Labor

  • March 28, 2025

    Plan Administrator Wins Electric Co.'s Union Healthcare Fight

    An electric company can't use the Employee Retirement Income Security Act to claw back contributions to a union healthcare plan that weren't put toward benefits, a New York federal judge said Friday, tossing the company's suit against the plan's administrator.

  • March 28, 2025

    DOD Seeks To Void Union Deals Over Efficiency Concerns

    The U.S. Department of Defense and other agencies asked a Texas federal judge to bless President Donald Trump's move to end collective bargaining with their workers, saying in a new suit that their union deals are hampering national security by inhibiting the president's federal workforce shakeup.

  • March 28, 2025

    Ex-Chicago Firefighter's Vaccine Bias Suit Fails, For Now

    The city of Chicago dodged a former firefighter's lawsuit claiming he was fired for not complying with the city's COVID-19 vaccination policy after being given a religious exemption, with an Illinois federal judge ruling Friday he failed to show he was also exempt from the policy's testing requirement.

  • March 28, 2025

    NY Forecast: 2nd Circ. Weighs City Worker's Free Speech Suit

    This week, the Second Circuit will consider an attempt from the former city planner for Newburgh, New York, to revive her lawsuit claiming she was fired for advocating that the city adopt antiracism policies for the city's housing initiatives.

  • March 28, 2025

    Judge 'Cannot Look Away,' Halts Trump Admin Cuts At CFPB

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge on Friday blocked the Trump administration from stopping work and pursuing mass firings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, saying she had to take action to spare the agency from potential illegal "destruction."

  • March 28, 2025

    Trump Can Fire NLRB, MSPB Members, DC Circ. Says

    A split D.C. Circuit panel on Friday paused district court orders restoring fired members of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board to work, once again removing them from their posts while the president's challenges play out.

  • March 28, 2025

    Plumber's Union Ties Cost Him Shot At Job, NLRB Judge Says

    A Minnesota plumbing company illegally turned away an applicant because of his union ties, a National Labor Relations Board judge concluded, saying the snub placed the company on the hook for a National Labor Relations Act violation.

  • March 28, 2025

    Jackson Lewis Names New Leader In White Plains, NY

    Nationwide employment law firm Jackson Lewis PC has promoted Michael L. Abitabilo from office litigation manager to office managing principal in White Plains, New York, the firm has announced.

  • March 28, 2025

    Starbucks Illegally Banned Union Backers, NLRB Judge Says

    Starbucks unlawfully suspended union supporters at a South Carolina cafe and temporarily closed the store, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, finding the workers' actions, such as demanding raises from a manager, did not lose protection under federal labor law.

  • March 28, 2025

    UAW Beats Black Truck Driver's Bias Claim

    The United Auto Workers escaped a former Howmet Aerospace Inc. employee's lawsuit claiming the union failed to adequately challenge his termination because he's Black, with an Ohio federal judge saying he'd failed to identify a non-Black colleague who received the representation he felt he was owed.

  • March 28, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: 9th Circ. Hears Trucker Piece-Rate Args

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for Ninth Circuit oral arguments in a proposed class action that revolves around a transportation company's alleged piece-rate pay policy. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • March 28, 2025

    Judge Blocks Trump Shutdown Of Voice Of America

    A Manhattan federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's move to gut the agency that controls international news outlet Voice of America, saying it appeared to be a "classic case" of arbitrary policymaking.

  • March 27, 2025

    Trump Targets National Security Workers' Bargaining Rights

    President Donald Trump on Thursday issued an executive order ending collective bargaining with unions representing workers at a number of agencies "with national security missions," saying that allowing the workers to bargain is "dangerous" in agencies with such responsibilities.

  • March 27, 2025

    Trump Can Fire Agency Officials He Distrusts, DC Circ. Told

    The White House laid out reasoning Thursday for asking the D.C. Circuit to bless President Donald Trump's firing of two Merit Systems Protection Board and National Labor Relations Board members, saying their reinstatement by lower courts interfered with executive authority and saddled Trump with officials "who lack his trust."

