Labor

  • April 21, 2025

    Unions Demand Halt To DOGE's Info Access At DOL, HHS

    A D.C. federal judge must block Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing sensitive systems in the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services, unions argued in a preliminary injunction bid, saying the government's search for "waste, fraud and abuse" doesn't warrant access.

  • April 21, 2025

    Unions Score Block On Orders To Fire Probationary Workers

    A California federal judge blocked the Office of Personnel Management from ordering federal agencies to fire probationary employees and stopped several agencies from heeding its directives, but he declined to order them to rehire the workers they've already let go.

  • April 21, 2025

    Investors Seek Class Status On Equinix Capital Spend Claims

    A group of Equinix investors asked a California federal judge for class certification on their claims that the data center developer mislabeled spending on batteries, light bulbs and other maintenance expenses so two executives could collect bonuses of $150 million.

  • April 18, 2025

    Trump Moves For More Power To Hire, Fire Federal Workers

    The Office of Personnel Management on Friday proposed a rule that would give President Donald Trump's administration the power to hire and fire some 50,000 career federal employees, a move that federal worker unions say will allow the president "to replace qualified public servants with political cronies."

  • April 18, 2025

    DC Circ. Revives Fired Workers' Bias Suit Over Vax Policy

    The D.C. Circuit on Friday revived claims by two Black employees of a union who allege they were disparately affected by a COVID-19 vaccination policy where more Black employees than white employees were fired if they didn't get vaccinated, saying their racial discrimination allegations regarding the policy "cross the line from conceivable to plausible."

  • April 18, 2025

    Unions Score Injunction To Stop DOGE's Access To SSA Data

    The Social Security Administration cannot give Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency access to personal data within the agency's system, a Maryland federal judge ruled, saying the government "cannot flout" federal privacy law while granting an injunction to unions and a retiree advocacy group.

  • April 18, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Court Weighs $20M Raytheon Cos. Wage Deal

    In the coming week, attorneys should keep an eye out for potential initial approval of an almost $20 million class action settlement involving three Raytheon companies. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters coming up in California.

  • April 18, 2025

    Union Hits Kroger Chain With Counterclaim In Strike Suit

    The Kroger-owned grocery chain King Soopers violated a poststrike agreement with a United Food & Commercial Workers local by pressuring the union to agree to a collective bargaining agreement by an arbitrary deadline, the union alleged in a counterclaim in the company's strike lawsuit against it in Colorado federal court.

  • April 18, 2025

    NY Forecast: Judge Hears Hospital's Bid To Nix Race Bias Suit

    In the coming week, a New York federal judge will consider a hospital's request to toss a suit brought by a doctor who claims she was discriminated against on the basis of her race and gender and retaliated against when she complained.

  • April 18, 2025

    CFPB Mass Layoffs Blocked Again In DC Court

    A D.C. federal judge once again halted the layoffs of more than 1,000 employees of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, saying at an emergency hearing Friday morning that she needed a full record to determine whether the firings complied with a D.C. Circuit order from last week.

  • April 17, 2025

    NY Judge Scrubs Groups' Anti-Congestion-Pricing Claims

    A Manhattan federal judge on Thursday rejected claims from local residents and community groups alleging New York's revised congestion pricing tolls wrongfully discriminated against out-of-state commuters and unfairly benefited public transit riders instead of roadway users.

  • April 17, 2025

    DC Circ. Says Lateness Doomed Starbucks' NLRB Challenge

    The National Labor Relations Board was not obligated to accommodate Starbucks after its attorney filed a challenge to a board judge's ruling 23 minutes late, the D.C. Circuit ruled Thursday, holding that the board did not abuse its discretion by refusing to process the challenge.

  • April 17, 2025

    Tenet Asks Court To Enforce Dead Arbitrator's $546K Award

    Tenet Healthcare Corp. has asked a Washington, D.C., federal judge to require the Service Employees International Union to follow an arbitrator's final order to pay $546,000 after making derogatory statements, despite the arbitrator dying before ruling on the union's post-judgment reconsideration motion.

  • April 17, 2025

    AFL-CIO, Unions Can Pursue Some DOGE Access Claims

    The AFL-CIO, unions and advocacy groups may pursue allegations that Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency lacks the power to access data from the U.S. Department of Labor and other federal agencies, a D.C. federal judge ruled while tossing some claims under federal administrative and privacy law.

  • April 17, 2025

    Starbucks Dodged Union On Dress Code, NLRB Judge Says

    Starbucks violated federal labor law by punishing workers for wearing union T-shirts at a store in Jacksonville, Florida, without negotiating with their union first, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled, finding the discipline wasn't in line with the company's typical dress code policy enforcement.

