The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

To call this a bit of a smorgasbord of topics to close out 2022 is an understatement.  This week, we have articles ranging from a possible unionization at Trader Joe’s, to a closer look at the rise in employee whistleblowing, Krispy Kreme automation, and even the gender gap in paid parental leave.  So whether you are driving through the Rust Belt, picking something up at a gas station, or even staring at a dog in the back seat, there is something for everyone to help pass the time on an eighteen hour (more or less) road trip. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Workers At Louisville Trader Joe’s Move to Unionize Last Thursday, it was confirmed that workers at a Trader Joe’s in Louisville had taken one step closer to forming the third unionize store in the country.  Readers might recall that there have been two successful unionizations at Trader Joe’s, with one store in Minneapolis and another in Hadley, Massachusetts, voting to unionize earlier this yea

Earlier this month, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem proposed in a budget address that South Dakota would cover 100% of paid leave for state employees. Governor Noem went one step further and proposed $20 million in incentives, spread out over 4 years, to incentivize private employers to participate in the 100% of paid leave program.   For those wondering, according to the Governor, the cost to cover 100% of paid leave for state employees would cost $3 million/year.  With South Dakota apparently having a budget surplus, $3 million likely will not rock the boat too much here. It will be interesting to see how many lawmakers in the state rally around this portion of the Governor’s proposal.  Prior attempts to implement paid family leave in the South Dakota Legislature have come up short. For additional information:   https://www.keloland.com/keloland-com-original/gov-noem-includes-paid-family-leave-in-2023-budget/

Earlier this month, McDonald’s unveiled an automated location near Fort Worth, Texas that utilizes (or perhaps maximizes) automation for the first time to such a large extent. According to McDonald’s, customers can order their food ahead of time, go to the drive thru line, and have their food delivered out of a window by a machine.  (The below article has a Tik Tok video showing how this occurs).  Customers also have the option to go inside, order from a kiosk, and have their food prepared.  Reportedly, this location does have a few physical workers in place to help with certain orders. McDonald’s has identified this automated location as a test concept and intended to serve its customers on the go.  (Notably, the location does not have seats or tables.)  Critics have been quick to point out this is likely the first step by McDonald’s to cut back its labor force and phase out a large scale of its workers.  With rising labor costs around the country, this is probably part of the reason

Some readers might recall a prior attempt by Northwestern football players to unionize several years ago.  While that effort was struck down by the National Labor Relations Board, the matter has been simmering since that time.  As the below article from Sports Illustrated notes, things have taken a sudden change in recent weeks following an announcement that an advocacy group on behalf of college athletes had failed an unfair labor practice charge that the National Labor Relations Board is moving forward with, to the dismay of many. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. OSHA Notes Several Violations at Amazon Warehouses Recently, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) had found several violations at six Amazon warehouses, noting a failure to properly record workplace injuries.  These violations came about following inspections earlier this year at several of the warehouses.  Now for those hoping/expecting severe penalties coming Amazo

Oh boy, take a seat for this one.  This past Monday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling in which it held that the Biden Administration cannot lawfully require federal contractors to be vaccinated as a condition of getting a federal contract. Readers might recall that the Biden Administration had previously implemented such a policy in September of 2021 in its effort to curtail Covid.  The argument followed that by requiring federal contractors to be vaccinated, it would further reduce the number of people vulnerable to Covid.  When the policy went into place, there was considerable push back from many who opposed the vaccine mandate, namely on the grounds that it exceeded any authority a President has to issue such mandates.  Nevertheless, the policy went into place with lawsuits challenging its validity being filed not long thereafter. Earlier this year, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued a similar ruling.  Monday’s 2 - 1 ruling by the Fifth Circuit serves to

Earlier this week, Congress announced (some) details of the proposed budget it intended to pass.   Readers might have heard some rumblings about the size of the omnibus bill (which provides for the breakdown of the proposed budget), clocking in at 4,155 pages and some concerns about how quickly it is being rushed to a vote.  While I refer readers elsewhere for a discussion on defense spending, money for the IRS, and other related budget issues, I do want to make note of how much is carved out for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”)…or perhaps not carved out…for fiscal year 2023. While the Biden Administration had previously requested $319 million and House and Senate budget panels had proposed $319.4 million in recent months, the omnibus bill falls a bit short.  As currently written, the NLRB would be provided with a budget of $299 million.  The money budgeted toward the NLRB would help the agency investigate unfair labor practices, enforce labor laws, and generally pay to staf

