Maia Usui is a student at Harvard Law School.
Concerns continue to mount over Brexit. EU leaders are calling on Britain to make a speedy exit (“[T]his is not an amicable divorce,” said the European Commission president), but the consequences of its departure remain unclear. The Financial Times looks at what Brexit might mean for immigration, predicting greater barriers for immigrant workers. Many Leave campaigners have advocated for an immigration regime similar to Australia’s, which admits immigrants based on certain characteristics — language, qualifications, work experience — and enforces occupation-based quotas.
Meanwhile, in the United States, small steps are being taken to improve job opportunities for former prisoners. More than half of those released from prison will return within three years, without having found employment. The New York Times reports on an ambitious prison-to-work program in the Eastern District of Missouri and its recent successes matching former prisoners with the right employers.
Lastly, more businesses are starting to experiment with employee stock ownership programs (ESOPs), with now about 7,000 ESOPs nationwide. The New York Times explores the benefits of one such program at King Arthur Flour in Vermont, which has experienced significant growth since becoming 100% employee-owned — and which could become a model for other businesses, too.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
October 23
Employers increasingly shift health care costs onto workers and NYC proposes placing restrictions on fully automated customer service.
October 22
SCOTUS declines Wilcox appeal; Penn State research assistants win bargaining rights; SEIU sued over military leave firing.
October 21
DOL withdraws tipped-worker rule; Instacart settles hiring-bias claims; Phillips 66 locks out New Jersey refinery workers.
October 20
Korean unions oppose labor exemption bill; Portland city workers prepare for strike; UPenn grad student union looks to dismiss university filing
October 19
FDA reverses course on policy prohibiting off-duty union activity; FAA and NATCA reach deal to secure pay increase for air traffic controllers.
October 18
Federal judge again halts cancellation of the Bureau of Prisons’ CBA; tabletop gaming workers face roadblocks in union recognition.