Labor

  • May 22, 2025

    Calif. Judge Likely To Extend Block On Gov't Reorg, Job Cuts

    A California federal judge indicated Thursday she'll likely convert her temporary restraining order into a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump's executive order to reduce the federal workforce, saying the law "seems clear" that presidents cannot issue large-scale agency reductions without congressional approval and "to hold otherwise" would contradict nine previous presidents and 21 congresses.

  • May 22, 2025

    Justices Allow Trump To Fire NLRB, MSPB Members, For Now

    The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled two fired members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board cannot return to work while they challenge President Donald Trump's authority to fire them without cause, handing the president a win in his crusade against a 90-year-old precedent limiting his power to fire employees at independent agencies.

  • May 22, 2025

    Katz Banks Hires Former Gov't Atty For Worker Advocacy

    A former attorney at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is now senior counsel at Katz Banks Kumin LLP in Washington, D.C., the firm announced, saying she will use her experience to advocate for federal workers navigating changes brought on by the Trump administration.

  • May 22, 2025

    Seyfarth Hires Labor And Employment Partner In Seattle

    Seyfarth Shaw LLP added a partner to its labor and employment department from Perkins Coie LLP who says the firm's resources will help him tackle the growing number of wage and hour class actions Washington state has been witnessing.

  • May 22, 2025

    Mass. Justices Say Worker's Raise Doesn't Doom Bias Claim

    Massachusetts' top court on Thursday found that an employer may still face a discrimination claim for an alleged retaliatory action for union activity, even if the move left the worker with a pay bump.

  • May 22, 2025

    Mass. Judge Halts Trump's Bid To Slash Education Dept. Jobs

    A Massachusetts federal judge on Thursday blocked President Donald Trump's attempt to lay off hundreds of U.S. Department of Education employees, finding that the administration's claims of wanting more efficiency are a mask for their actual goal of dismantling the department.

  • May 21, 2025

    Judge Mulls National Scope Of Bid To Restore COVID Grants

    A Washington, D.C., federal judge Wednesday mulled whether it would be appropriate to issue a nationwide injunction blocking the termination of $11 billion public health grants set aside under COVID-era laws in a lawsuit brought by four local governments and a public sector union.

  • May 21, 2025

    NLRB Judge Axes Firing Case Against Illinois Bottling Facility

    A Chicago-area beverage bottling facility did not violate federal labor law when it fired a maintenance worker, a National Labor Relations Board judge ruled Wednesday, saying the evidence did not support board prosecutors' contention that the worker was fired for expressing interest in joining a union.

  • May 21, 2025

    Sprinkler Co. Illegally Halted Contributions, NLRB Judge Says

    A sprinkler installation company in Pennsylvania violated federal labor law by not contributing to benefit funds for union-represented workers and remitting their dues, a National Labor Relations Board judge concluded, ordering the business to hand over payments that weren't made dating back nearly three years.

  • May 21, 2025

    Ky. Judge Nixes Treasury's Bid To End Labor Contracts

    The U.S. Department of the Treasury lacks standing to seek an order allowing it to lawfully terminate its labor contracts with a federal employee union, a Kentucky federal judge ruled, finding the agency's alleged harm is based on speculation about the potential consequences of enforcing an executive order.

  • May 21, 2025

    Cannabis Sellers Win Fight Against Oregon Labor Peace Law

    An Oregon federal judge shot down a state law that required cannabis growers to sign agreements with labor unions before they could get licensed to sell, saying the United for Cannabis Workers Act is preempted by the National Labor Relations Act.

  • May 21, 2025

    Democracy Forward Adds Another Ex-DOJ Hand

    Legal advocacy group Democracy Forward has added a former deputy associate U.S. attorney general and co-chair of the Supreme Court and appellate practice at WilmerHale to its ranks of former U.S. Department of Justice litigators.

  • May 20, 2025

    Nexstar Seeks Redo Of 2nd Circ.'s NLRB Ruling Enforcement

    The National Labor Relations Board should stop kicking the can down the road and rule on whether employers must compensate workers for the lost opportunity to bargain, Nexstar Media Inc. told the Second Circuit, asking the court to reconsider a decision that let the board postpone answering the question.

