Skip to main content

What I've Been Reading This Week: A Look Back Edition


There are always a few articles that I write about which I suggest readers keep an eye on down the road.  Some of my posts that I suggest readers follow up on focus on legislative bills or amendments, while others deal with pending employment and labor law issues in courts across the country.  This week, I wanted to take a look back at some big employment and labor law related issues that have recent updates which I think readers would enjoy.

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


Buffalo Bills Cheerleader Suit Continues After N.F.L.'s Motion Denied

The Buffalo News has an article from earlier this month and details a recent decision by a judge to deny the N.F.L's request to dismiss the league from the Buffalo Bills cheerleaders' wage and hour lawsuit.  (Buffalo Bills Cheerleaders File Wage & Hour Suit).  The N.F.L. had argued that it was not an employer of the cheerleaders and was not responsible for the pay/alleged misclassification of the the cheerleaders.  The judge did not agree and held that since discovery had not yet been conducted, the N.F.L.'s motion was premature.  This one has a ways to go still, but still an interesting update on the continuing saga of these wage and hour lawsuits against several N.F.L. teams.



Late last week, the Illinois House voted on Governor Bruce Rauner's proposed right to work zones.  For those keeping score at home, House Speaker Michael Madigan had previously stated he would bring the matter to a vote, even though no formal legislation had been submitted by the Governor.  (Updated - May 14th Right to Work Vote Called For By Illinois House Speaker).  As expected, the right to work plan was voted down 0-72-37 with all Democrats casting "no" votes, and all Republicans, except one, casting "present" votes as a protest to the "political sham".  At this stage, the right to work zone proposal is at a stopping point, but the Governor could still submit formal legislation before the legislative session is up later this month.


Judge Denies Attempt to Block $15.37 Minimum Wage Increase for Los Angeles Hotel Workers

Last week, U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte Jr. denied a request by the American Hotel and Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association to issue an injunction to block the city's hotel worker wage increase while litigation is pending.  For those who remember, late last year, the Los Angeles City Council approved an increase in minimum wage for hotel workers in the city to $15.37/hour.  (Hotel Workers In Los Angeles To Receive $15.37/Hour).  Unsurprisingly, he American Hotel and Lodging Association and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association filed a suit in December seeking to stop the minimum wage from going into effect.  (Two Trade Groups Seek to Block $15.37 Minimum Wage Increase).  While the judge's ruling does not directly impact the suit filed by the trade groups, it allows the minimum wage increase to go into effect in July without delay.  This is one to continue to keep an eye on!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum,...

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations

NLRB: Former Employee Cannot Be Barred From Work Premises After Filing Wage Suit

MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC - NLRB Facts :  MEI-GSR Holdings, LLC d/b/a Grand Sierra Resort & Casino ("GSR") operated a facility that included a hotel, casino, restaurant, clubs, bars, and a pool which were all open to the general public.  Tiffany Sargent ("Sargent") was briefly employed by GSR as a "beverage supervisor" in December of 2012.  After her employment ended, Sargent continued to socialize at one of the clubs.  GSR had a long standing practice of allowing former employees to patronize its facility and did not prohibit Sargent from doing so.  In June of 2013, Sargent and another employee filed a class and collective action against GSR for alleged unpaid wages, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and Nevada law.  In July of 2014, GSR denied Sargent access to an event at one of the clubs.  GSR followed up with a letter and stated that with the on-going litigation (from the wage suit), it decided to bar Sargent from the premises. ...