Wages
California – A proposed initiative to raise the minimum wage to $18/hr over the next three years failed to qualify for the Nov. ballot. Though bankrolled by a wealthy investor and backed by a slew of labor organizations, the secretary of state’s office said not enough signatures had been verified by county election officials by the deadline to qualify the measure. It is likely to qualify for the ballot in 2024, which could create a much quicker timeframe for the $18/hr wage to go into effect by 2025. More details.
Nebraska -Proponents of a ballot initiative this Nov. to raise the state minimum wage to $15/hr turned in roughly 50,000 signatures more than needed to qualify for the ballot. The secretary of state’s office will spend the next month or so verifying the signatures. Under Nebraska law, signatures have to come from at least 5 percent of voters in at least 38 of the state’s 93 counties. More details.
Los Angeles, CA – Under pressure from the SEIU, the city council voted unanimously to create a new minimum wage of $25/hr for frontline healthcare workers in private facilities – the law exempts county facilities including the hospital at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). Workers were also given the ability to pursue private rights of action under the state’s PAGA law. The mayor is expected to sign the legislation and it will likely go into effect before the end of the year. More details.
Portland, ME – The city clerk certified the submitted signatures for a proposed Nov. ballot initiative to mandate an $18/hr local minimum wage and eventually eliminate the tip credit after three years. Proponents turned in 2,000 signatures supporting the measure, well in excess of the 1,500 necessary to qualify. Election Day is Nov. 8. More details.
Red Robin – The company reached a $2.95 million settlement with a class of California kitchen managers. They sued the company this past April alleging the company failed to sufficiently staff their nearly 60 restaurants in the state, alleging that assistant managers, assistant general managers, and kitchen managers must spend most of their days performing “physically demanding non-exempt work.” The suit further contended salaried managers (despite performing essentially the same duties – such as cooking, bussing tables, seating, and serving customers, cleaning, and delivering food) as Red Robin’s non-exempt employees, are improperly classified as exempt from California’s overtime provisions and were not provided with proper time-and-a-half overtime wages. More details.
Truist – The banking and financial company announced it is raising its minimum wage to $22/hr nationwide effective Oct. 1. About 14,000 employees will receive a raise, including 81 percent of employees in client-facing roles. Truist’s current U.S. minimum wage ranges by region between $15-$18/hr and they employ over 50,000 people across the country. More details.
Paid Leave
South Dakota – During a television interview this week, popular Governor Kristi Noem signaled her support for the legislature to pursue a statewide paid family leave law. Her comments came in response to questions regarding her support for banning abortion in the state and she framed those benefits as a necessary support benefit for mothers that see unwanted pregnancies through to fruition. This could signal a new line of Republican support and rationale for pursuing paid leave laws. More details.
Labor Policy
Illinois – The state AFL-CIO chapter kicked off its campaign to support a proposed constitutional amendment on the state ballot this Nov. to guarantee workers a right to collective bargaining as well as banning “right to work” laws. Three other states – New York, Hawaii, and Missouri – have similar guarantee laws but none of those include the right to work language. The legislature voted overwhelmingly in May to put the proposed amendment on the ballot. More details.
Labor Activism
Amazon – The Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of labor unions that has criticized Amazon’s treatment of workers in the past, filed a complaint with the Securities & Exchange Commission accusing Amazon and CEO Andy Jassy of making false and misleading statements about the safety of its warehouses and the injury rates among workers. The group argues that the “misinformation” is harmful to shareholders because investors are relying on information that is creating an “illusion” about Amazon’s business model. The SOC and Amazon have repeatedly published conflicting numbers on injury rates at Amazon facilities. The company says the rate of injury at its warehouses has decreased over time while the activist group says conditions for warehouse workers are getting more dangerous. While the activist group is looking at data submitted to OSHA, Amazon says it uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which generally lags behind while the agency analyzes numbers. BLS will likely release data for 2021 in Nov. 2022. More details.
Good Karma Cafe – A second unit of the Philadelphia, PA-based coffee company has been “closed for repairs” three months after workers voted to unionize. The company says that they “are taking this time to address some building and equipment repairs that require immediate attention. We also look forward to meeting with the Union to establish an agreement that works for both parties.” The union has countered by saying that workers would have to reapply for their jobs when the shuttered locations reopen. More details.
Starbucks – To date, 311 stores in 35 states are in the process of holding a union election. 186 units have voted to unionize, 32 have rejected the union, and a handful of outcomes are still undecided. More details.
Sustainability
U.S. Supreme Court – The U.S. Supreme Court decided a consequential case that will immediately impact environmental policy, but it also could have far-reaching implications into many other areas of law. The Court’s 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) significantly limits the broad power the EPA attempted to exercise. The theory used by the Court to knock back the EPA – a relatively obscure concept called the “major questions doctrine” – may impact many other areas of law. The same legal theory was used by the Court to strike down the Biden Administration’s COVID-19 vaccine-or-test standard. Under this doctrine, an agency must point to clear congressional authorization before engaging in action that courts conclude has broad-reaching economic and political significance. Broad application of this doctrine could curtail federal agency action. More details.
Key Takeaways
- The SEIU-initiated minimum wage increase for healthcare workers in L.A. is not dissimilar to their sectoral approach at the state level (e.g., the FAST Act). And, UNITE HERE has been pursuing similar hotel industry mandates at the local level in Southern California as well. In short, targeting certain sectors is a common union tactic in the state which did not arrive with the FAST Act, is not limited to the FAST Act, and is probably going to continue to increase in regularity.
- The U.S. Supreme Court decision West Virginia v. EPA has not garnered as much attention as other recent decisions but could be the most consequential for the employer community. The Court seems intent on applying the legal principles in that case across other areas of law. If it takes an expansive approach, actions at a number of agencies, including the Labor Department’s efforts on joint employer and other issues may face renewed scrutiny.
Podcast
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