Hannah Belitz is a student at Harvard Law School.
The Harvard University dining service workers’ strike continues. Students are rallying to the cause by joining the picket lines, buying food for the striking workers, setting up a fundraising page, writing op-eds, and more.

At the New York Times, Isabel Escolar argues for a “bill of rights” for housekeepers. After Escolar filed a wage theft lawsuit against an employer who refused to pay her earned wages, she “was shocked to learn how few rights [she] had under Illinois law.” Many federal labor laws do not cover domestic work, and although a handful of states have passed some form of a domestic workers’ bill of rights, most have not. That said, some efforts — including those of Escolar — have been successful: in August, Illinois became the seventh state to adopt a law to protect the rights of domestic workers. The six other states include Massachusetts, California, New York, Oregon, Hawaii, and Connecticut.
The Supreme Court of British Columbia has issued a judgment allowing three Eritrean workers to file a lawsuit against a Canadian company for alleged human rights abuses that took place in Eritrea. According to the Chicago Tribune, this is the first time that a Canadian court has recognized the ability of foreign claimants to file a lawsuit against a Canadian company for violations that took place overseas. The Canadian Centre for International Justice also notes that this “marks the first time that a mass tort claim for modern slavery will go forward in a Canadian court.”
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January 19
Department of Education pauses wage garnishment; Valero Energy announces layoffs; Labor Department wins back wages for healthcare workers.
January 18
Met Museum workers unionize; a new report reveals a $0.76 average tip for gig workers in NYC; and U.S. workers receive the smallest share of capital since 1947.
January 16
The NLRB publishes its first decision since regaining a quorum; Minneapolis labor unions call for a general strike in response to the ICE killing of Renee Good; federal workers rally in DC to show support for the Protecting America’s Workforce Act.
January 15
New investigation into the Secretary of Labor; New Jersey bill to protect child content creators; NIOSH reinstates hundreds of employees.
January 14
The Supreme Court will not review its opt-in test in ADEA cases in an age discrimination and federal wage law violation case; the Fifth Circuit rules that a jury will determine whether Enterprise Products unfairly terminated a Black truck driver; and an employee at Berry Global Inc. will receive a trial after being fired for requesting medical leave for a disability-related injury.
January 13
15,000 New York City nurses go on strike; First Circuit rules against ferry employees challenging a COVID-19 vaccine mandate; New York lawmakers propose amendments to Trapped at Work Act.