On Labor

On Labor On Labor is a blog by Harvard Law Professors Benjamin Sachs and Jack Goldsmith devoted to workers, unions, and their politics.

We interpret our subject broadly to include the current crisis in the traditional union movement (why union decline is happening and what it means for our society); the new and contested forms of worker organization that are filling the labor union gap; how work ought to be structured and managed; how workers ought to be represented and compensated; and the appropriate role of government – all three branches – in each of these issues.

For all the sparks at the Democratic Debate, candidates from Bernie Sanders to Mike Bloomberg agree on one monumental la...
02/20/2020

For all the sparks at the Democratic Debate, candidates from Bernie Sanders to Mike Bloomberg agree on one monumental labor policy proposal: sectoral bargaining.
Profs. Sharon Block and Ben Sachs detail the emerging Democratic consensus and what a sectoral bargaining would actually entail.

Wonolo, short for “Work Now Locally,” is essentially a next-generation, blue-collar temp staffing agency that specialize...
05/09/2019

Wonolo, short for “Work Now Locally,” is essentially a next-generation, blue-collar temp staffing agency that specializes in warehouse work (but also advertises to companies seeking temporary labor for delivery work, event staffing, janitorial services; etc.). It was “incubated” by Coca-Cola, whose retail outlets often needed spot labor to set up displays in supermarkets and convenience stores.

https://onlabor.org/the-digitalization-of-day-labor-as-gig-work/

The taxicab exemption allows employers “engage[d] in the business of operating taxicabs” to be exempt from the overtime ...
05/06/2019

The taxicab exemption allows employers “engage[d] in the business of operating taxicabs” to be exempt from the overtime pay requirement. Thus, whether Uber falls within the exemption turns on whether rideshare companies are in the “business of operating taxicabs.”

https://onlabor.org/uber-overtime-and-the-taxicab-exemption/

"Riot Games is the developer of League of Legends and runs the League of Legends Championship Series, the professional e...
05/01/2019

"Riot Games is the developer of League of Legends and runs the League of Legends Championship Series, the professional esports league with ten teams from North America competing. In 2017, Riot Games took a page from conventional sports leagues like the NFL and NBA, announcing its plans to start a players’ association called the North American League of Legends Championship Series Players Association. Its goal is to represent players’ interests at the negotiation table. Because of the structure of esports, there are three parties at play. Riot Games is the publisher and operator of the league, then the team, and finally the players.

Riot Games’ funding of its own union poses an obvious legal question: Are esports players employees of Riot Games, making it a violation for Riot Games to fund their own labor union under the NLRA?"

https://onlabor.org/is-riot-games-in-violation-of-the-nlra-for-funding-its-own-union/

"[I]t’s hard to see this going well,” writes Jay Michaelson at The Daily Beast. “I am not optimistic,” says Georgetown L...
04/23/2019

"[I]t’s hard to see this going well,” writes Jay Michaelson at The Daily Beast. “I am not optimistic,” says Georgetown Law professor Sheila Foster. “Not great news,” contends Columbia Law professor Katherine Franke. “Yikes,” tweets Mark Joseph Stern at Slate. Read Jared Odessky's roundup of the coverage.

Yesterday the Supreme Court granted cert in three cases that will decide whether Title VII’s bar against discrimination because of s*x extends to discrimination because of s*xual orientation and ge…

The Supreme Court just granted cert. in three cases asking whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act’s prohibition on wo...
04/22/2019

The Supreme Court just granted cert. in three cases asking whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act’s prohibition on workplace discrimination based on s*x also prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ workers. Many federal appeals courts have held that Title VII protects LGBTQ workers — but with Justice Kennedy off the Court and Justice Kavanaugh on, the future of those rights is unclear.

https://onlabor.org/scotus-weighing-lgbtq-workers-right-whats-at-risk/

"On Wednesday a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit heard oral argument in Horton v. Midwest Geriatric Management, L...
04/18/2019

"On Wednesday a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit heard oral argument in Horton v. Midwest Geriatric Management, LLC. The case concerns whether Title VII’s prohibition on employment discrimination “because of s*x” prohibits discrimination because of an employee’s s*xual orientation. The panel’s decision will have significant consequences for Mark Horton – the plaintiff, whose job offer was rescinded after he disclosed that he was gay – and for employees throughout the Eighth Circuit. Its effects may be felt across the country as well: a finding that s*xual orientation is not protected would deepen an emerging circuit split, perhaps making it more likely that the Supreme Court will step in to resolve the question. The Court could do so as early as this morning."

https://onlabor.org/eighth-circuit-considers-whether-title-vii-prohibits-s*xual-orientation-discrimination/

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