Lauren Godles is a student at Harvard Law School.
With only 40 days to go until the presidential election, hundreds of tech companies have announced that employees will get a paid company holiday on November 8. While most of these companies are located in San Francisco, others have offices nationwide, including Spotify, About.com, and Wikipedia. Participating employers hope to reverse the recent downward trend in voting and possibly sway the federal government to announce a paid holiday as well. President Obama has previously endorsed the idea of a National Voting Holiday.
This week, Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United and the National Women’s Law Center released the results of an elucidating study called “Nightcare,” which explores the challenges faced by night-shift restaurant workers in securing childcare. Over the last three years, researchers interviewed 2,000 restaurant workers in New York City and conducted structured focus groups with others. One key finding is that nightcare is rarely available through licensed providers in workers’ neighborhoods, and workers must rely on informal networks during night shifts. In addition, the researchers found that, because many restaurant workers are tipped sub-minimum wage employees, they “vie for the highest earnings shifts at night and on weekends,” when childcare is least accessible—often forcing parents of young children to switch their occupations temporarily or permanently.
And, in international news, three prominent labor activists in China were sentenced to suspended prison terms this week. According to the New York Times, the activists have been “extremely effective at organizing workers to win higher pay and better conditions,” while China has been cracking down on labor organizing in the face of factories relocating to cheaper countries, such as Vietnam.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
July 4
The DOL scraps a Biden-era proposed rule to end subminimum wages for disabled workers; millions will lose access to Medicaid and SNAP due to new proof of work requirements; and states step up in the noncompete policy space.
July 3
California compromises with unions on housing; 11th Circuit rules against transgender teacher; Harvard removes hundreds from grad student union.
July 2
Block, Nanda, and Nayak argue that the NLRA is under attack, harming democracy; the EEOC files a motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought by former EEOC Commissioner Jocelyn Samuels; and SEIU Local 1000 strikes an agreement with the State of California to delay the state's return-to-office executive order for state workers.
July 1
In today’s news and commentary, the Department of Labor proposes to roll back minimum wage and overtime protections for home care workers, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by public defenders over a union’s Gaza statements, and Philadelphia’s largest municipal union is on strike for first time in nearly 40 years. On Monday, the U.S. […]
June 30
Antidiscrimination scholars question McDonnell Douglas, George Washington University Hospital bargained in bad faith, and NY regulators defend LPA dispensary law.
June 29
In today’s news and commentary, Trump v. CASA restricts nationwide injunctions, a preliminary injunction continues to stop DOL from shutting down Job Corps, and the minimum wage is set to rise in multiple cities and states. On Friday, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. CASA that universal injunctions “likely exceed the equitable authority that […]