On Tuesday, a House of Representatives bill to narrow the definition of joint employer passed out of committee in a party-line vote. The Save Local Business Act would limit employer liability under the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act to only those entities that “directly, actually and immediately” exert “significant control” over the terms and conditions of a worker’s employment. That amounts to a reversal of a 2015 ruling from the National Labor Relations Board, which held that a franchisor or general contractor is liable as a joint employer if it has indirect control over the terms and conditions of employment or if it reserved for itself authority to exert control over terms and conditions. There is no companion bill in the Senate, and prospects for passage look dimmer there.
Journalists arrived at the LA Times for work yesterday to find letters calling for unionization on their desks. This is the latest effort in an organizing drive that started in late 2016. The NewsGuild-CWA, which represents analogous workers at the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, reports that a majority of LA Times newsroom workers have already signed cards supporting representation by NewsGuild. Tronc, the Chicago-based company that owns the LA Times, has distributed anti-union flyers and conspicuously coached managers about discouraging unionization. 120 miles away, the San Diego Reader muses about how unionization at the LA Times might impact the San Diego Union-Tribune, also owned by Tronc.
Reveal News exposes an uncertified rehab-through-labor program that receives inmate-workers from court diversion programs. At Christian Alcoholics & Addicts in Recovery (CAAIR) in Oklahoma, recovery takes a back seat to chicken processing. Inmate-workers do hard, unpaid work. An inmate-worker profiled in the article was sent to CAAIR without a substance abuse problem because the judge thought his work ethic was lacking. He was hurt in a brutal accident and has been denied workers compensation on the theory that he was a client in rehab, rather than an employee at work.
The Wall Street Journal relays two recent studies that anticipate the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly jobs report. Payroll processor ADP finds that private-sector hiring generally grew less than expected in September, perhaps due to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Reviewing a different data set, the Institute for Supply Management finds that non-manufacturing work grew substantially in September and is now at its highest level since 2005.
Daily News & Commentary
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October 8
In today’s news and commentary, the Trump administration threatens no back pay for furloughed federal workers; the Second Circuit denies a request from the NFL for an en banc review in the Brian Flores case; and Governor Gavin Newsom signs an agreement to create a pathway for unionization for Uber and Lyft drivers.
October 7
The Supreme Court kicks off its latest term, granting and declining certiorari in several labor-related cases.
October 6
EEOC regains quorum; Second Circuit issues opinion on DEI causing hostile work environment.
October 5
In today’s news and commentary, HELP committee schedules a vote on Trump’s NLRB nominees, the 5th Circuit rejects Amazon’s request for en banc review, and TV production workers win their first union contract. After a nomination hearing on Wednesday, the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee scheduled a committee vote on President Trump’s NLRB nominees […]
October 3
California legislation empowers state labor board; ChatGPT used in hostile workplace case; more lawsuits challenge ICE arrests
October 2
AFGE and AFSCME sue in response to the threat of mass firings; another preliminary injunction preventing Trump from stripping some federal workers of collective bargaining rights; and challenges to state laws banning captive audience meetings.