Mackenzie Bouverat is a student at Harvard Law School.
The house is poised to vote on bills aimed at fighting bias in the workplace. The first repeals a Trump-era U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule. The rule concerns the EEOC’s conciliation process, which is a means of resolving disputes over allegations of workplace bias after the agency has determined an employer discriminated against an employee prior to the EEOC bringing suit against that employer. If the worker and employer do not reach agreement during this process, the agency can then sue that employer. The rule, finalized in the last days of the Trump administration and now up for repeal, required the EEOC to furnish employers with information during conciliation concerning the agency’s legal position and findings of alleged workplace discrimination, including the identity of harassers or at-fault supervisors and potential class sizes. Workers’ rights groups disapproved of the Trump-era rule, arguing that it disadvantaged workers during settlement negotiations. The second bill is the Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act (H.R. 2062). It aims to make it easier for workers to bring age discrimination suits against their employer, overriding a U.S. Supreme Court standard that generally requires workers to show that age was the sole cause for a negative employment action, rather than a motivating factor.
Zach reported yesterday on the poor working conditions endured by Amazon workers during so-called “Prime Week.” Planning to strike while the iron is hot, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters yesterday announced the “Amazon Project,” a plan to ratchet up efforts to unionize workers at Amazon.com Inc. Tweeting that Amazon workers will “build the power it takes to raise standards,” the union plans to establish a company-specific division targeting workers at the notorious union-buster and logistics giant. “The International Brotherhood of Teamsters recognizes that there is no clearer example of how America is failing the working class than Amazon,” according to a copy of the resolution. “From its start as a book retailer, Amazon has grown to become an e-commerce giant and has disrupted industry after industry and displaced hundreds of thousands of jobs.”
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
February 7
In today’s News and Commentary, the NLRB withdraws its objections to SpaceX’s constitutional challenge, Whole Foods asks the NLRB to set aside a union election in Philadelphia, and the AFL-CIO launches a campaign to push back against Musk. The NLRB filed a letter with the Fifth Circuit indicating it would not address SpaceX’s challenge to […]
February 6
Gwynne Wilcox files lawsuit challenging her removal from the NLRB, and unions file a lawsuit challenging DOJE's request to access Department of Labor information.
February 5
Trump's disagreements with Abruzzo & Wilcox, Dollar General's plan for ICE agents, remote work in federal CBA's.
February 4
In today's news and commentary King Soopers workers announce a strike, Congressman Biggs introduces a bill to abolish OSHA, the UAW announces willingness to support Trump's tariffs, and Yale New Haven Health System faces a wage and hour class action.
February 2
President Trump seeks to nullify recent collective bargaining agreements with federal workers; Trump fired the NLRB’s acting General Counsel; Costco and the Teamsters reach a tentative deal averting a strike; Black History Month began yesterday with the theme African Americans and Labor
January 31
In today’s news and commentary, AFGE and AFSCME sue Trump for an Executive Order stripping protections from government employees, Trump fires members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Amazon shutters operations in the entirety of Quebec in response to union successes. On Wednesday, two unions representing government employees–American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and […]