You searched News & Insights for: "Edward J. Bonett, Jr. & Publications"
- 11.20.2024Not So Fast - Texas Court Derails DOL Rule Expanding Eligibility for Overtime Pay
On November 15, a U.S. District Court in Texas put the brakes on the Department of Labor’s April 2024 Rule designed to make more employees eligible for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. State of Texas v. United States Department of Labor; Plano Chamber of Commerce v. United States Department of Labor.
- 10.30.20242024 Election: How Labor Law Could Shift Under Trump or Harris Leadership
The Presidential Election is upon us with many indicators predicting a close election. The two candidates and their respective party platforms offer opposing views on many major issues. While some issues play more prominently in the press than others, issues related to Labor Law feature two vastly divergent approaches. Since President Trump already has a track record on federal labor policy and Vice President Harris signals support for President Biden’s labor policy, here are three areas in Labor Law that will be sensitive to who takes the oath of office on January 20, 2025.
- 10.09.2024Three Strikes: Lessons Learned From The ILA, Autoworkers, & Actors Strikes
Now that the ILA short-lived but eventful strike is over, it is important to understand what this strike and the two noteworthy strikes of last year by the Autoworkers and the Actors-Writers have in common and what we might learn from them. Technology. Or, to put it a bit more expansively, the march of advancing technology pitted against the anxieties over job loss. The Autoworkers’ union picketed in part because of job vulnerability due to the increasing market share of electric cars, which require a different process to manufacture. Actors and Writers protested the way artificial intelligence is affecting and will affect their work. The ILA struck in part due to the threat automation presents to their jobs on the docks. The strikes were all viewed as successful by the unions because of significant wage increases. But were they successful at stemming the tide of technology or have they just plugged the dam? Put another way, what can employers do to embrace technology while also embracing its employees and maintaining labor peace?
- 10.08.2024Should I Stay Or Should I Go: The NLRB Weighs In
On October 7, 2024, NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo announced to her staff and the public that she intends to prosecute employers for “Stay-or-Pay” employment agreements, agreements that require a new employee to repay outlays for training if the employee leaves within a certain timeframe after being hired. The General Counsel reasons that such provisions are “presumptively unlawful” under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, which protects the rights to unionize or engage in protected concerted activity, because they force employees to remain in jobs they would otherwise leave, or deter an employee from union activity so as not to risk termination and the repayment obligation.
- 08.26.2024SIXTH CIRCUIT DECLINES TO DEFER TO NLRB DECISION CITING LOPER BRIGHT
There has been much speculation about how much deference the courts will give to federal administrative agencies,’ including the NLRB’s statutory interpretations in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June Loper Bright decision which jettisoned Chevron deference. We didn’t need to wait long to find out the 6th Circuit’s answer – none.
- 07.09.2024Chevron’s Passing Likely to Reshape Labor and Employment Law as SCOTUS Questions Presumption of Agency Subject Matter Expertise
On June 28, 2024 the Supreme Court overruled the 40-year-old landmark ruling known as Chevron, a doctrine of administrative law that has until now required courts to defer to federal agencies’ interpretations of ambiguous statutory language. By doing so, the Court has created opportunities for court challenges to agency regulations including those issued by federal labor law and equal employment law agencies.
- 06.21.2024The NLRB Gives An Employee Four Strikes And He's Still Not Out
The National Labor Relations Act gives employees the right to engage in activities together with and on behalf of their co-workers to improve working conditions, called protected concerted activity. The question frequently arises as to the outer bounds of this right. How far can an employee take the cause?
