Now that the midterm elections are over, it’s time to look at the results and what they might mean for laws affecting Teamsters and working people generally.
A divided Congress portends more gridlock
The midterms left the U.S. Congress divided, with Democrats holding a majority in the House of Representatives and Republicans retaining control of the Senate. House Democrats are expected to introduce legislation on several important labor issues—like raising the federal minimum wage,
Keep readingThe Supreme Court issued its Janus decision, allowing public employees to opt out of paying fair share fees, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time June 27. By early afternoon that same day, right wing anti-union organizations were taking action to encourage employees to stop paying fees and some public employers were already encouraging their employees to do so.
Organized labor, however, was already primed to respond. Within about 24 hours of the Court’s release of the Janus decision,
Keep readingThe Republican-appointed justices on the Supreme Court have decided that the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment makes a mighty club to beat down the Democratic Party, the rights of minorities, and unions. The entirety of First Amendment reads as follows:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,
Keep readingThe California Supreme Court issued a crushing blow to the “gig economy” in a late-April ruling. In Dynamex Operations West v. Lee, the Court imposed a standard that will make it much harder for employers to escape state employment standards by calling their workers “independent contractors” when there is little to nothing “independent” about their work.
Dynamex is a nationwide package and document delivery company (for Home Depot and Office Depot among others),
Keep readingHere is a brief summary of the most notable new labor and employment laws and regulations that became effective on January 1, 2018:
Expansion of drugs subject to DOT testing
Those working in industries regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT) should be aware of a new rule issued by the DOT that expands the current drug testing panel to include commonly prescribed pain medications like Vicodin and Oxycontin. These opioid-based pain medications can be obtained legally through a valid medical prescription.
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