Labor

  • July 15, 2025

    Kroger, Union Shouldn't Face Disability Bias Suit, Judge Says

    Kroger and a United Food and Commercial Workers local shouldn't have to face a lawsuit alleging they unlawfully refused to let a family member accompany a disabled grocery clerk during a disciplinary appeal, a Georgia federal magistrate judge recommended, saying accommodations weren't required after the worker was terminated.

  • July 15, 2025

    Trash Hauler Accused Of Blocking Competitor Amid Strike

    A Massachusetts competitor to trash hauler Allied Waste Systems says the company is interfering with its efforts to offer customers an alternative during a strike that is entering its third week, according to a complaint filed Tuesday in state court.

  • July 15, 2025

    Full DC Circ. Must Rehear Stay Of State Dept. EO, Union Says

    The American Foreign Service Association asked the full D.C. Circuit to review a panel's stay of a district court decision blocking the U.S. State Department from implementing an executive order gutting collective bargaining rights for federal workers, claiming there are conflicts with the appeals court's precedent.

  • July 15, 2025

    2 NY Legal Services Shops Go On Strike, More Could Follow

    Two member shops of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys — a union that represents thousands of public interest attorneys and advocates in the New York City metro area — commenced strikes Tuesday, with deadlines for others looming later this week as the ALAA hopes its sectoral bargaining strategy will lead to better contracts.

  • July 15, 2025

    Judge Won't Block Strike On Calif. Native American Casino

    A California federal judge won't intervene in a strike at a Native American casino until the casino and a union have fleshed out their arguments over whether the work stoppage is legal, saying the casino's request for a restraining order left several key questions unanswered.

  • July 15, 2025

    Public Sector Labor Policy Expert Joins Fox Rothschild

    A longtime government attorney with years of experience in labor law and policy has jumped into the private sector, coming aboard Fox Rothschild's Washington, D.C., office as of counsel in the firm's labor and employment department.

  • July 14, 2025

    CWA Was Not Biased Against White Member, Judge Says

    A New York federal court should find that the Communications Workers of America did not racially discriminate against a white Verizon worker by declining to arbitrate his firing grievance, a magistrate judge said, concluding evidence shows the union did not think it would win.

  • July 14, 2025

    NLRB Pushes Full 5th Circ. To Reject Amazon's Rehearing Bid

    The full Fifth Circuit must not reconsider whether a Texas federal judge "effectively denied" Amazon's bid to halt a National Labor Relations Board refusal-to-bargain proceeding, the board argued, saying there are no conflicts with precedent requiring additional review.

  • July 14, 2025

    Florida Orchestra Wasn't At An Impasse, NLRB Tells 11th Circ.

    The National Labor Relations Board defended its findings that a now-defunct Florida symphony orchestra illegally imposed a final contract offer, telling the Eleventh Circuit that the board correctly analyzed the evidence to conclude the parties weren't at an impasse.

  • July 14, 2025

    Supreme Court Clears Way For Education Dept. Layoffs

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday lifted a Massachusetts federal judge's order halting massive job cuts at the U.S. Department of Education, allowing the Trump administration to move forward with firing nearly 1,400 employees.

  • July 14, 2025

    Calif. Native American Casino Seeks To Block Workers' Strike

    A Native American casino near Yosemite National Park accused the union that represents about half of its employees of launching an illegal strike, claiming in a suit filed in California federal court that the UNITE HERE local is violating the law in several ways.

  • July 11, 2025

    Chemical Co.'s Strike Suit Survives Teamsters' Dismissal Bid

    A Teamsters local must face claims that it broke the law during a nine-day strike on an Illinois chemical company last year, an Illinois federal judge ruled Friday, trimming a lawsuit against the union but preserving the bulk of the allegations.

  • July 11, 2025

    NLRB Calls For 9th Circ. Not To Delay Enforcement Order

    The National Labor Relations Board asked the Ninth Circuit not to pause issuance of the court's mandate upholding a refusal-to-bargain decision against UPS Supply Chain Solutions Inc., arguing the company had not proved it would face irreparable harm if enforcement wasn't stayed.

