Labor

  • February 21, 2025

    Justices Knock Ala. For Immunizing State Officials

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ruled a group of Alabama unemployment applicants can pursue allegations that delays in the state's benefits review process violated their federal civil rights, holding a state law that requires litigants to exhaust administrative remedies before filing suit doesn't bar their procedural claims.

  • February 20, 2025

    Unions Call Mass Layoff Of Probationary Fed. Workers Illegal

    The U.S. Office of Personnel Management lacked the authority to order federal agencies to lay off tens of thousands of probationary employees, a group of unions representing federal workers argued in a new lawsuit in California federal court, looking to nullify the office's Feb. 13 mass-layoff directive.

  • February 20, 2025

    Barista, NLRB Agree To Put Constitutional Challenge On Ice

    A Texas federal judge on Thursday paused a constitutional challenge against the National Labor Relations Board from a Starbucks worker represented by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, after the parties requested a stay in light of former board member Gwynne Wilcox's suit over her firing.

  • February 20, 2025

    IRS Worker Layoff Could Hamper Enforcement, Groups Warn

    Congressional Democrats, tax and economic policy groups and an IRS workers union warned Thursday that the termination of thousands of Internal Revenue Service employees that began the same day could threaten the agency's ability to enforce tax laws and hamper taxpayer services amid tax-filing season.

  • February 20, 2025

    Unions Demand Insight Into DOGE's Agency Audits

    Worker and consumer advocates asked a D.C. federal judge Thursday to make the Department of Government Efficiency detail its probes into three federal agencies, arguing the information is needed to resolve their claims that the new entity's audits violate the public's privacy rights.

  • February 20, 2025

    2nd Circ. Agrees Parts Of NY Ag Labor Law Can Stand

    Portions of a New York agricultural labor law related to a card-check process for unionization and impasse arbitration can stand, the Second Circuit ruled, upholding a lower court's partial denial of an injunction bid from a farming group based on due process and other constitutional claims.

  • February 20, 2025

    Teachers At JCC Facilities Can't Unionize, NLRB Official Says

    Preschool teachers employed by a Jewish community center in and around Columbus, Ohio, can't unionize, a National Labor Relations Board official has ruled, saying the employer qualifies as a religious institution that the board lacks jurisdiction over. 

  • February 19, 2025

    '80s Diner Challenges NLRB's Authority At 5th Circ.

    An '80s-themed diner in Houston asked the Fifth Circuit to invalidate the National Labor Relations Board's finding that it violated federal labor law by firing eight strikers, challenging the board's authority and arguing that half the workers were supervisors unprotected by the National Labor Relations Act.

  • February 19, 2025

    NLRB Official Backs Count Of Ballot In Tied Trader Joe's Vote

    Trader Joe's objections to a 70-70 union representation vote at a Chicago store don't justify a rerun election, a National Labor Relations Board regional director concluded, finding a single challenged ballot from a transferred worker must be counted.

  • February 19, 2025

    Farmworker Advocates Seek Block On DOL Visa Approvals

    A farmworker union called on a Washington federal court to stop the U.S. Department of Labor from approving H-2A job orders that do not pay prevailing wages, arguing the practice depresses domestic wages.

  • February 19, 2025

    Local 11 Must Pay Health Fund's Atty Fees In Sanctions Fight

    An Illinois federal judge on Tuesday granted attorneys' fees in connection with work to file a sanctions motion against a union local in a federal benefits lawsuit against their multiemployer union health fund but reduced the total grant to about half of what was requested.

  • February 19, 2025

    NLRB Judge Dings Co. After Manager Pulled Gun On Workers

    A Louisiana landscaping company violated federal labor law when its managers fired, threatened, throttled and pulled a gun on a group of employees who confronted them about withheld pay, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled.

  • February 19, 2025

    DOL Nom Seeks Distance From PRO Act Support At Hearing

    President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. Department of Labor secretary said during a Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday that although she previously backed pro-organizing legislation as a member of the U.S. House, she is "no longer" a lawmaker and would follow Trump's agenda.

  • February 18, 2025

    Trump Exec Order Expands Control Over Independent Agencies

    President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday to limit the autonomy of independent agencies such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Federal Communications Commission by requiring them to submit draft regulations for presidential review.

  • February 18, 2025

    Ousted MSPB Chair Wins Temporary Block Of Her Firing

    A D.C. federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from removing the Democratic head of the Merit Systems Protection Board on Tuesday, dealing an initial blow to the administration's argument that limits on the president's power to remove agency officials are unconstitutional.

  • February 18, 2025

    NLRB Judge Nixes Labor Law Claims Against Ky. Hospital

    A hospital affiliated with the University of Kentucky did not violate federal labor law by withdrawing a union's recognition and not giving probationary employees a ratification bonus, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Tuesday, dismissing all allegations from an unfair labor practice complaint.

