Today’s News & Commentary—October 4, 2017
Richard Griffin, General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, sent an unusual letter to the Supreme Court to correct an answer he gave during oral argument in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis. Responding to Chief Justice John Roberts, Griffin said workers could be forced into an arbitration forum that barred group claims involving 50 or fewer people. His letter clarifies that the correct answer was actually given by Daniel Ortiz, a lawyer for the workers, who said workers had to be allowed to file joint complaints even with a group of 50 or fewer.
Ben & Jerry’s struck a deal yesterday to ensure that the dairy farms supplying it with milk provided humane conditions for their workers, reports The New York Times. The agreement between Ben & Jerry’s and a farmworker’s group in Vermont, where the company is based, creates labor standards and an enforcement mechanism to encourage workers to report violations.
The Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill that would send self-driving cars to market and bar states from issuing regulatory road blocks. The bill would allow automakers to sell up to 80,000 self-driving vehicles each year if they could demonstrate they are as safe as human driven vehicles. The bill would also grant the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration authority to exempt self-driving cars from certain federal safety requirements.
