The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

  Rounding out a rather busy month, I wanted to take a moment to look back at two big events that have been evolving over the past few week.  Readers might have seen hazard/hero pay become a major talking point in some circles as local ordinances have recently been passed requiring additional pay for certain front line workers...much to the chagrin of employers.  On the other side of the coin, a union election underway at an Amazon location in Alabama has started to garner attention given the increased scrutiny it has received.  However, the noticeable silence by one major political figure has caught the eye of some observers. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Protests Arise Over Long Beach Grocery Store Closures A few weeks ago, the Long Beach City Council enacted an ordinance that will require large grocery stores in the area to pay their employees an additional $4/hour as a result of working during the coronavirus pandemic . ...

  Employees at the downtown Portland location of Voodoo Doughnuts have recently given their employer an ultimatum:  Voluntarily recognize their union by this Thursday or the employees will file a petition for a National Labor Relations Board election. The employees, who seek to have the Doughnut Workers United (“DWU”) union represent them, founded the DWU last March.  According to the employees, Voodoo Doughnuts was not adequately protecting its employees until the DWU stepped in to help.  A spokesman for the DWU stated that it had fought for an increased security presence for the downtown location’s employees, as well as took steps to provide food and support for struggling employees. Note, should Voodoo Doughnuts voluntarily recognize the DWU (or should the election turn out in favor of the DWU), only workers at the downtown Portland location would be recognized.  If that were to happen, the DWU has indicated it would request the company do several things, inc...

  A week ago, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, the West Hollywood City Council approved a premium pay ordinance for large grocery store employees that will see these employees earn an additional $5/hour effective immediately and will expire 120 days from the effective date of the ordinance. Of note, the ordinance applies to grocery store employers that employ more than 300 workers nationwide and more than 15 employees per grocery store in West Hollywood.  (“Grocery stores” are defined in the ordinance as any business that devotes 70% or more of their business to selling fresh and/or prepackaged food.) As for who qualifies for this $5/hour premium pay, the ordinance applies to any employees who are “employed directly by a hiring entity at a grocery store.”  However, managers and supervisors are not eligible for this $5/hour premium pay. One thing for grocery store employers in West Hollywood to keep in mind here, while they can attempt to limit an employee’s hours ...

  On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representative is expected to vote on the Equality Act, a piece of legislation that would prohibit discrimination against LGBTQ workers in the workplace. Readers might recall that the U.S. Supreme Court had issued a previous ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia in which the Court held that an employer that terminates an employer for being gay or transgender violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 .  While the U.S. House had approved a version of the Equality Act last session which would have codified the Court’s ruling from Bostock , the legislation never made it past the Senate with Senate Republicans grounding the bill. With the new legislative session starting recently, however, the Equality Act was reintroduced in the House.  With a vote expected to take place on Thursday, it is widely expected the legislation will obtain a majority vote and make it to the Senate.  (After all, Democrats still have majority cont...

The Create a Respectful and Open Workplace for Natural Hair Act (also known as the “CROWN Act”) is a law that originated in California which prohibits discrimination based upon the natural hairstyle or hair texture of employees or job applicants.  California, which became the first state to approve such a measure, has been followed with similar laws across the country including in New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Colorado, Washington, and Maryland.  Despite the U.S. House of Representatives approving legislation last year at the federal level, that proposal failed to advance in the Senate. With that being said, there have been a few new developments in regard to the CROWN Act across the country in recent weeks.  Based upon those developments, this week is as good of a time as any to focus on a few noteworthy stories in relation to the CROWN Act. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. Dartmouth Students Voice Support For New Hampshire’s Passage...

  Earlier this week, President Joe Biden held a town hall in Milwaukee in which he took a range of questions from the audience.  While President Biden addressed student loan forgiveness and defunding the police, among other topics, I wanted to highlight his most recent comments in regard to raising the federal hourly minimum wage rate to $15/hour. In response to a question from an audience member about raising the wage rate to $15/hour, President Biden acknowledged that while he supports a $15/hour wage rate, he wanted to see that wage rate be gradually phased in.  It is worth noting that President Biden recognized that small business owners could be detrimentally impacted by a wage hike and in doing so, gradually phasing it might be appropriate.  (This concern has been a recurring theme across the country as other cities and states consider raising their minimum wage rates.  It is one thing for large employers to shoulder the burden of a sudden increase in labo...

  At the start of the month, Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed HB 2045 into law which amended the Arizona Civil Rights Act (“ACRA”) to provide workplace protections for pregnant workers in the state. The law, which is expected to take effect this July, amends the ACRA to specify that prohibited discrimination “because of sex” and “on the basis of sex” includes because of or on the basis of pregnancy or childbirth or related medical conditions.  With the passage of this law, the ACRA will now mirror the protections offered by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. For additional information on HB 2045:   https://www.azleg.gov/legtext/55leg/1R/bills/HB2045H.pdf