Leora Smith is a student at Harvard Law School.
“Brexit” is happening. The BBC highlights five huge challenges ahead. Among them – significant changes in the UK’s approach to immigration. 2.2. million EU workers currently live in the UK and about 2 million UK nationals live in EU countries. All of these workers’ statuses will need to be clarified in the coming months. The BBC predicts tightened rules for newcomers’ benefits, and barriers for “low-skilled” workers looking to enter the United Kingdom.
In the United States, millions of families, and workers are also in a precarious position after the Supreme Court tied 4-4 in United States v. Texas. The Court’s deadlock means a ruling from the Fifth Circuit stands and President Obama’s executive actions that created “DAPA” (Deferred Action for Parents of Americans) and expanded “DACA” (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) cannot be enforced. The Fifth Circuit held that the president exceeded his authority in creating the programs. The states who brought the lawsuit acknowledged in their briefs that the president has the authority to defer deportations, but argued that the president does not have the power to confer any kind of legal status on people who do not have proper documentation of legal status. The Migration Policy Institute estimated that DAPA would have provided eligibility for work authorization for 3.6 million people, and that more than 10 million people live in households with at least one DAPA-eligible adult.
In better news for workers, New Jersey’s state Senate voted yesterday to approve legislation that will gradually raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2021, and ties future increases to the Consumer Price Index. It is unclear whether Governor Chris Christie will veto the new law or let it go into action. And in Chicago, (almost) all businesses (construction businesses excepted) must now provide a minimum of five paid sick days to all employees.
And a nice Friday-afternoon break – some beautiful vignettes of small business owners in an immigrant-rich, working-class neighborhood in New York City.
Daily News & Commentary
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April 19
Alabama and Louisiana advance anti-worker legislation; Mercedes workers in Alabama set election date; VW Chattanooga election concludes today.
April 18
Disneyland performers file petition for unionization and union elections begin at Volkswagen plant in Tennessee.
April 18
In today’s Tech@Work, a regulation-of-algorithms-in-hiring blitz: Mass. AG issues advisory clarifying how state laws apply to AI decisionmaking tools; and British union TUC launches campaign for new law to regulate the use of AI at work.
April 17
Southern governors oppose UAW organizing in their states; Florida bans local heat protections for workers; Google employees occupy company offices to protest contracts with the Israeli government
April 16
EEOC publishes final regulation implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Volkswagen workers in Tennessee gear up for a union election, and the First Circuit revives the Whole Foods case over BLM masks.
April 15
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of bakery delivery drivers in an exemption from mandatory arbitration case; A Teamsters Local ends its 18-month strike by accepting settlement payments and agreeing to dissolve