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What I've Been Reading This Week


The past few weeks have been very busy.  In between several work trips, I have had less time than I would have liked to read through articles and cases.  With that being said, I came across several good articles, including one that a loyal reader (and labor law guru) of the blog pointed out.  That particular article deals with a recent NLRB decision from the earlier this week in regard to actions an employer took to deal with striking workers.  The Board's 2 - 1 decision is groundbreaking and the reason I chose to lead off this week with that article.

As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week.


Employer Violated Federal Labor Law By Hiring Permanent Replacements for Striking Workers

I will write more about this one next week, but in the meantime, Jay-Anne Casuga posted an update a few days ago in regard to a recent NLRB decision that held an employer in California violated federal labor law by hiring permanent replacements for striking workers in an alleged attempt to punish the union and its members and avoid future strikes.  As the article noted, this decision cast aside 68 years of precedent that an employer could lawfully hire permanent replacement workers as a "legitimate economic weapon" once a union deploys its weapons to strike.  No more, according to the NLRB.  To call this decision unprecedented goes without saying.


A Breakdown of Minimum Wage Rates Across California (Spoiler: The Hourly Rate Varies)

The hourly wage rate has started to fluctuate across the country, especially in different parts of California.  The UC Berkeley Labor Center has published an up to date listing of the minimum wage rate for cities and towns across California (as well as other cities outside the state).  This is well worth a review and a tremendous resource for those interested in the topic as it gives dates for when increases have occurred/will occur over the coming years.


Hillary Clinton Backs UAW Vote at Chattanooga Volkswagen Plant

A few weeks ago, likely Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted her support of the workers at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga who are attempting to unionize.  Readers might remember that back in April, Volkswagen announced that it would appeal the NLRB's ruling which upheld a UAW union vote at the plant.  Clinton's support is not all that surprising, but still noteworthy in that she has continued to signal her support of pro-union measures over the course of her campaign (and perhaps a nod to how she would handle labor matters if she became President).


Age Discrimination Suit Filed Against San Francisco 49ers

Earlier last month, the former field announcer for the San Francisco 49ers filed an age discrimination suit against the team on the grounds that he was actually terminated because of his age, rather than the team "going in a different direction".  Te suit included comments made by 49ers CEO Jed York in 2012 that the team wanted to hire predominantly younger workers from Silicon Valley when the team moved to Santa Clara (and in theory replace the older workers currently employed by the team).  Interesting to note that two other former workers had also brought a similar age discrimination suit against the team last year and settled out of court.  

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