The Majority Opinion: Legal Blog

As with many employment & labor law related cases (and bills) being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on. Recently, Senate Bill 5312 was introduced in the Washington Legislature and is presently working its way through committee at this time.  Senate Bill 5312 is Washington's version of "ban the box" which seeks to mirror other related bills passed by cities and states on the topic.  If passed, the bill would prevent employers from asking applicants about their criminal history during the initial application process.  Violations of this bill would result in penalties being assessed against employers. Of course, employers could still ask an applicant about their criminal history later on in the application process.  This bill is simply intended to level the playing field and allow all applicants to be judged based upon their qualifications, rather than their criminal history. Senate Bi...

UNF West, Incorporated v. National Labor Relations Board - Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Facts :  UNF West, Incorporated ("UNF") is a corporation involved in distributing natural and organic foods.  At its facility in Moreno Valley, California, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 166 ("Union") began an organizing campaign in 2012.  A representation election was conducted and the Union lost.  The Union then filed objections based upon alleged unfair labor practices and requested the election results be set aside.  Before an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") could rule on the objections, the Union withdrew them and sought another election.  Although a new election was set for a short time later, it was canceled the night before it was to take place due to fresh allegations of unfair labor practices by two labor consultants hired by UNF. The two labor consultants, Juan Negroni ("Negroni") and Carlos Ortiz ("Ortiz")...

A few good updates were on my radar this week, namely dealing with the right to work legislation working its way through the Missouri Legislature, the Secretary of Labor nominee's delayed hearing, as well as a development on the Harvard student unionization vote.  As a result, I want to keep this update concise and to the point and give readers a bit more information on two major developments on the labor and employment law front from across the country this week. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. With Missouri's Right to Work Bill a Near Certainty, Both Sides Gear Up For the Next Fight Never let it be said that supporters and opponents of certain pieces of legislation are not forward thinking.  Celeste Blott over at The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote an article earlier this week about AFL-CIO President Mike Louis having recently filed petitions for the 2018 ballot that would seek to reverse any right to work legislation that is pas...

Perhaps we should call this the right to work month.  Recently, the New Hampshire Senate approved the right to work bill by a 12 - 11 vote in favor of the legislation moving through the state legislature. It goes without saying that this was an extremely close vote and even though it now moves on to the House, there is no guarantee it will receive the necessary votes there.  Readers might remember that a right to work bill moving through the Missouri legislature appears to have more support (and a likely, if not near certain, chance of becoming law).   Some readers might wonder why New Hampshire is having a tougher time with its right to work law compared to Missouri (and other states that have recently attempted to pass right to work bills).  There are a host of possible explanations but one could be that New England has traditionally been a 'labor friendly' part of the country with a history of strong union support.  In fact, if New Hampshire were to ap...

For those employers who have not checked or forgot about the change in mileage reimbursement rates, the IRS announced the optional standard mileage reimbursement rates have changed for 2017.  Beginning January 1, 2017, the reimbursement rates have decreased, and are as follows: 53.5 cents per mile for business miles driven; 17 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes; and 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations (same as current rate in effect). For those employers that use the standard IRS rates for mileage reimbursement, make sure to change your expense reimbursement policies.

As with many employment & labor law related cases (and bills) being litigated around the country, there are always a few that stand out.  This is one to keep an eye on. Recently, House Bill 937 was introduced in the Texas Legislature and seeks to raise the state's minimum wage rate to $10.10/hour over a five year time frame.  The current hourly wage rate ($7.25/hour) has been in effect since 2009 and minimum wage advocates are aggressively attempting to use this bill to jump start the discussion on a higher hourly wage rate in Texas.  State Representative Safronia Thompson (a Democrat from the Houston area) is championing this piece of legislation after a similar measure she supported in the last legislative session failed to pass. Note, there are other bills currently circulating in the Legislature which seek to raise the minimum wage rate to $15/hour.  At this point, it is still too early to say whether any of these bills will become law.  I t...

For those readers who might not have noticed, today is Inauguration Day of the 45th President of the United States.  As much fun as it would be to get into an in depth discussion of the political issues of the day, we will instead stay on topic and take a closer look at President Trump's nomination for Labor Secretary, Andy Puzder.  I have written about Trump's nominee previously, but given that confirmation hearings are yet to occur (and today is Inauguration Day), I think it is appropriate to dedicate this topic to Puzder. As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week. A Closer Look at Andy Puzder Let us start at the beginning and take a closer look at Andy Puzder.  Many readers likely have not heard his name mentioned before (as he does not have a political background and instead comes to the table with sizeable experience in the private sector).  Jodi Kantor and Jennifer Medina at The New York Times have one of the more concis...