Employee Rights In The News
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On February 3, President Trump signed an
Executive Order to move forward with undoing the Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary duty rule for retirement products advisors.
On February 15, just one day before his confirmation hearing was scheduled to take place,
Andrew Puzder withdrew his nomination for Labor Secretary. In response, President Trump has nominated R. Alexander Acosta for the position. Mr. Acosta's first confirmation hearing has been scheduled for March 22.
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Stay Connected
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Workers' Rights By The Numbers:
0
The combined number of OSHA and DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement news releases since the Trump Administration assumed power
.
21
The number of times, out of 23 cases, that U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch sided with employers in ERISA cases while on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals.
(
Associated Press
)
28
The number of so-called "right-to-work" states in America after Missouri Governor Eric Greitens signed such a law on February 6, 2017.
69,000
The number of women included as part of an ongoing class action arbitration against Sterling Jewelers and its subsidiaries alleging pay and gender discrimination.
45,000,000
The number of workers who did not have access to a retirement plan in 2012.
55,000,000
The number of
workers
who do
not have access
to a
retirement account today
.
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Employee Rights In The Courts
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On February 8, the
U.S. Supreme Court decided to postpone arguments in three consolidated cases that will resolve whether forced arbitration clauses that forbid employees from bringing class, collective, or joint actions as a condition of getting or keeping a job violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Instead of being argued this April, the cases will be held over until the next Supreme Court term, which begins in October.
In
Tschiggfrie Properties, Ltd., 365 NLRB No. 34 (Feb. 13, 2017), the National Labor Relations Board ruled that an employer's interview of an employee while defending against an unfair labor charge violated the NLRA.
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The Institute News
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2017 NELA Annual Convention Law Student Program Registration Now Open
Law students and recent law graduates are invited to join The Employee Rights Advocacy Institute For Law & Policy (The Institute) and the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA) for "
Social Justice Lawyering: From Law Student To Employee Advocate." This engaging and interactive presentation will be held at NELA's 2017 Annual Convention on Wednesday, June 21, 2017, from 5:00
-- 6:15 p.m., at the San Antonio
Marriott Rivercenter.
Experienced employment law practitioners will discuss how a career in plaintiff-side employment law offers a unique and meaningful way for new lawyers to use their skills to drive progressive social change. They will share how their work as advocates for employee rights intersects with and advances other social justice issues including
civil rights,
immigration,
environmental justice,
LGBT rights, and
gender equality. The panelists also will address how to enter the plaintiffs' employment law field and suggest the types of skills and experience that can help prospective workers' rights advocates as they begin their legal careers.
Immediately following the program, attendees are invited to participate in the 2017 NELA Annual Convention President's Welcome Reception, from 6:30
-- 8:00 p.m., where students will have the opportunity to network in a casual environment at the nation's largest gathering of plaintiffs' employment lawyers.
While there is no cost to attend, students and recent graduates are requested to
register by June 15, 2017. For questions or comments, please contact Elizabeth Colman, Paul H. Tobias (PHT) Attorney Fellow, at
[email protected].
The Faces Of Forced Arbitration
The Institute would like to invite you to be a part of a new project it is developing:
The Faces Of Forced Arbitration. Too often, discussions of forced arbitration involve a lot of legal and technical jargon, while the human impact is lost.
The Faces Of Forced Arbitration will serve as a platform for workers to tell their personal stories and share the real harm they endure when they lose their right to go to court.
In order for this project to be successful, we need employees who have suffered under the weight of a forced arbitration clause to come forward. Please share information about this project with your networks, and encourage the people you know who have been harmed by forced arbitration to speak up. If you know of any employees who would like to participate in this groundbreaking effort, please have them contact PHT Fellow Elizabeth Colman at
[email protected].
Workers Beware: Forced Arbitration Can Happen To You
The use of forced arbitration clauses in the workplace is becoming more and more pervasive. Yet, because the proceedings often are confidential, it is impossible to know how many employees are affected. To expose companies that try to shield themselves from public accountability, The Institute has recently launched its
Workers Beware project, which enables employees to discover whether an employer is known to force its workers to forego their rights in exchange for a paycheck. Now workers and allies can use our
new reporting tool to help expand this list by identifying companies that attempt to hide their bad behavior behind the closed doors of forced arbitration proceedings.
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The
Employee Rights Briefing is a monthly newsletter designed to help keep you up-to-date on breaking news and emerging trends impacting America's workers. From the growth of forced arbitration of employment disputes, to employee misclassification, to stories of wage theft and workplace discrimination, the
Employee Rights Briefing will report on employment law and policy developments from the federal government to state legislatures to the courtroom and everywhere in between. Our goal is to provide you with a digestible snapshot of the events shaping employment law and policy, so that you can be kept abreast of the most important issues facing today's workers.
We welcome your feedback! If you have any questions, or are aware of any stories or issues you think should be included in the
Employee Rights Briefing,
please contact us. If you would prefer not to receive the
Briefing in the future please unsubscribe below.
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