Labor

  • April 01, 2025

    4th Circ. Rejects Appeal From DOGE Of SSA Probe Order

    The Fourth Circuit on Tuesday nixed an appeal from the Trump administration of a temporary restraining order preventing the Department of Government Efficiency's access to sensitive data in Social Security Administration systems, with a White House spokesperson saying the president will "continue to seek all legal remedies available."

  • April 01, 2025

    Trump Admin Fights Wash.'s Bid To Expand Layoff Injunction

    The Trump administration has urged a California federal judge to reject the state of Washington's request to expand an injunction blocking federal agencies from firing probationary employees, saying the bid to broaden the order to other agencies is unnecessary and based on unfounded speculation of harm. 

  • April 01, 2025

    Unions Re-Up Challenge To Trump's Resignation Offer

    Federal unions have renewed their challenge to the president's deferred resignation offer, expanding on their members' difficulties and the roadblocks they face to fighting the initiative through agency channels in an apparent effort to address flaws underlying their earlier Massachusetts federal court loss.

  • April 01, 2025

    Arbitrator Overstepped By Solving Uniform Row, Judge Says

    A court should have decided whether a dispute between a regional airline and a Teamsters local over the airline's uniform policy was arbitrable, an Indiana federal judge ruled, saying an arbitrator overstepped by finding the dispute fell within her jurisdiction.

  • April 01, 2025

    Fund Has Power To Oust Penske's Dallas Unit, Judge Says

    A Teamsters pension plan has the authority to expel a bargaining unit of Penske workers in Dallas in a withdrawal liability dispute, an Illinois federal judge concluded while siding with the truck leasing company to find that an arbitrator has to determine when the expulsion happened.

  • April 01, 2025

    Starbucks Fights NLRB Ruling On Ex-CEO's Town Hall Remark

    A National Labor Relations Board decision from October finding that former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz unlawfully threatened workers during an employee town hall threatens to trample on employers' free speech rights, the company told the Fifth Circuit as it seeks to reverse the decision.

  • April 01, 2025

    AFL-CIO Backs Oregon's Cannabis Labor Peace Law

    The AFL-CIO has jumped into a legal battle to defend against a constitutional challenge seeking to block implementation of a voter-approved Oregon state law that requires cannabis businesses to have labor peace agreements.

  • March 31, 2025

    SpaceX Says It's Too Soon To Transfer Battle With NLRB 

    SpaceX urged a Texas federal court to vacate a renewed order making California the location for the aerospace company's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board's structure, saying conditions the Fifth Circuit imposed for renewing a bid for a transfer after blocking it in August haven't been met.

  • March 31, 2025

    Trump Picks Boyden Gray Attorney For Top DOL Lawyer Role

    President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Jonathan Berry of Boyden Gray PLLC to be solicitor of labor, the U.S. Department of Labor's top lawyer.

  • March 31, 2025

    Federal Worker Union Challenges Trump Order Gutting CBAs

    The National Treasury Employees Union sued on Monday to block portions of President Donald Trump's recent executive order ending collective bargaining at a number of federal agencies where its members work, saying the directive amounts to unlawful "political retribution" for the union's legal advocacy against Trump's agenda.

  • March 31, 2025

    Alcoa Retirees, Unions Win Block On Health Benefits Cutoff

    Aluminum producer Alcoa USA Corp. must provide lifetime healthcare benefits to a group of retirees who were represented by unions, an Indiana federal judge ruled, greenlighting an injunction that allows class members to retroactively seek payments for costs.

  • March 31, 2025

    Minimum Wage Orders Blocked For H-2A Farmworkers In Wash.

    The U.S. Department of Labor may not approve minimum wage job orders for migrant farmworkers in Washington state, a federal judge has ruled, saying seasonal farmworkers with H-2A visas must receive paychecks that don't depress agricultural wages in the area.

  • March 31, 2025

    NJ Panel Denies Double Pay For Union In COVID Case

    Members of the Jersey City Public Employees union are not entitled to double pay under the COVID-19 state of emergency declared by Gov. Phil Murphy on March 9, 2020, even though their contract calls for the increased compensation during such designations, a New Jersey appellate panel ruled Monday.

  • March 31, 2025

    Trump Chooses DOL Wage Chief

    President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Andrew Rogers, acting general counsel for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, to run the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, a role that along with the labor secretary oversees wage rulemaking and enforcement.

  • March 31, 2025

    Ex-MSPB Member Asks Full DC Circ. To Hear Firing Case

    Former Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris asked the full D.C. Circuit on Monday to hear a case challenging President Donald Trump's decision to fire her and a National Labor Relations Board member, saying the court's "authoritative announcement" would calm uncertainty surrounding the status of independent agencies.

  • March 31, 2025

    NLRB Judge Says Heating Co. Illegally Refused To Sign CBA

    A Wyoming heating and cooling company violated federal labor law by refusing to sign a labor contract it agreed to with its workers' union, a National Labor Relations Board judge said, finding the company consented to the collective bargaining agreement in a way that triggered an obligation to sign.

  • March 31, 2025

    AT&T Unit Illegally Delayed Reply To Info Bid, NLRB Says

    AT&T California unlawfully delayed its response to an information request related to a grievance from a Communications Workers of America local, the National Labor Relations Board concluded, with the board's chairman saying he would be willing to review the agency's deferral policy for information requests.

  • 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.

Expert Analysis

  • 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.

  • 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.