Maddy Joseph is a student at Harvard Law School.
The New York City Council passed the country’s first law requiring ride-hailing apps like Uber to offer in-app tipping. New York’s in-app tipping requirement was first proposed to the City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission this spring in a petition by the Independent Driver’s Guild that garnered over 11,000 signatures.
Also this week, Uber’s long-awaited in-app tipping feature, which it announced late last month, went live nationwide.
California’s agriculture industry is turning to automation in an attempt to make up a growing labor shortage. As immigrant farmworkers age, the LA Times reports, they are not being replaced in the workforce. In response, the $47-billion industry has sought to shift from labor-intensive crops to those that can be harvested mechanically.
A new report by the Century Foundation advocates that “it is the time for unions and their allies to return to the rights-based rhetoric and constitutional legal strategies that preceded the passage of the National Labor Relations Act and the development of our current labor law regime.” The report outlines ten rights that should make up labor’s Bill of Rights.
The Upshot has an analysis of the two recent studies on Seattle’s minimum wage. The analysis suggests that the job losses seen in the University of Washington study, which it attributed to the minimum wage increase, might instead “reflect the limitations of studying a single experiment . . . . [S]ome sort of control group is needed.” See some of our previous coverage of the studies here.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
September 17
Unions push to block Google from buying Spirit Airlines employment records; U.S. Department of Labor sues Oklahoma coffee chain over alleged wage violations.
September 16
Trump nominates Catherine Eschbach as EEOC general counsel; NLRB declines to resolve union work-assignment dispute; Allina Health physicians begin four-day strike.
September 15
Documents reveal the inner workings of Amazon's union avoidance program; Washington state public sector unions reach tentative deals amid a difficult bargaining cycle; hundreds of Nevada Culinary Union members protest their union's health care changes.
September 14
NCAA and Big Ten file motion to dismiss in former star player's NIL suit; Seventh Circuit rules against former postal worker in discrimination suit.
September 13
Documents released on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks show that city officials encouraged workers to return to Ground Zero despite knowing the risks of asbestos exposure, and new polls demonstrate continued widespread support for labor unions.
September 10
Amazon workers allege pregnancy discrimination; federal unions challenge USDA reorganization; NYC warns of silicosis risks.