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As workplace unfairness and economic inequality increase, union support surges
November 1st, 2019
Although the field for the Democratic Party nomination remains large and includes a number of so-called centrist candidates, the field almost uniformly supports progressive policies to address the unfairness and inequality intensifying with each pass…
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Categories: Blog
Unions leading the way for progressive change to benefit the proverbial 99%
October 21st, 2019
The current strike of both Chicago public school teachers and staff illustrates a growing trend across the nation. In particular, and despite employer attempts to frame contract negotiations as only about wage increases for union members, unions are…
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Categories: Blog
Tags: civil rights
Puerto Rico points the way ahead for the entire United States?
September 1st, 2019
Puerto Rico has not always received positive media coverage, especially in recent times. The debt crisis, resulting largely from financial arrangements imposed externally, has made life difficult for many on the island in the past decade. Hurricane M…
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Categories: Blog
Tags: civil rights
Legislative fix of Minnesota’s whistleblower law continues to have a positive impact
August 1st, 2019
The Minnesota Court of Appeals recently rendered an important whistleblower ruling. In that case, Moore v. City of New Brighton, the Court reversed summary judgment for the employer and remanded the whistleblowing claims to the district court for tri…
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Categories: Blog
Supreme Court favors gamesmanship over civil rights and fundamental fairness
July 1st, 2019
In Rucho v. Common Cause, and by a narrow 5-4 majority, the Supreme Court turned its back on democracy by allowing States to draw voting districts however they want. The Supreme Court majority so ruled despite understanding the decision means that St…
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Categories: Blog
Surveillance state advances?
June 17th, 2019
The fast-moving development of artificial intelligence (“AI”) technologies offers much promise but also potentially peril. In particular, the multi-billion dollar industry of AI-driven video analytics is now infiltrating the surveillance camera s…
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Categories: Blog
Slim Supreme Court majority again uses arbitration clauses to thwart robust enforcement of workplace rights
May 1st, 2019
Five Justices of the Supreme Court reversed both the District Court and the Court of Appeals in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela to rule that the right to pursue class action claims through arbitration must be clear. In Lamps Plus, an employee (Mr. Frank V…
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Categories: Blog
Trump’s DOL and NLRB continue to pursue policies that evidently favor corporations over people
April 9th, 2019
For starters, a little context is in order. During the Obama Administration, both the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) reinforced the legal standard for proving that two supposedly sepa…
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Categories: Blog
Minnesota Supreme Court overrules itself to declare that workers compensation law no longer bars civil rights claims in the workplace
March 4th, 2019
In Daniel v. City of Minneapolis, the Minnesota Supreme Court reversed course and rejected the legal standard established 30 years ago under employment law in Karst v. F.C. Hayer Co., 447 N.W.2d 180 (Minn. 1989). Before Daniel, and for the past 3 dec…
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Categories: Blog
A United States Supreme Court victory for employees?
February 1st, 2019
Contrary to the trend, the United States Supreme Court recently ruled that the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1, et seq., does not make mandatory arbitration agreements in the trucking industry enforceable. In that case, New Prime…
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Categories: Blog
