign a petition supporting referendum to repeal law prohibiting public sector collective bargaining; the US District Court for the District of Columbia declines to dismiss claims filed by the AFL-CIO against several government agencies; and the DOGE faces reports that staffers of the agency accessed the NLRB’s sensitive case files.