  • July 11, 2025

    3rd Circ. Nixes Rehire Of Welch's Worker In Harassment Fight

    The Third Circuit on Friday vacated an order instructing Welch's to rehire a worker who was accused of using gender-based slurs toward a co-worker, saying an arbitrator needed to clarify whether she'd determined that sexual harassment occurred.

  • July 11, 2025

    US Seeks To Toss DOGE Taxpayer Data-Sharing Suit

    Unions and advocacy organizations trying to block the White House's Department of Government Efficiency from sharing taxpayer data across agencies have not shown they've suffered the sort of injuries that would allow them to sue the federal government, the U.S. government told a D.C. federal court.

  • July 11, 2025

    8th Circ. Upholds Labor Peace Pacts In Minn. Cities

    Contractors and an independent union lack standing to challenge requirements to comply with project labor agreements in three Minnesota cities, the Eighth Circuit ruled, finding only employees could raise the constitutional claims in the case.

  • July 11, 2025

    AT&T Units Illegally Changed Union Time, NLRB Judge Says

    Two AT&T subsidiaries serving Indiana and Ohio violated federal labor law by withholding information from a pair of Communications Workers of America locals and failing to bargain over changes to how workers can take time off to conduct union business, a National Labor Relations Board judge has ruled.

  • July 11, 2025

    Calif. Forecast: Court Weighs Google's $50M Racial Bias Deal

    In the coming week, attorneys should watch for the potential initial sign-off on a $50 million deal between Google and Black workers who alleged the technology giant discriminated against them based on race. Here's a look at that case and other labor and employment matters on deck in California.

  • July 10, 2025

    Dialysis Co. Says NLRB Directors Can't Act Without Quorum

    A California company that runs a chain of dialysis centers is challenging a National Labor Relations Board regional director's decision to certify a union at its Hollister, California, facility, arguing Thursday that the official shouldn't have been able to certify the union while the board lacks a quorum.

  • July 10, 2025

    Nonprofit Calls For Halt To Portland's Labor Peace Policy

    A nonprofit providing janitorial services to the city of Portland urged an Oregon federal judge to block the city's enforcement of a requirement for the contractor to execute a labor peace agreement with a union, arguing the mandate infringes on the First Amendment by making employers stay neutral.

  • July 10, 2025

    NLRB Official Nixes Union Vote Challenge Over Board Quorum

    The National Labor Relations Board's lack of a quorum does not stop regional directors from considering union election petitions, an agency official determined Thursday, tossing a vehicle manufacturer's challenge to employees seeking a vote on representation by the United Auto Workers.

  • July 10, 2025

    Unions Defend Block On DOGE's Social Security Data Access

    The full Fourth Circuit should affirm a Maryland federal judge's decision to block the White House's Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Social Security Administration data, two unions and a retirees' advocacy group argued, saying that dissolving the injunction would violate their members' right to privacy.

  • July 09, 2025

    Airline Asks 7th Circ. To Uphold Win In Union Arbitrability Row

    An Indiana federal judge correctly ruled that a court, not an arbitrator, should have decided whether a policy dispute between Republic Airways and a Teamsters local was arbitrable, the regional airline told the Seventh Circuit, asking the appellate court to affirm that the arbitrator overstepped by making the call.

  • July 09, 2025

    Boston U. Beats Ex-Worker's Suit Over Sex Harassment Probe

    Boston University defeated a former maintenance employee's lawsuit alleging the school bungled its investigation into a sexual harassment complaint against him, with a Massachusetts federal judge ruling the worker's claim was preempted by federal labor law because it required examining his union contract.

  • July 09, 2025

    HELP Sets Hearing On NLRB GC, EEOC Member Noms

    President Donald Trump's picks to be the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board and fill a vacancy on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission will face their first test next week at a U.S. Senate committee hearing.

