Weekend News & Commentary — September 10-11, 2016

At The Washington Post, Bobby Allyn takes a look at credit reports.  Spurred by an error on his own report, Allyn tries to remedy the problem and encounters a bureaucratic morass one expert describes as “a black hole.”  Because of the frequent use of such reports by employers, the difficulty of resolving a disputed entry can have serious consequences for job applicants.

Building on our previous coverage, a deepening circuit split on class action bars written into employment contracts has now reached the Supreme Court two times in the past week.  A second employer has petitioned for certiorari, and Alison Frankel of Reuters speculates that the Court is likely to take one of the cases, which weigh provisions of the National Labor Relations Act and Federal Arbitration Act.

Yesterday, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York announced five million dollars in new spending on workplace safety training.  The program aims to increase employee reporting of dangerous conditions by improving worker knowledge of legal protections and reporting mechanisms.

In Boston this weekend, Senator Elizabeth Warren led demonstrations by union janitors for higher wages and increased access to full-time positions.  Several thousand workers and supporters marched throughout the city in rallies organized by the Service Employees International Union.