  • May 20, 2025

    Nonprofits Seek To Block 'Sweeping' AmeriCorps Cuts

    A number of education, environmental and housing nonprofits have asked a Maryland federal judge to block the firing of thousands of AmeriCorps employees and the cancellation of $400 million to its programs, saying the move violates core constitutional principles regarding separation of powers that have already had severe consequences.

  • May 20, 2025

    Unions Walk Tightrope When Members Split On Mideast War

    A recent National Labor Relations Board charge accusing a legal aid union of discriminating against Jewish members by opposing an employer's rule that restricts speech about the Israel-Hamas war tests the bounds of unions' obligations to represent all workers when they're split on a divisive identity issue.

  • May 20, 2025

    Gov't Says Unions Too Slow In Calling For Halt Of Restructure

    President Donald Trump called for a California federal judge to tank an injunction bid from unions and advocacy groups about his executive order instructing agencies to plan for reductions in force, arguing the request was delayed and the district court lacks jurisdiction.

  • May 20, 2025

    GOP Lawmakers Defend Stricter Independent Contractor Bill

    Republicans on a U.S. House subcommittee Tuesday pushed for passing a recently introduced bill that would tighten standards for classifying workers as independent contractors, while Democrats feared moving in that direction would significantly hurt workers.

  • May 20, 2025

    SAG-AFTRA Battles Use Of Fortnite's AI Darth Vader At NLRB

    The developer behind the video game Fortnite violated federal labor law by not negotiating with SAG-AFTRA before using artificial intelligence to voice Darth Vader, the union alleged in an unfair labor practice charge, claiming the company's AI use takes away work from bargaining unit members.

  • May 20, 2025

    Unions Eye Nix Of NJ Transit Suit Over Picket Line

    Two unions sued by NJ Transit over their refusal to cross the picket line in the now-resolved rail strike told a New Jersey federal court that since their members have returned to work, the case is now moot.

  • May 20, 2025

    1st Circ. Tosses Puerto Rican Players' MLB Antitrust Appeal

    The First Circuit has dismissed an appeal in a wage-fixing antitrust action filed by minor league players against the MLB and its teams, finding the players committed a critical error by not objecting to a federal magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss the underlying case.

  • May 20, 2025

    UAW Local Agrees To DOL Oversight Of Next Officers' Election

    A United Auto Workers local in Warren, Michigan, has agreed to let the U.S. Department of Labor supervise its next officers election, a few months after the U.S. secretary of labor claimed the union's election committee mishandled recordkeeping and ballot oversight during a vote a year ago.

  • May 19, 2025

    Trump Admin Fights Bid To Block OPM From Helping DOGE

    A trio of unions can't substantiate their claims that the U.S. Office of Personnel Management is inappropriately disclosing sensitive data to the Department of Government Efficiency, the Trump administration has told a New York federal judge, asking her to toss the unions' injunction request.

  • May 19, 2025

    Employers Expect NLRB GC Memo To Ease Settlement Talks

    Acting National Labor Relations Board general counsel William Cowen has loosened requirements for board officials to approve settlements of unfair labor practice allegations, reversing course from his predecessor's approach in a memo that experts said will likely ease deal negotiations.

  • May 19, 2025

    Symphony Tells 11th Circ. NLRB's Impasse Order Can't Stand

    The Eleventh Circuit must not defer to the National Labor Relations Board's credibility conclusions in finding that a Florida symphony wasn't at an impasse when it implemented a final bargaining offer, the symphony contended, saying the board wrongly disregarded an agency judge's determinations about the facts.

  • May 19, 2025

    NLRB Attys Drop Push For Change In Disclosure Standard

    National Labor Relations Board prosecutors no longer have a Trump-era ruling on employers' disclosure responsibilities in their crosshairs, telling the board Monday that they're no longer seeking reconsideration of its 2019 decision in Arlington Metals Corp.

