Vail Kohnert-Yount is a student at Harvard Law School.
The New Yorker reported last night that four women have accused New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman of sexual misconduct and physical abuse, including one woman who previously worked closely with his office. Schneiderman, who positioned himself as a champion of workers’ rights and women’s rights in the wake of the #MeToo movement, denied the allegations and abruptly resigned. The women’s stories raise important questions about holding government officials, law enforcement officers, and others in positions of legal power accountable for sexual misconduct and abuse. As one of his alleged victims asked, “What do you do if your abuser is the top law-enforcement official in the state?”
Rent the Runway CEO Jennifer Hyman wrote for the New York Times about why she equalized benefits for all of her company’s employees. Warehouse, customer service, and store employees at Rent the Runway now enjoy the same family leave benefits that corporate employees have. In fact, a recent study spotlighted in the Harvard Business Review shows that hourly workers need flexible policies like paid sick and parental leave the most but are often the least likely to get it. “It’s time for business leaders to step up and fulfill not only their fiduciary duty to shareholders, but also their moral duty to society to treat every worker equally,” Hyman wrote.
Bloomberg News revealed U.S. Department of Labor Solicitor Kate O’Scannlain‘s plans to rein in enforcement by DOL field offices. In response to an audience complaint about punitive wage-and-hour and federal contracting enforcement, O’Scannlain told a closed-door U.S. Chamber of Commerce meeting on Friday that she will soon issue a memo directing field offices to enforce and interpret the law in a way that’s consistent with Trump administration policy. O’Scannlain arrived at DOL four months ago, and three of the ten associate solicitors plus a regional solicitor have since announced their departures after lengthy civil service careers.
Finally, teachers’ strikes are not only happening in states like Arizona, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and West Virginia—but also across the globe in Iran. The Wall Street Journal reports that teachers’ strikes are among hundreds of recent labor protests in Iran as tensions over the country’s economic troubles rise. Striking workers say their employers owe them months of back wages, and President Trump’s announcement later today of his decision on the Iran nuclear deal may impact their payment prospects if economic sanctions are reissued.
Daily News & Commentary
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April 11
Trump considers measures to return farm and hospitality workers to the US after deportation; Utah labor leaders make final push to get the “Protect Utah Workers” referendum on the state’s ballot; hundreds of probationary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employees were re-terminated
April 10
Chief Justice Roberts pauses reinstatement of NLRB Chairwoman Wilcox and MSBP Chairwoman Harris, former EEOC Commissioner Samuels sues Trump alleging unlawful firing, and unions sue to block Trump executive order targeting collective bargaining agreements at federal agencies that have national security missions.
April 8
D.C. Circuit reinstates Wilcox; DOL attempts to trim workforce again; unions split regarding Trump tariffs
April 7
State legislatures threaten to expand E-Verify coverage; the EEOC enforces at least parts of its PWFA regulations.
April 6
In today’s news and commentary, Alabama enacts paid parental leave for state employees, a new jobs report could be upended by tariff policies, and labor unions help plan mass demonstrations across the country. In Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill that provides paid parental leave to state employees, including public school teachers. The law, […]
April 4
Colorado Senate Bill 5 sparks heated debate over union security thresholds; SEIU launches national ad campaign protesting detention of union members; 60,000 UC workers strike over alleged unfair labor practices.