Shorter week working to wrap up things before the end of the year left me with little time to read through articles this week.  With that being said, there were a few articles worth highlighting. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.  One Year Later: Where the Unionization Effort at Starbucks Stands Ah yes, the unionization of various Starbucks locations around the country…which has been an evergreen story of sorts (given the relatively widespread success over the past twelve months.)  I refer readers to this article from Amelia Lucas which provides a great breakdown of the unionization effort along with an easy to reference map of successful and unsuccessful unionization at the stores. Additional Congressional Staff Votes to Unionize Recently, the Congressional staff of Congressman Ted Lieu unanimously voted to unionize, marking yet another group of Hill staffers that have unionized in the past few months.  Readers might recall that Congressional staffe

Workers at two Peet’s Coffee locations in Davis, California have taken steps to unionize, following in the lead of the ongoing unionization efforts at various Starbucks locations around the country. One worker at a Peet’s in Davis apparently reached out to Starbucks Workers United earlier this year in an effort to solicit ideas on how to proceed with unionization efforts at Pete’s.  (For those unaware, Starbucks Workers United is the union that has been pushing for unionization efforts at Starbucks over the past few months.  For the most part, those unionization efforts have been wildly successful.)  The goal of the workers at Peet’s has been to see what has/has not worked for unionization efforts at Starbucks and duplicate those efforts at Peet’s. As of this writing, it appears the workers at Peet’s are on the right track as the two locations in Davis filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board late last month seeking to unionize.  Of course, this does not mean that these

Recently, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) invited comments on its proposed change to the joint employer rule. Before we get to the comments that have been submitted, let us take a step back and look at where things stand.  Under the NLRB’s proposed new joint employer rule, two or more employers could be considered “joint employers” if they “share or codetermine” conditions of employment such as pay, scheduling, or workplace safety, among other matters.  (The current joint employer standard currently in place requires a showing that two or more employers have “substantial, direct, and immediate” control over a workers’ employment conditions.  However, the current joint employer rule went into place during a prior iteration of the NLRB, during the President Trump administration, which was more employer friendly.) As with any proposed new rule from the NLRB, there is a public comment period in which comments are accepted.  In doing, so, the public was invited to weigh in on th

I think one of the major developments over the past few weeks has been the looming strike by the railroad workers & the recent update that it was narrowly avoided.  I refer readers to the first article for more on this topic.  With that being said, there were a few other labor law developments I came across this week which warranted dedicating this post solely to labor law. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. With Rail Strike Averted, Biden Administration Shifts Focus The Washington Post recently noted that following a rail strike being (narrowly) averted following Congress stepping in last week, the Biden Administration has started to take steps to shore up support among labor unions.  As the article notes, some union workers are upset with being forced to accept a new deal that did not provide additional paid leave (something that was a point of contention in the new bargaining agreement.)  Consequently, these workers have cast a suspicious eye o

Next year, Michigan Democrats will gain majority control the State Legislature and many suspect that the state’s right to work law will be one of the first things that the new Legislature seeks to address. The state’s right to work law, which was approved by a Republican controlled Legislature in 2012, allows workers to opt out of paying union dues as a condition of employment.  However, Democrats and labor groups alike have criticized these laws as result in lower wages for workers and depressing the labor market.  Consequently, right to work laws are a frequent target of the left. With Democrats taking majority control of the Michigan Legislature next year, the state’s right to work law could be on the chopping block.  Notably, as the below article points out, there appears to be a wide range of support for the state’s right to work law among Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. I would keep an eye on this one next year while we wait to see what (if anything) the new Legislature

Readers might recall that earlier this year, California had passed the FAST Recovery Act which would create a fast food council that would be able to set wage rates and working conditions in the fast food industry.   That legislation, AB 257, was met with considerable pushback before being signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 5th.  Employers and related business groups opposed the legislation on the grounds that the council, comprised of unelected officials, would be able to set the wage rate for fast food workers to $22/hour by 2023 and impose further wage hikes at their discretion. Although AB 257 was signed into law, opposition continued to mount with Save Local Restaurants being formed to find ways to stop AB 257 from taking effect.  In doing so, that required this group to submit 623,212 signatures to the California Secretary of State to get a ballot measure on the 2024 ballot.  The goal of this group is to get voters to repeal the FAST Recovery Act.   According t

For those thinking we were out the woods, in regard to election related matters, stand by…we have one more developing story that will come to a conclusion next Tuesday.  Of course, for those looking for a political discussion, I would refer you elsewhere.  The article leading things off this week deals with the role unions are playing in next week’s Senate runoff. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Labor Unions Wade Into Georgia Senate Runoff For readers that have not noticed, there remains one Senate seat up for grabs in Georgia.  Next Tuesday, voters in the state will go to the polls and vote on whether to reelect Raphael Warnock or instead vote in Herschel Walker.  As this article from Bloomberg notes, labor unions are ramping up their efforts to energize their members to get to the polls on Tuesday and vote for Warnock (the Democratic candidate.)  Will these efforts pay off next week?  Time will tell, but from some polls, it appears Warnock has a