» civil rights
DOL enforcement continues to move in progressive direction
March 8th, 2023
The United States Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued an agency rule that rescinds the approach adopted under the prior Federal administration. The previous Federal administration’s practice permitted Federal contractors to use religious fait…
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Categories: Blog
Public support for unions surges as educators and other school staff strike for better teaching and learning conditions
September 6th, 2022
Recent Gallup survey data shows that more than 70% of people in the United States view unions favorably despite only 10% of employees being represented by unions. The ongoing democracy deficit in the workplace results from retaliation and other union…
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Categories: Blog
DOL again takes action to combat employer exploitation, this time regarding immigrant workers
August 1st, 2022
The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued new guidelines about how to enlist the DOL’s help with fending off retaliation by employers against employees from other countries who report wage theft, workplace safety violations,…
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Categories: Blog
DOL increases efforts to combat exploitation of employees with disabilities
July 1st, 2022
The United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently issued new guidance regarding the enforcement of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) in relation to the Rehabilitation Act. Section 14(c) of the FLSA allows employers to pay les…
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Categories: Blog
A majority of the Justices on the increasingly unpopular Supreme Court disregards settled precedent -- again -- when eliminating privacy protections
June 24th, 2022
In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a majority of Supreme Court Justices cast aside 50 years of precedent that guaranteed women’s right to make their healthcare and family-planning decisions for themselves. For the past 5 decades, co…
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Categories: Blog
US soccer leads the way for pay equity in sports
May 24th, 2022
After years of courageous advocacy by members of the United States women’s national soccer team, including years of class action litigation, the United States Soccer Federation (Federation) recently agreed to pay female and male soccer players equa…
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Categories: Blog
The attack against voting rights intensifies much like the attack against workplace protections, healthcare equity, and climate justice
January 24th, 2022
Restrictions of voting rights began well before the last election cycle in the United States, but those anti-democratic efforts have escalated dramatically since now-President Joseph Biden won the last election. The voter-suppression efforts at the S…
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Categories: Blog
The way ahead in 2022
December 20th, 2021
As a turbulent 2021 comes to a close, the uncertainty persisting throughout much of year appears likely to continue in 2022. Regarding labor & employment law and civil rights, in particular, various factors make it difficult to predict with preci…
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Categories: Blog
Despite repeated examples of deadly police misconduct, the Supreme Court strengthens defense for police in misconduct cases
November 15th, 2021
The United States Supreme Court adopted the defense of qualified immunity many years ago to prevent public employees from being sued successfully for what they do (or do not do) in the line of duty. This defense turns on the idea that public servants…
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Categories: Blog
DOL moves employment law in right direction
August 2nd, 2021
On July 30, 2021, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) rescinded a rule adopted under the prior Federal administration that limited when more than one company is responsible for wage theft, employee misclassification, or other violations…
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