Lauren Godles is a student at Harvard Law School.
How do unpaid interns in D.C. get by? With a little help from their parents, of course. The New York Times profiled several unpaid interns in the nation’s capital who, unsurprisingly, either rely on significant parental support or must work nights and weekends to make ends meet. The Times reports that only “very few” of the thousands of Congressional interns are paid, while the White House pays none of its nearly 100 interns. Economists worry that free intern labor may lead to lower wages in Washington, while simultaneously creating a “glass floor” – effectively blocking access to prestigious positions for children from low and middle-income families.
The Democratic National Committee released its draft Party Platform last week, and the first substantive item is a commitment to raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour. Politico points out that this position represents a win for Bernie Sanders, who has been a key player in the Fight for $15. Meanwhile Hillary Clinton supports a $12 minimum wage, with higher wages in some urban areas. Last Friday, July 1, Oregon adopt a tiered minimum wage system that tracks Clinton’s model. Increases under Oregon’s plan are based on the population density of the employer’s location. The Democratic Platform also notably includes sick and family leave.
The Connecticut Department of Labor is offering free employment workshops to its residents this summer, and preliminary data from a study by MDRC suggests the state is on the right track. The New York Times reports that unemployed and low-wage workers who enrolled in job training programs over two years earned 14% more on average than the control group that did not participate in training. The exact amount of the increase varied based on the nature of the training, with those trained in I.T. earning significantly more than their counterparts in construction and environmental remediation.
Last week, the Minnesota Court of Appeals found, for the first time, an implied action for wrongful discharge under the Minnesota Fair Labor Standards Act. The surprising and expansive holding will allow affected employees to sue the employer for damages in addition to lost wages. Read more from JD Supra.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 11
Regional director orders election without Board quorum; 9th Circuit pauses injunction on Executive Order; Driverless car legislation in Massachusetts
July 10
Wisconsin Supreme Court holds UW Health nurses are not covered by Wisconsin’s Labor Peace Act; a district judge denies the request to stay an injunction pending appeal; the NFLPA appeals an arbitration decision.
July 9
the Supreme Court allows Trump to proceed with mass firings; Secretary of Agriculture suggests Medicaid recipients replace deported migrant farmworkers; DHS ends TPS for Nicaragua and Honduras
July 8
In today’s news and commentary, Apple wins at the Fifth Circuit against the NLRB, Florida enacts a noncompete-friendly law, and complications with the No Tax on Tips in the Big Beautiful Bill. Apple won an appeal overturning a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision that the company violated labor law by coercively questioning an employee […]
July 7
LA economy deals with fallout from ICE raids; a new appeal challenges the NCAA antitrust settlement; and the EPA places dissenting employees on leave.
July 6
Municipal workers in Philadelphia continue to strike; Zohran Mamdani collects union endorsements; UFCW grocery workers in California and Colorado reach tentative agreements.