Expert Analysis

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Shifting Worker Accommodation Rules

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    Since President Donald Trump took office, many changes have directly affected how employers must address accommodation requests, particularly those concerning pregnancy-related medical conditions and religious beliefs, underscoring the importance of regularly reviewing and updating accommodation policies and procedures, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Performance Review Tips From 'Severance'

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    In the hit series "Severance," the eerie depiction of performance reviews, which drone on for hours and focus on frivolous issues, can instruct employers about best practices to follow and mistakes to avoid when conducting employee evaluations, say Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter at Troutman.

  • High Court Order On Board Firings Is Cold Comfort For Fed

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    The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent Trump v. Wilcox order, upholding the firings of two independent agency board members during appeal, raises concerns about the future of removal protections for Federal Reserve System members, and thus the broader politicization of U.S. monetary policy, say attorneys at Squire Patton.

  • SpaceX Labor Suit May Bring Cosmic Jurisdictional Shifts

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    The National Mediation Board's upcoming decision about whether SpaceX falls under the purview of the National Labor Relations Act or the Railway Labor Act could establish how jurisdictional boundaries are determined for employers that toe the line, with tangible consequences for decades to come, say attorneys at Davis Wright.

  • What Employers Should Know About New Wash. WARN Act

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    Washington state's Securing Timely Notification and Benefits for Laid-Off Employees Act will soon require 60 days' notice for certain mass layoffs and business closures, so employers should understand how their obligations differ from those under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act before implementing layoffs or closings, say attorneys at Littler.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Relying On FLSA Regs Amid Repeals

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    Because handbook policies often rely on federal regulations, President Donald Trump's recent actions directing agency heads to repeal "facially unlawful regulations" may leave employers wondering what may change, but they should be mindful that even a repealed regulation may have accurately stated the law, say attorneys at Kutak Rock.

  • Deregulation Memo Presents Risks, Opportunities For Cos.

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    A recent Trump administration memo providing direction to agencies tasked with rescinding regulations under an earlier executive order — without undergoing the typical notice-and-review process — will likely create much uncertainty for businesses, though they may be able to engage with agencies to shape the regulatory agenda, say attorneys at Blank Rome.

  • Understanding Compliance Concerns With NY Severance Bill

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    New York's No Severance Ultimatums Act, if enacted, could overhaul how employers manage employee separations, but employers should be mindful that the bill's language introduces ambiguities and raises compliance concerns, say attorneys at Norris McLaughlin.

  • Trump's 1st 100 Days Show That Employers Must Stay Nimble

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    Despite the aggressive pace of the Trump administration, employers must stay abreast of developments, including changes in equal employment opportunity law, while balancing state law considerations where employment regulations are at odds with the evolving federal laws, says Susan Sholinsky at Epstein Becker.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Classification Lessons From 'Love Is Blind'

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    The National Labor Relations Board's recent complaint alleging that cast members of the Netflix reality series "Love Is Blind" were misclassified as nonemployee participants and deprived of protections under the National Labor Relations Act offers insight for employers about how to structure independent contractor relationships, say Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter at Troutman Pepper.

  • Independent Contractor Rule Up In The Air Under New DOL

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    In several recent court challenges, the U.S. Department of Labor has indicated its intent to revoke the 2024 independent contractor rule, sending a clear signal that it will not defend the Biden-era rule on the merits in anticipation of further rulemaking, say attorneys at Jackson Lewis.

  • Tracking FTC Labor Task Force's Focus On Worker Protection

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    The Federal Trade Commission recently directed its bureaus to form a joint labor task force, shifting the agency's focus toward protecting consumers in their role as workers, but case selection and resource allocation will ultimately reveal how significant labor markets will be in the FTC's agenda, say attorneys at Venable.

  • GC Nominee Likely Has Employer-Friendly NLRB Priorities

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    President Donald Trump’s nomination of Crystal Carey as general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board indicates the administration's intent to revive precedents favorable to employers, including expansion of permissible employer speech and reinstatement of procedural steps needed for employees to achieve unionization, say attorneys at Vorys.