Fight for $15 was a winner at the Democratic presidential debate on Thursday night. As Politico reports, when asked about their support for a $15 minimum wage bill, both Democratic candidates indicated their support. In a shift in Hillary Clinton’s platform, Clinton explained she would “set a national level of 12 and then urge any place that can go above it to go above it,” adding “[b]ut of course if we have a Democratic Congress, we will go to 15.” Previously, Clinton supported $12 rather than $15 citing President Obama’s former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers for support.
According to the New York Times, producers and actors in the original cast of “Hamilton” have come to an agreement, providing a share for original cast members in the musical’s profits. “Hamilton” makes about $500,000 a week in profits, and its profits will multiply as it begins its national and international tours. “Hamilton” isn’t the first show to establish profit-sharing for original cast members; “The Book of Mormon” famously still pays its original cast regular checks, and other shows such as “Rent” and “Avenue Q” established similar schemes. The president of Actors’ Equity emphasized the agreement’s significance in the broader discussion about how actors are compensated for contributions to developing shows.
Earlier this week, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sent a letter on behalf of eight states attorneys general to retailers they believe engage in “on-call scheduling,” requiring employees to be available during hours in which they are not getting paid to work. According to the Huffington Post, letter recipients include American Eagle, Payless, Forever 21, Uniqlo, and Coach. National Retail Federation explains, “Retailers need flexibility to adapt to changing conditions in a store, and they don’t need the government telling them how to do what they do best – run their businesses.” On the other hand, Michael Wasser, senior policy analyst at advocacy group Jobs for Justice, argues on-call shifts “push the business risk onto the backs of their employees,” where “the employees have no chance at the rewards that come with that risk.” You can read Schneiderman’s press release here.
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February 27
The Ninth Circuit allows Trump to dismantle certain government unions based on national security concerns; and the DOL set to focus enforcement on firms with “outsized market power.”
February 26
Workplace AI regulations proposed in Michigan; en banc D.C. Circuit hears oral argument in CFPB case; white police officers sue Philadelphia over DEI policy.
February 25
OSHA workplace inspections significantly drop in 2025; the Court denies a petition for certiorari to review a Minnesota law banning mandatory anti-union meetings at work; and the Court declines two petitions to determine whether Air Force service members should receive backpay as a result of religious challenges to the now-revoked COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
February 24
In today’s news and commentary, the NLRB uses the Obama-era Browning-Ferris standard, a fired National Park ranger sues the Department of Interior and the National Park Service, the NLRB closes out Amazon’s labor dispute on Staten Island, and OIRA signals changes to the Biden-era independent contractor rule. The NLRB ruled that Browning-Ferris Industries jointly employed […]
February 23
In today’s news and commentary, the Trump administration proposes a rule limiting employment authorization for asylum seekers and Matt Bruenig introduces a new LLM tool analyzing employer rules under Stericycle. Law360 reports that the Trump administration proposed a rule on Friday that would change the employment authorization process for asylum seekers. Under the proposed rule, […]
February 22
A petition for certiorari in Bivens v. Zep, New York nurses end their historic six-week-strike, and Professor Block argues for just cause protections in New York City.