  • March 27, 2025

    Fired Immigrant Advocate Gets $225K In Labor Deal

    A National Labor Relations Board judge has approved a $225,000 settlement in a case accusing a nonprofit immigration legal services agency of illegally discharging an attorney, bringing an end to a year-old challenge to the lawyer's December 2023 firing.

  • March 27, 2025

    NLRB Declines Precedent Shift For Bargaining Over Discipline

    The National Labor Relations Board tossed on Thursday an allegation that Starbucks violated federal labor law by not negotiating with Workers United over the discipline of a worker, declining to shift precedent on an employer's bargaining obligation with a union that hasn't notched a first contract.

  • March 27, 2025

    Starbucks Disputes NLRB's Subpoena Order At 5th Circ.

    The Fifth Circuit must not enforce a National Labor Relations Board decision dinging Starbucks for unlawful subpoenas that sought employees' recordings of management and communications with Workers United, the coffee giant argued, challenging the board's application of 30-year-old precedent about discovery.

  • March 27, 2025

    3rd Circ. Says Pension Law OKs Suits To Enforce Settlements

    A Teamsters pension fund can go after a bankrupt dairy business's affiliates for the $39 million that the business owes the fund under the terms of a settlement, the Third Circuit ruled Thursday, saying the fund has a viable cause of action under the Multiemployer Pension Plan Amendments Act.

  • March 27, 2025

    Fan Co. Tries Again To Stop NLRB Case, Citing Wilcox Firing

    A fan-maker is seeking for the second time to halt an upcoming unfair labor practice proceeding, telling a Missouri federal judge that the administrative case should be put on hold until the U.S. Supreme Court has considered whether NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox's firing was illegal.

  • March 27, 2025

    NLRB Tells 5th Circ. Constitutionality Suit Should Proceed

    The National Labor Relations Board urged the Fifth Circuit not to grant a union's bid to throw out suits SpaceX and two other companies launched challenging the board's constitutionality, saying the dispute remains live even if the Trump administration's views change an aspect of the litigation.

  • March 27, 2025

    9th Circ. Won't Stay Injunction Compelling Fed. Worker Rehire

    A split Ninth Circuit panel has refused to block an injunction compelling the Trump administration to reinstate about 16,000 probationary employees to six federal agencies, saying the administration will likely lose its argument that the agencies weren't acting on an order from above when they fired the workers.

  • March 26, 2025

    Ex-IATSE Officer's Discipline Claims Over Porn Issue Survive

    A New Mexico federal court on Wednesday sustained some claims from a former vice president for an International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees affiliate who said he was wrongly disciplined after raising concerns about another officer's name appearing on porn websites, while dismissing other allegations under federal racketeering and state laws.

  • March 26, 2025

    Union's Actions Sink Suit Against USPS Over Arbitral Award

    The American Postal Workers Union doomed its lawsuit seeking to compel the U.S. Postal Service to comply with an arbitration award by also trying to force compliance through the arbitration mechanism in their collective bargaining agreement, a Washington, D.C., federal judge ruled, saying he now lacks jurisdiction.

  • March 26, 2025

    Past DOL Officials Share Advice For New Leadership

    As the U.S. Department of Labor leadership takes shape under President Donald Trump and proceeds on wage and hour and other policy priorities, former officials say the new top brass should listen to career staffers and keep enforcement actions fair. Here is what the former officials told Law360.

  • March 26, 2025

    Trump's DEI Firings Are Discriminatory, Fed Workers Claim

    Former federal workers asked an employment board Wednesday to reinstate them to jobs they lost because of President Donald Trump's executive orders shuttering all government diversity, equity and inclusion positions, stating the firings illegally targeted their assumed political beliefs and fell disproportionately hard on workers who weren't white men.

Expert Analysis

  • Weathering Policy Zig-Zags In Gov't Contracting Under Trump

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    To succeed amid the massive shift in federal contracting policies heralded by President Donald Trump's return to office, contractors should be prepared for increased costs and enhanced False Claims Act enforcement, and to act swiftly to avail themselves of contractual remedies, says Jacob Scott at Smith Currie.

