The Supreme Court’s decision in NLRB v. Noel Canning yesterday affirmed the D.C. Circuit, finding that the President had exceeded his authority in 2012 when appointing three people to the National Labor Relations Board. During the 18 months that two of the three now-invalid appointees were seated, the NLRB decided 436 cases. The current board must now decide whether or not to protectively redo those rulings to shield them from challenges – if they do, the agency could be backlogged for months. At the Washington Post, Michael Fletcher has argued that “little is likely to change because those decisions are almost certain to be reaffirmed by the current board.” The Wall Street Journal reports, noting that in 2010, the labor board faced a similar decision that left nearly 600 cases in limbo. In the end, most of those cases were not brought back to the board.
Earlier this month, the International Labor Organization ratified a new treaty addressing forced labor, creating rules for governments and employers on prevention, protection and victim restitution. The efforts emerged from coordination between the AFL-CIO and organizations like the NDWA, IDWF, the National Guestworker Alliance and Human Rights Watch. Human Rights Watch reports on the proceedings, and the new Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 is available here.
The New York Times reports that an investigative firm – headed by a former federal prosecutor – has been hired to investigate the labor conditions surrounding New York University’s new Abu Dhabi campus. The investigations are opening after reports of wide-spread labor abuse were discovered by the Times, detailed here.
Yesterday, taxi-drivers protesting apps like Uber, Lyft and Sidecar gridlocked downtown D.C. Now, a labor lawyer from Boston has filed a class-action lawsuit in Suffolk County Superior Court, arguing that Uber improperly classifies some of its drivers as “independent contractors” rather than “employees,” shifting expenses that the company should cover onto the backs of workers. Boston Magazine describes the pending case, and the complaint can be found here.
Daily News & Commentary
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October 16
Department of Labor reduces wage-and-hour enforcement at unionized workplaces; Fain's victory poses question of federal monitor's extension.
October 15
New reporting examines the rollback of child labor protections; California tries to block a strike; NLRB charges Wisconsin mental health provider with firing workers during union drive.
October 14
Eleventh Circuit overturns ERISA exhaustion rule; DHS finalizes removal of automatic renewal for work permits; AFGE challenges SSA over flexible scheduling policy.
October 13
Chicago hotel workers remain on strike; a coalition of Democratic states sues the Labor Department over canceled unemployment insurance grants; the Federal Labor Relations Authority establishes a new mediation framework for federal worker disputes.
October 12
Workers at the Obama Foundation begin organizing; MLB submits its latest collective bargaining agreement proposal; Brigham & Women's nurses postpone strike.
October 11
UAW President Shawn Fain succeeds in his reelection bid, and Spanish unions call for a general strike.