Anita Alem is a student at Harvard Law School.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument regarding whether a worker who has signed a private arbitration agreement, under which all legal disputes must be handled outside of court, may sue their employer in court under a California labor law that permits private people to bring a public enforcement action. The law, called the Private Attorneys General Act, authorizes private individuals to sue employers for California labor code violations; if the lawsuit is successful, the damages are split with the state. The Court considered whether the California labor law is preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), a 1925 law that the Court has interpreted broadly over the past several decades. Viking River Cruises was the second FAA case the Supreme Court heard this week, after Monday’s oral argument in Saxon regarding what class of workers are exempted from the FAA as interstate employees, as Tala reported on Tuesday.
The Bessemer, Alabama Amazon warehouse union election, which ran via mail from February 4 to March 25, had only 39% turnout according to the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union (RWDSU). The election is the second attempt in the Bessemer warehouse. As Jon Levitan reported last November, the NLRB determined Amazon interfered within the previous election, which had 55% turnout, in part because Amazon installed a mailbox to intimidate workers into thinking the company would have access to union ballots. Ballot counting in this election will begin as early as Thursday.
Daily News & Commentary
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October 14
Census Bureau layoffs, Amazon holiday hiring, and the final settlement in a meat producer wage-fixing lawsuit.
October 13
Texas hotel workers ratify a contract; Pope Leo visits labor leaders; Kaiser lays off over two hundred workers.
October 12
The Trump Administration fires thousands of federal workers; AFGE files a supplemental motion to pause the Administration’s mass firings; Democratic legislators harden their resolve during the government shutdown.
October 10
California bans algorithmic price-fixing; New York City Council passes pay transparency bills; and FEMA questions staff who signed a whistleblowing letter.
October 9
Equity and the Broadway League resume talks amid a looming strike; federal judge lets alcoholism ADA suit proceed; Philadelphia agrees to pay $40,000 to resolve a First Amendment retaliation case.
October 8
In today’s news and commentary, the Trump administration threatens no back pay for furloughed federal workers; the Second Circuit denies a request from the NFL for an en banc review in the Brian Flores case; and Governor Gavin Newsom signs an agreement to create a pathway for unionization for Uber and Lyft drivers.