  • Making The Case For Rest In The Legal Profession

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    For too long, a culture of overwork has plagued the legal profession, but research shows that attorneys need rest to perform optimally and sustainably, so legal organizations and individuals must implement strategies that allow for restoration, says Marissa Alert at MDA Wellness, Carol Ross-Burnett at CRB Global, and Denise Robinson at The Still Center.

  • 2 Areas Of Labor Law That May Change Under Trump

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    Based on President Donald Trump's recent moves, employers should expect to see significant changes in the direction of law coming out of the National Labor Relations Board, particularly in two areas where the Trump administration will seek to roll back the Biden NLRB's changes, says Daniel Johns at Cozen O’Connor.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'Late Night' Shows DEI Is More Than Optics

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    Amid the shifting legal landscape for corporate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, Troutman's Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter chat with their firm's DEI committee chair, Nicole Edmonds, about how the 2019 film "Late Night" reflects the challenges and rewards of fostering meaningful inclusion.

  • Considerations As Trump Admin Continues To Curtail CFPB

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    Recent sweeping moves from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new leadership have signaled a major shift in the agency's trajectory, and regulated entities should prepare for broader implications in both the near and long term, say attorneys at Pryor Cashman.

  • NCAA Rulings Signal Game Change For Athlete Classification

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    A Tennessee federal court's recent decision in Pavia v. NCAA adds to a growing call to consider classifying college athletes as employees under federal law, a change that would have unexpected, potentially prohibitive costs for schools, says J.R. Webster Cucovatz at Gilson Daub.

  • How DOGE's Severance Plan May Affect Federal Employees

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    President Donald Trump's administration, working through the Department of Government Efficiency, recently offered a severance package to nearly all of the roughly 2 million federal employees, but unanswered questions about the offer, coupled with several added protections for government workers, led to fewer accepted offers than expected, says Aaron Peskin at Kang Haggerty.

  • Rethinking 'No Comment' For Clients Facing Public Crises

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    “No comment” is no longer a cost-free or even a viable public communications strategy for companies in crisis, and counsel must tailor their guidance based on a variety of competing factors to help clients emerge successfully, says Robert Bowers at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Axed ALJ Removal Protections Mark Big Shift For NLRB

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    A D.C. federal court's recent decision in VHS Acquisition Subsidiary No. 7 v. National Labor Relations Board removed long-standing tenure protections for administrative law judges by finding they must be removable at will by the NLRB, marking a significant shift in the agency's ability to prosecute and adjudicate cases, say attorneys at Proskauer.

  • The Future Of ALJs At NLRB And DOL Post-Jarkesy

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    In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2024 Jarkesy ruling, several ongoing challenges to the constitutionality of the U.S. Department of Labor's and the National Labor Relations Board's administrative law judges have the potential to significantly shape the future of administrative tribunals, say attorneys at Wiley Rein.

  • Water Cooler Talk: 'Harry Potter' Reveals Magic Of Feedback

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    Troutman Pepper's Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter chat with Wicker Park Group partner Tara Weintritt about various feedback methods used by "Harry Potter" characters — from Snape's sharp and cutting remarks to Dumbledore's lack of specificity and Hermione's poor delivery — and explore how clear, consistent and actionable feedback can transform workplaces.

  • What To Expect From Trump's Deputy Labor Secretary Pick

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    President Donald Trump's nominee for deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor, Keith Sonderling, has a track record of prioritizing clear guidance on both traditional and cutting-edge issues, which can provide insight into what employers can expect from his leadership, say attorneys at Littler.

  • A Look At Order Ending Federal Contractor Affirmative Action

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    To comply with President Donald Trump's executive order revoking affirmative action requirements in the next 90 days, federal contractors should focus on identification of protected groups, responsibilities of "diversity officer" positions and annual compliance reviews, says Jeremy Burkhart at Holland & Knight.