Adi Kamdar is a student at Harvard Law School.
Following last week’s nationwide injunction against the Department of Labor’s overtime rule, the Washington Post editorial board urged Congress to make the rule law. The board noted that five Republican senators earlier proposed a law phasing in the overtime rule’s higher salary threshold over a period of four years, with opt-outs for nonprofits and state governments.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said today that global growth will grow under the Trump administration, pointing at lower taxes and increased infrastructure spending, according to Fortune. As growth increases, OECD predicted unemployment will drop from 4.9% to 4.5% in 2018.
Tomorrow’s a big day for Uber: first, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) will hear arguments in a case that will affect Uber’s status across the continent, the New York Times reports. The case was filed by the Spanish taxi association, which claimed unfair competition. The Spanish judge referred the case to the ECJ to determine whether Uber is a transportation service, and thus subject to Europe’s strict labor laws, or a digital platform. Second, hundreds of Uber drivers are joining Fight for $15 protests tomorrow across the United States, Reuters reports.
The gig economy is looking to state legislation to settle disputes around benefits, according to Reuters. In New York, the online home cleaning company Handy has proposed a draft bill that “would establish guidelines for a portable benefits plan for New York workers at gig-economy companies.” Portable benefits are tied to the worker, not the hiring company. The bill classifies such workers as independent contractors as long as the companies they work for reach certain standards: companies are required to contribute 2.5% of each job’s fee toward an individual worker’s account, which she could use to purchase benefits.
Daily News & Commentary
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December 19
Labor law professors file an amici curiae and the NLRB regains quorum.
December 18
New Jersey adopts disparate impact rules; Teamsters oppose railroad merger; court pauses more shutdown layoffs.
December 17
The TSA suspends a labor union representing 47,000 officers for a second time; the Trump administration seeks to recruit over 1,000 artificial intelligence experts to the federal workforce; and the New York Times reports on the tumultuous changes that U.S. labor relations has seen over the past year.
December 16
Second Circuit affirms dismissal of former collegiate athletes’ antitrust suit; UPS will invest $120 million in truck-unloading robots; Sharon Block argues there are reasons for optimism about labor’s future.
December 15
Advocating a private right of action for the NLRA, 11th Circuit criticizes McDonnell Douglas, Congress considers amending WARN Act.
December 12
OH vetoes bill weakening child labor protections; UT repeals public-sector bargaining ban; SCOTUS takes up case on post-arbitration award jurisdiction