Vail Kohnert-Yount is a student at Harvard Law School.
Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have unveiled their ballot initiative to undo the worker protections in California’s recently passed AB5 law. While these gig economy giants claim that drivers will receive guaranteed pay equal to 120% of the minimum wage, a study released yesterday by the UC Berkeley Labor Center came to a very different conclusion. After considering multiple loopholes—for example, drivers spend approximately 33% of their time waiting for rides, which they are unpaid and unreimbursed for—the study estimated that the pay guarantee for Uber and Lyft drivers is actually $5.64 per hour. “Harry Truman was president the last time the inflation-adjusted value of the minimum wage was that low,” the report by Ken Jacobs and Michael Reich read.
On Thursday, New York state lawmakers introduced a bill to definitively close a murky loophole that limits state liability for sexual harassment by elected officials. In New York, state employees who work for elected officials are not considered state employees for the purposes of New York sexual harassment law, and the federal anti-discrimination law, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, also excludes lawmakers’ personal staff. Previously, when two aides sued the Assembly alleging sexual harassment from their boss, their suit was dismissed—although the suit was refiled, and another judge ruled that the state could be held liable for the lawmaker’s actions. State Senator Andrew Gounardes, who introduced the bill, said, “It’s crazy to me. There’s no reason state employees should be gaslighted like this by their employers.”
Yesterday, the Philadelphia City Council unanimously passed legislation creating a “domestic worker bill of rights” in the city. The measure, which will allow domestic workers like nannies and cleaners to accrue paid leave and sick days, will apply to an estimated 16,000 workers, largely women of color. Because domestic workers lack the right to unionize under federal law, the bill also hopes to provide safeguards against abuse that domestic workers often experience.
To fill teacher vacancies in its high schools, a school district in Memphis has turned to an online company supplying remote teachers. The district plans to hire six teachers at five high schools, who will teach core classes by video conference to up to 750 students. Keith Williams, the executive director for the Memphis-Shelby County Education Association, said the district’s money should be spent to increase teacher pay instead of on remote teaching. “You get what you paid for,” he said. “We have a teacher shortage in this district for a reason.”
Survivors of a building collapse on a construction site in New Orleans last month have filed lawsuits alleging negligent construction practices. The collapse of the Hard Rock Hotel New Orleans project on October 12 killed three workers and injured many more, and the bodies of two who died in the collapse have yet to be recovered.
Daily News & Commentary
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May 16
Supreme Court hears a case about universal injunctions; Champion of workers' rights announces run for Colorado Attorney General; Sesame Street is officially union!
May 15
Unions in Colorado urge Governor Polis to sign Senate Bill 5; more than 1200 Starbucks workers go on strike; and IATSE calls on President Trump to reinstate Shira Perlmutter.
May 14
District court upholds NLRB's constitutionality, NY budget caps damage awards, NMB or NLRB jurisdiction for SpaceX?
May 13
In today’s News and Commentary, Trump appeals a court-ordered pause on mass layoffs, the Tenth Circuit sidesteps a ruling on the Board’s remedial powers, and an industry group targets Biden-era NLRB decisions. The Trump administration is asking the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to pause a temporary order blocking the administration from continuing […]
May 12
NJ Transit engineers threaten strike; a court halts Trump's firings; and the pope voices support for workers.
May 9
Philadelphia City Council unanimously passes the POWER Act; thousands of federal worker layoffs at the Department of Interior expected; the University of Oregon student workers union reach a tentative agreement, ending 10-day strike