Yesterday, adding to a prominent series of firings related to sexual harassment and abuse allegations, NBC fired Matt Lauer, the co-host of the channel’s most profitable franchise, “Today.” NBC News Chairman said NBC news had received an allegation that he had made inappropriate sexual contact with a subordinate and had reason to believe this was not an isolated incident. A day after defending Al Franken, Garrison Keillor was fired by the Minnesota Public Radio for inappropriate behavior. Keillor had been the host of NPR’s A Prairie Home Companion. Time reports.
Federal Judge Loretta Preska of the Southern District of New York ruled this week that the records related to the details of Donald Trump’s settlement of 1998 class-action lawsuit over dangerous labor conditions be unsealed. The documents were originally requested by Time Inc and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. They revealed that Donald Trump paid $1.375 million in 1998 to settle the claims of 200 undocumented Polish workers who were paid half the minimum wage for 12-hour shifts without any safety equipment, ripping up electrical wires and concrete in clouds of dust and asbestos to demolish the Bonwit Teller building, where the Trump Tower now stands. The New York Times reports.
Because of a scheduling glitch, American Airlines currently has about 15,000 flights scheduled from December 17-31 without a pilot, co-pilot, or both. The pilots’ union, The Allied Pilots Association, has opposed American’s tactics to fill those spots by tapping reserve or on-call pilots and offering overtime pay for some flights. They claim that American is violating its labor contract by imposing a solution without union input, and is improperly restricting premium pay. Reuters and The Washington Post reports.
The Japanese government plans to lower the number of overtime hours workers can work, in order to reduce the country’s long working hours. Earlier as reported on the blog here, several news sources reported cases of karoshi, or death by overwork. The plans may save the Japanese government by as much as 5 trillion yen. Reuters reports.
Daily News & Commentary
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April 24
NLRB seeks to compel Amazon to collectively bargain with San Francisco warehouse workers, DoorDash delivery workers and members of Los Deliveristas Unidos rally for pay transparency, and NLRB takes step to drop lawsuit against SpaceX over the firing of employees who criticized Elon Musk.
April 22
DOGE staffers eye NLRB for potential reorganization; attacks on federal workforce impact Trump-supporting areas; Utah governor acknowledges backlash to public-sector union ban
April 21
Bryan Johnson’s ULP saga before the NLRB continues; top law firms opt to appease the EEOC in its anti-DEI demands.
April 20
In today’s news and commentary, the Supreme Court rules for Cornell employees in an ERISA suit, the Sixth Circuit addresses whether the EFAA applies to a sexual harassment claim, and DOGE gains access to sensitive labor data on immigrants. On Thursday, the Supreme Court made it easier for employees to bring ERISA suits when their […]
April 18
Two major New York City unions endorse Cuomo for mayor; Committee on Education and the Workforce requests an investigation into a major healthcare union’s spending; Unions launch a national pro bono legal network for federal workers.
April 17
Utahns sign a petition supporting referendum to repeal law prohibiting public sector collective bargaining; the US District Court for the District of Columbia declines to dismiss claims filed by the AFL-CIO against several government agencies; and the DOGE faces reports that staffers of the agency accessed the NLRB’s sensitive case files.