Vail Kohnert-Yount is a student at Harvard Law School.
Amazon’s nationwide delivery network is made up of hundreds of small companies that exert tremendous pressure on drivers to deliver hundreds of packages, one almost every two minutes, for a flat rate each eight-hour shift. Buzzfeed investigated the resulting “chaos, exploitation, and danger” from Amazon’s seemingly single-minded focus on getting packages to customers on time. As Amazon’s delivery network has jettisoned safety protocols used by other delivery services including FedEx and UPS, drivers and those who share the roads with them have experienced rampant legal violations, injuries, and even death.
Apple and its manufacturing partner Foxconn admitted to violating Chinese labor law in the world’s largest iPhone factory, according to a new report from China Labor Watch. Bloomberg reported on CLW’s latest report, which revaled findings from undercover investigators who worked for years in Foxconn’s Zhengzhou plant. As of August, half of workers at the Zhengzhou iPhone factory were temporary workers, five times the legal maximum of 10%. Apple has repeatedly faced criticism for poor working conditions in its supply chain.
The Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal Act is slated for markup by the House Judiciary Committee this afternoon. Introduced by Rep. Hank Johnson and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the FAIR Act would ban forced arbitration of employment, consumer, antitrust or civil rights disputes.
The New York Times investigated how ghostwriting papers for American college students has emerged as a lucrative online industry, particularly overseas. But as foreign writers, many of whom are from countries with many English speakers such as Kenya, India, and Ukraine, increasingly join the industry, some sites selling academic writing have begun to tout their American bona fides, “in a strange twist on globalization and outsourcing.” One ghostwriting website listed “bringing jobs back to America” as a key goal. Although U.S. writers typically charge more per page, they claim to offer more passable writing products, without suspiciously foreign spellings or idioms.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
August 5
In today’s news and commentary, a pension fund wins at the Eleventh Circuit, casino unionization in Las Vegas, and DOL’s work-from-home policy changes. A pension fund for unionized retail and grocery workers won an Eleventh Circuit appeal against Perfection Bakeries, which claimed it was overcharged nearly $2 million in federal withdrawal liability. The bakery argued the […]
August 4
Trump fires head of BLS; Boeing workers authorize strike.
August 3
In today’s news and commentary, a federal court lifts an injunction on the Trump Administration’s plan to eliminate bargaining rights for federal workers, and trash collectors strike against Republic Services in Massachusetts.
August 1
The Michigan Supreme Court grants heightened judicial scrutiny over employment contracts that shorten the limitations period for filing civil rights claims; the California Labor Commission gains new enforcement power over tip theft; and a new Florida law further empowers employers issuing noncompete agreements.
July 31
EEOC sued over trans rights enforcement; railroad union opposes railroad merger; suits against NLRB slow down.
July 30
In today’s news and commentary, the First Circuit will hear oral arguments on the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) revocation of parole grants for thousands of migrants; United Airlines’ flight attendants vote against a new labor contract; and the AFL-CIO files a complaint against a Trump Administrative Executive Order that strips the collective bargaining rights of the vast majority of federal workers.