Alexa Kissinger is a student at Harvard Law School.
Yesterday the Seventh Circuit heard oral argument in Hively v. Ivy Tech Community College which poses the question of whether Title VII prohibits workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Earlier this summer, a panel of three Seventh Circuit judges upheld the lower court’s decision finding that that Hively failed to state a claim under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, holding that precedent bans workplace discrimination by sex but not sexual orientation. The Seventh Circuit then granted Hively’s petition for a rehearing en banc. Although the EEOC’s 2015 opinion in Baldwin found that discrimination based on sexual orientation is necessarily a form of sex discrimination covered by Title VII, a federal circuit has yet to rule similarly. Read The Chicago Tribune’s excerpts from the oral argument here.
After surviving a challenge for a preliminary injunction, OSHA’s anti-retaliation rule takes effect today. Pursuant to this new Improved Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses Regulation, OSHA may now investigate complaints by employees who suffered retaliation for reporting an injury by virtue of an employer’s policies. According to The National Law Review, OSHA can now issue citations and penalties and require employers to take measures including reinstatement and compensation for terminated employees, payment of revoked incentives, and other appropriate remedies. The regulation also includes a tracking component by which employers are required to provide employees with data regarding injury reporting, and the content of anti-retaliatory provisions. Although the rule goes into effect, a permanent injunction may still be possible at a later date.
Yesterday, Major League Baseball reached a collective bargaining agreement with the players union. According to USA Today, the agreement, which still needs to be ratified by some players, does not contain any major changes from the current agreement. Minor changes include making free agency virtually unrestrictable and a $6 million cap on teams’ annual international spending.
Daily News & Commentary
Start your day with our roundup of the latest labor developments. See all
April 18
Disneyland performers file petition for unionization and union elections begin at Volkswagen plant in Tennessee.
April 18
In today’s Tech@Work, a regulation-of-algorithms-in-hiring blitz: Mass. AG issues advisory clarifying how state laws apply to AI decisionmaking tools; and British union TUC launches campaign for new law to regulate the use of AI at work.
April 17
Southern governors oppose UAW organizing in their states; Florida bans local heat protections for workers; Google employees occupy company offices to protest contracts with the Israeli government
April 16
EEOC publishes final regulation implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Volkswagen workers in Tennessee gear up for a union election, and the First Circuit revives the Whole Foods case over BLM masks.
April 15
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of bakery delivery drivers in an exemption from mandatory arbitration case; A Teamsters Local ends its 18-month strike by accepting settlement payments and agreeing to dissolve
April 14
SAG-AFTRA wins AI protections; DeSantis signs Florida bill preempting local employment regulation; NLRB judge says Whole Foods subpoenas violate federal labor law.