Emily Miller is a student at Harvard Law School.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the Department of Labor plans to roll out a new pilot program next month in which employers may avoid civil penalties for wage and hour violations in exchange for voluntarily reporting their infractions to the federal government. Under the program, which is expected to run for a six month trial period, employers would still owe any back wages to employees who were underpaid, and any employee who accepted back wages would waive their right to sue their employer for the violation. Although DOL has argued that such a program will encourage voluntary auditing by employers and facilitate compliance with the law, the program faces opposition from the National Employment Law Project; Judi Conti, the federal advocacy coordinator for NELP called it a “get out of jail free card” for employers.
The nation’s labor unions are finding themselves at the center of next week’s special election for Pennsylvania’s 18th District, according to the Boston Herald. The election will be the first of several in 2018 to test whether the Democratic Party can regain the support of working class voters such as those in the Distract, which Donald Trump won by 20 percentage points. President Trump will be speaking to the voters this Saturday, just days after he announced his plan to impose a steel tariff to save the domestic steel industry. Before Trump won the election in 2016, the region, which has over 17,000 steelworkers, had voted for Obama in 2008 and 2012.
Yesterday, United Airlines announced that they would “press the pause button” on proposed changes to their compensation plan in response to an outcry from United employees who signed online petitions protesting the changes. Last week, United announced they would be replacing employees’ quarterly incentive payments with the chance to enter a lottery in which workers, selected at random, could receive cash or other prizes. United’s prior, incentive-based program, rewarded flight attendants, pilots, and gate agents for meeting certain goals, while the lottery based program would reward far fewer employees, selected at random from a list of those with perfect attendance.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]
June 27
Labor's role in Zohran Mamdani's victory; DHS funding amendment aims to expand guest worker programs; COSELL submission deadline rapidly approaching
June 26
A district judge issues a preliminary injunction blocking agencies from implementing Trump’s executive order eliminating collective bargaining for federal workers; workers organize for the reinstatement of two doctors who were put on administrative leave after union activity; and Lamont vetoes unemployment benefits for striking workers.
June 25
Some circuits show less deference to NLRB; 3d Cir. affirms return to broader concerted activity definition; changes to federal workforce excluded from One Big Beautiful Bill.