On Friday, the Trump administration announced that it will nominate Scott Mugno to lead the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Mugno, a safety official at FedEx Corporation, is an attorney who has worked at FedEx since 1994.
In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein’s firing (which we discussed here), and as details illuminating the unfortunate prevalence of harassment and assault in the entertainment (and other) industries emerge, a Los Angeles Times article overviews the sort of confidentiality agreements prospective workers in the entertainment industry are asked to sign. These agreements, the article explains, can be very broad and in some cases seem to require the prospective employee to agree not to sue for harassing behavior. On a similar theme, Tracie McMillan writes an op-ed for the New York Times about the prevalence of sexual harassment in the restaurant industry. McMillan urges for a change in culture in the industry, which she describes as facilitating the harassment.
On Monday, the NLRB announced that VIUSA Inc. (an industrial services contractor) will pay $21.6M to settle claims that it refused to hire workers represented by a particular union at a Ford Motor Co. plant in Kentucky, and forced those employees to join a different union. The funds will be distributed in part as backpay to former employees and prospective employees that the employer had refused to hire, and the remainder will be distributed to a pension fund as compensation for the employer’s failure to make benefit contributions.
In Moussouris v. Microsoft Corp., a case in which former employees accuse Microsoft of discriminating against women in pay and promotions, plaintiffs on Friday asked the court to certify a nationwide class of over 8,000 women. Plaintiffs argue, citing expert consultants, that the discrimination at Microsoft resulted in the loss of more than 500 promotions and $100M-$238M in pay to women employees.
Daily News & Commentary
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November 14
DOT rule involving immigrant truck drivers temporarily stayed; Unions challenge Loyalty Question; Casino dealers lose request for TRO to continue picketing
November 13
Condé Nast accused of union busting; Supreme Court declines to hear Freedom Foundation’s suit challenging union membership cancellation policies; and AFT-120 proposes a “Safe Sleep Lots” program for families facing homelessness.
November 12
Starbucks and the NLRB face off over a dress code dispute, and mental healthcare workers face a reckoning with AI.
November 11
A proposed federal labor law overhaul, SCOTUS declines to undo a $22 million FLSA verdict, and a railroad worker’s ADA claim goes to jury trial.
November 10
Meta unveils data center ads; partisan government emails blocked by judge; thousands protest in Portugal.
November 9
University of California workers authorize the largest strike in UC history; growing numbers of legislators call for Boeing to negotiate with St. Louis machinists in good faith; and pilots and flight attendants at Spirit Airlines agree to salary reductions.