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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


For those that have been living under a rock, following the leak of the United States Supreme Court opinion earlier this year that would have overturned Roe v. Wade (and the subsequent issuance of the opinion on June 24th that did just that), there has been much discussion and debate around the country in regard to what happens next.  Of course, this is a labor & employment law blog so for the purposes of this post, I am only going to highlight how the repeal of Roe v. Wade has started to impact those in the workplace, in particular how some employers are handling the development.

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


Following Repeal of Roe v. Wade, Some Companies Begin to Offer Assistance to Workers

As reported by Reuters, following last Friday’s decision from the Supreme Court that repealed Roe v. Wade (at the federal level and left it up to the states to handle), some companies have indicated they will begin to cover the cost and expense for their workers that have to travel out of state for an abortion.  While Disney and Meta have announced these policies that will go into place for their employees, I suspect other companies will start to follow suit in the coming weeks and months.


A Closer Look at NLRB’s Top Lawyer, Jennifer Abruzzo

Over the weekend, The Associated Press published an article that took a closer look at Jennifer Abruzzo, the President Biden appointed top prosecutor at the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”).  In the article, it is noted that Abruzzo has indicated that she intends to enact and revive sweeping changes to the labor landscape by bringing about labor friendly initiatives and policies from the NLRB.  With the NLRB soon to inherit a Democratic nominated majority (3 - 2) among Board Members, it is quite likely that Abruzzo can push through with these changes with minimal pushback.  The question then turns to whether the courts could reign in these labor friendly changes down the road.  Stay tuned.


Amazon’s Zoom Meeting to Contest Union Election Goes Off the Rails

Following the successful unionization of an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, Amazon sought to have the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) not certify those results and instead order a new election take place.  As many NLRB hearings are still being conducted virtually, Amazon’s hearing before the NLRB has been taking place via Zoom.  While this has enabled more people to view the proceedings, it has also resulted in some participants joining, sharing pro union messages or images, shouting out support for the union, and recording the proceedings, among other issues.  While the hearing continues to play out, these outbursts and related sideshows have proven to be an ongoing issue.

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