  • February 18, 2025

    Judge Probes Unions' Options In Bid To Block Fed. Layoffs

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge appeared concerned Tuesday with the havoc the president's downsizing initiatives may wreak on agencies and federal-sector unions but uncertain that those unions can ask the courts to step in.

  • February 18, 2025

    Judge Won't Hold DOL In Contempt In Farmworker Wage Suit

    A Washington federal judge has rejected a farmworker union's claims that the U.S. Department of Labor violated a court injunction by greenlighting H-2A contracts that do not include 2020 prevailing wage rates for the upcoming cherry and apple harvests.

  • February 18, 2025

    Constitution Advocacy Firm Backs Wilcox In NLRB Firing Row

    President Donald Trump flouted U.S. Supreme Court precedent and the U.S. Constitution when removing former National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox, the Constitutional Accountability Center argued in an amicus brief in Washington, D.C., federal court, urging the judge to greenlight Wilcox's expedited summary judgment bid.

  • February 18, 2025

    Calif. Biz Groups Want Block Of State's Captive Audience Ban

    Three California business groups have asked a federal judge to block the state's new ban on so-called captive audience meetings, arguing in a motion for preliminary injunction that the law is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act.

  • February 18, 2025

    White Verizon Worker Says Race Bias Got Him Fired

    A former Verizon employee urged a New York federal court to grant him a win in his lawsuit against his former employer and the Communications Workers of America, saying he was only fired for using the N-word because he's white and the union wished to avoid negative publicity.

  • February 18, 2025

    DC Court Asked To Block DOGE's Access To Taxpayer Data

    A federal judge should block the U.S. Treasury Department's reported provision of taxpayer data to the Department of Government Efficiency, halt DOGE's access and order its software uninstalled from Treasury systems, unions and advocacy organizations said in a complaint.

  • February 18, 2025

    DC Circ. Affirms Co. Must Bargain Despite Ballot Box Claim

    The D.C. Circuit on Tuesday denied a building management services company's challenge to a union representation election based on the claim that a National Labor Relations Board official left a ballot box unattended, supporting the board's conclusion that the business illegally refused to bargain.

  • February 18, 2025

    UNITE HERE Local Defeats Worker's Firing Grievance Claim

    A Boston-based UNITE HERE local defeated a fired casino doorman's claim that the union violated federal labor law by refusing to fight for his reinstatement, with a National Labor Relations Board judge ruling that the union had legitimate reasons for opting not to file a grievance about the discharge.

  • February 17, 2025

    Labor Groups Denied Block On DOGE's Agency Access

    A Washington, D.C. federal judge again declined to block Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing three federal agencies' data, saying worker and consumer advocates haven't shown that the department's agents don't belong.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • The Implications Of E-Cigarette Cos. Taking Suits To 5th Circ.

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in U.S. Food and Drug Administration v. R.J. Reynolds over the definition of an "adversely affected" person under the Tobacco Control Act, and the justices' ruling will have important and potentially wide-ranging implications for forum shopping claims, says Trillium Chang at Zuckerman Spaeder.

  • 4 Employment Law Areas Set To Change Under Trump

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    President Donald Trump's second term is expected to bring significant changes to the U.S. employment law landscape, including the potential for updated worker classification regulations, and challenges to diversity, equity and inclusion that are already taking shape, say attorneys at Debevoise.

  • 8 Lessons Yellow Corp. Layoffs Can Teach Distressed Cos.

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    A Delaware bankruptcy court’s recent decision, examining trucking company Yellow Corp.’s abrupt termination of roughly 25,500 employees, offers financially distressed businesses a road map for navigating layoffs under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, say attorneys at King & Spalding.

  • 10 Key Worker-Friendly California Employment Law Updates

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    New employment laws in California expand employee rights, transparency and enforcement mechanisms, and failing to educate department managers on these changes could put employers at risk, says Melanie Ronen at Stradley Ronon.

  • 7 Employment Contracts Issues Facing DOL Scrutiny

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    A growing trend of U.S. Department of Labor enforcement against employment practices that limit workers' rights and avoid legal responsibility shines a light on seven unique contractual provisions that violate federal labor laws, and face agressive litigation from the labor solicitor, says Thomas Starks at Freeman Mathis.

  • How Trump Presidency May Influence NLRB's Next Phase

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    Attorneys at Paul Hastings discuss how last year’s key National Labor Relations Board developments may progress once President-elect Donald Trump takes office, including the wave of lawsuits challenging the board’s constitutionality and two landmark board decisions that upset decades of precedent.

  • How Trump Admin May Approach AI In The Workplace

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    Key indicators suggest that the incoming Trump administration will adopt a deregulatory approach to artificial intelligence, allowing states to fill the void, so it is critical that employers pay close attention to developing legal authority concerning AI tools, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Top 10 Legal Issues This Year For Transportation Industry GCs

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    General counsel must carefully consider numerous legal and policy challenges facing the automotive and transportation industry in the year to come, especially while navigating new technologies, regulations and global markets, says Francesco Liberatore at Squire Patton.