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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


Ah yes, a delayed filing that potentially prohibits an attorney from arguing a motion or legal point.  Some attorneys might call that concerning; I would call it nightmare fuel.  I refer readers to the below article about a tricky situation Starbucks finds itself in due to a late filing.

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



Earlier this week, a Virginia Senate Committee blocked three different bills from proceeding ahead which would have repealed a planned statewide minimum wage hike.  Readers might recall that the current minimum wage rate, $11/hour, is set to increase yearly until it hits $15/hour in 2026.  For the time being, with this Committee blocking the three bills from moving forward, the eventual $15/hour wage rate is still full steam ahead.



As this article from The Huffington Post notes, Starbucks has been aggressively fighting unionization efforts at its stores.  In doing so, part of the company’s strategy has been to argue that elections should not occur on a store by store basis but rather by region.  (The argument follows that Starbucks could likely stand a better chance of beating back unionization efforts if they did not have to “fight” store by store.)  Following several stores in upstate New York moving to hold union elections, Starbucks asked the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) to halt any votes on a store by store basis and instead only allow regional elections.  The NLRB required Starbucks to submit a statement of position by noon on February 11th to consider the matter.  However, counsel for Starbucks apparently submitted its statement eight minutes after noon on the 11th and said the delay was due to email issues.  Unfortunately for Starbucks, a Regional Director held that the company’s untimely filing prevented them from making the arguments included in its statement.  Not good. 

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