Expert Analysis

  • 2026 World Cup: Companies Face Labor Challenges And More

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    Companies sponsoring or otherwise involved with the 2026 FIFA World Cup — hosted jointly by the U.S., Canada and Mexico — should be proactive in preparing to navigate many legal considerations in immigration, labor management and multijurisdictional workforces surrounding the event, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • Eye On Compliance: Workplace March Madness Pools

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    With March Madness set to begin in a few weeks, employers should recognize that workplace sports betting is technically illegal, keeping federal and state gambling laws in mind when determining whether they will permit ever-popular bracket pools, says Laura Stutz at Wilson Elser.

  • There Is No NCAA Supremacy Clause, Especially For NIL

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    A recent Tennessee federal court ruling illustrates the NCAA's problematic position that its member schools should violate state law rather than its rules — and the organization's legal history with the dormant commerce clause raises a fundamental constitutional issue that will have to be resolved before attorneys can navigate NIL with confidence, says Patrick O’Donnell at HWG.

  • Handbook Hot Topics: Workplace AI Risks

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools penetrate workplaces, employers should incorporate sound AI policies and procedures in their handbooks in order to mitigate liability risks, maintain control of the technology, and protect their brands, says Laura Corvo at White and Williams.

  • Water Cooler Talk: Investigation Lessons In 'Minority Report'

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    Tracey Diamond and Evan Gibbs at Troutman Pepper discuss how themes in Steven Spielberg's Science Fiction masterpiece "Minority Report" — including prediction, prevention and the fallibility of systems — can have real-life implications in workplace investigations.

  • NCAA's Antitrust Litigation History Offers Clues For NIL Case

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    Attorneys at Perkins Coie analyze the NCAA's long history of antitrust litigation to predict how state attorney general claims against NCAA recruiting rules surrounding name, image and likeness discussions will stand up in Tennessee federal court.

  • SAG-AFTRA Contract Is A Landmark For AI And IP Interplay

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    SAG-AFTRA's recently ratified contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers introduced a framework to safeguard performers' intellectual property rights and set the stage for future discussions on how those rights interact with artificial intelligence — which should put entertainment businesses on alert for compliance, says Evynne Grover at QBE.

  • How Dartmouth Ruling Fits In NLRB Student-Athlete Playbook

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    A groundbreaking decision from a National Labor Relations Board official on Feb. 5 — finding that Dartmouth men's basketball players are employees who can unionize — marks the latest development in the board’s push to bring student-athletes within the ambit of federal labor law, and could stimulate unionization efforts in other athletic programs, say Jennifer Cluverius and Patrick Wilson at Maynard Nexsen.

  • What's At Stake In High Court NLRB Injunction Case

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    William Baker at Wigdor examines the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to hear Starbucks v. McKinney — where it will consider a long-standing circuit split over the standard for evaluating National Labor Relations Board injunction bids — and explains why the justices’ eventual decision, either way, is unlikely to be a significant blow to labor.

  • Employer Lessons From NLRB Judge's Union Bias Ruling

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    A National Labor Relations Board judge’s recent decision that a Virginia drywall contractor unlawfully transferred and fired workers who made union pay complaints illustrates valuable lessons about how employers should respond to protected labor activity and federal labor investigations, says Kenneth Jenero at Holland & Knight.

  • Workplace Speech Policies Limit Legal And PR Risks

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    As workers increasingly speak out on controversies like the 2024 elections and the Israel-Hamas war, companies should implement practical workplace expression policies and plans to protect their brands and mitigate the risk of violating federal and state anti-discrimination and free speech laws, say attorneys at McDermott.

  • Where Justices Stand On Chevron Doctrine Post-Argument

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    Following recent oral argument at the U.S. Supreme Court, at least four justices appear to be in favor of overturning the long-standing Chevron deference, and three justices seem ready to uphold it, which means the ultimate decision may rest on Chief Justice John Roberts' vote, say Wayne D'Angelo and Zachary Lee at Kelley Drye.

  • Trends That Will Shape The Construction Industry In 2024

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    Though the outlook for the construction industry is mixed, it is clear that 2024 will bring evolving changes aimed at building projects more safely and efficiently under difficult circumstances, and stakeholders would be wise to prepare for the challenges and opportunities these trends will bring, say Josephine Bahn and Jeffery Mullen at Cozen O'Connor.

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