  • April 17, 2025

    Littler Hires 5th DC Labor Atty From Akin In 4 Months

    Littler Mendelson PC has hired another member of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP's Washington, D.C., labor team, the fifth attorney from that group to move in the past four months, who helped represent the Pac-12 college football conference alongside several former colleagues he's now rejoining.

  • April 17, 2025

    NYC Strikes Deal To End Housing Workers' OT Suit

    New York City struck a deal to resolve a housing development worker's collective action accusing it of running afoul of the Fair Labor Standards Act by stiffing city employees on overtime wages, a federal court filing said.

  • April 16, 2025

    Unions Want 'Unlawful' Mediation Service Layoffs Blocked

    A coalition of unions on Wednesday asked a New York federal judge to order the Trump administration to immediately stop dismantling the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service while the unions challenge the layoffs at the agency in court, calling them "unlawful and unconstitutional."

  • April 16, 2025

    Southwest Moves Union's Sick Leave Fight To Federal Court

    Southwest Airlines has moved a union lawsuit challenging its sick leave settlement with the state of Colorado to federal court, after the union amended its complaint to add a proposed class of flight attendants also challenging the deal.

  • April 16, 2025

    Union Denied More Time In Feds' Bid To Bless CBA Rebuke

    A Kentucky federal judge has refused to delay an approaching hearing on the U.S. Department of the Treasury's bid to nullify its workers' union contracts, despite a union's assertion that it's been given little time to prepare for a consequential case and that it has yet to be served.

  • April 16, 2025

    Orgs. Sue DOL Over Termination Of Int'l Labor Rights Projects

    Three nonprofits have filed suit in D.C. federal court to have the U.S. Department of Labor reinstate cooperative agreements aimed at supporting workers' rights programs abroad, claiming that the department, at the direction of the Department of Government Efficiency, terminated the agreements based on "policy disagreement."

  • April 16, 2025

    Coalition Offers Free Legal Aid To Fired Federal Workers

    A coalition of organizations, including unions like the AFL-CIO and nonprofits like the nonpartisan legal volunteering network We the Action, has teamed up to connect the thousands of federal employees fired under the Trump Administration with free legal support, calling on lawyers across the U.S. to join their efforts.

  • April 16, 2025

    Starbucks Seeks Ax Of Board Ruling On Union Decert. Votes

    The National Labor Relations Board should rethink legal precedent that allows board officials to refuse to schedule union decertification elections at workplaces that stand accused of certain labor law violations, Starbucks told the board, asking it to overrule a 2022 decision.

  • April 16, 2025

    Pa. Judge Cuts Atty Fees To $950K In ERISA Deal Final OK

    A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that counsel representing two union elevator industry workers should be awarded $950,000 in legal fees, down from the attorneys' initial request of $1.7 million for settling a nearly 30,000-member class action over the management of a union 401(k) plan.

  • April 16, 2025

    Starbucks Wants 2nd Circ. To Reverse NLRB On 1-Pin Rule

    The Second Circuit must reverse a National Labor Relations Board decision finding that barring employees at a Manhattan Starbucks from wearing more than one union pin is illegal, the coffee giant argued, saying the board ignored a 2012 ruling from the same appeals court upholding the policy.

Expert Analysis

  • 6 Criteria Can Help Assess Executive Branch Actions

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    With new executive policy changes announced seemingly every day, several questions can help courts, policymakers and businesses determine whether such actions are proper, effective and in keeping with our democratic norms, say Marc Levin and Khalil Cumberbatch at the Council on Criminal Justice.

  • 5 Key Issues For Multinational Cos. Mulling Return To Office

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    As companies increasingly revisit return-to-office mandates, multinational employers may face challenges in enforcing uniform RTO practices globally, but several key considerations and practical solutions can help avoid roadblocks, say attorneys at Baker McKenzie.

  • 7 Things Employers Should Expect From Trump's OSHA Pick

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    If President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is confirmed, workplace safety veteran David Keeling may focus on compliance and assistance, rather than enforcement, when it comes to improving worker safety, say attorneys at Fisher Phillips.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Takeaways From 'It Ends With Us' Suits

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    Troutman’s Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter discuss how the lawsuits filed by “It Ends With Us” stars Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni hold major lessons about workplace harassment, retaliation and employee digital media use.

  • Issues To Watch At ABA's Antitrust Spring Meeting

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    Attorneys at Freshfields consider the future of antitrust law and competition enforcement amid agency leadership changes and other emerging developments likely to dominate discussion at the American Bar Association's Antitrust Spring Meeting this week.

  • NLRB Firing May Need Justices' Input On Removal Power

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    President Donald Trump's unprecedented removal of National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox spurred a lawsuit that is sure to be closely watched, as it may cause the U.S. Supreme Court to reexamine a 1935 precedent that has limited the president's removal powers, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • 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.