Punching In http://news.bloomberglaw.com en Punching In is a labor and workplace news podcast from Bloomberg Law. Every Monday, reporters from our employment desk sit down with some of the brightest thinkers and most notable stakeholders in the L&E space to analyze the latest policy developments coming from the federal government and the states, as well as the latest moves by the largest employers in the country. https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/0a316e30-36e6-11e9-b2e2-2f9d0102f4b2/image/uploads_2F1550869717009-d7orkbjplto-862f87b22f05131d4105f18979dff92a_2FPunching+In+2900x.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress Punching In http://news.bloomberglaw.com no episodic Punching In is a labor and workplace news podcast from Bloomberg Law. Every Monday, reporters from our employment desk sit down with some of the brightest thinkers and most notable stakeholders in the L&E space to analyze the latest policy developments coming from the federal government and the states, as well as the latest moves by the largest employers in the country. Punching In is a labor and workplace news podcast from Bloomberg Law. Every Monday, reporters from our employment desk sit down with some of the brightest thinkers and most notable stakeholders in the L&E space to analyze the latest policy developments coming from the federal government and the states, as well as the latest moves by the largest employers in the country.

]]> Bloomberg Industry Group copfer@bloomberglaw.com 2020 Candidates Vie for Labor Union Support In this week’s Punching In podcast, Bloomberg Law’s Jaclyn Diaz took a look ahead toward the 2020 elections with Rebecca Givan, an associate professor of labor studies at Rutgers University. Democratic candidates are pushing for labor union support, but the labor movement, burned after the 2016 election when members were dissatisfied with union leadership endorsement choices, are making it known they want to see labor-friendly policy out of these candidates before offering their support.  Thu, 09 May 2019 17:56:00 -0000 full In this week’s Punching In podcast, Bloomberg Law’s Jaclyn Diaz took a look ahead toward the 2020 elections with Rebecca Givan, an associate professor of labor studies at Rutgers University. Democratic candidates are pushing for labor union support, but the labor movement, burned after the 2016 election when members were dissatisfied with union leadership endorsement choices, are making it known they want to see labor-friendly policy out of these candidates before offering their support.  In this week’s Punching In podcast, Bloomberg Law’s Jaclyn Diaz took a look ahead toward the 2020 elections with Rebecca Givan, an associate professor of labor studies at Rutgers University. Democratic candidates are pushing for labor union support, but the labor movement, burned after the 2016 election when members were dissatisfied with union leadership endorsement choices, are making it known they want to see labor-friendly policy out of these candidates before offering their support. 

]]> 539 California’s Employee-Contractor Test is Retroactive, 9th Circuit Says A federal appeals court said late last week that a legal test for ‘employee’ status in California established in 2018 applies retroactively. The highly anticipated decision means increased litigation risk for many businesses in the gig economy, and especially for companies that rely on a franchise model. This week on Punching In, California labor-side attorney Michael Rubin of Altshuler Berzon joins host and legal reporter Hassan Kanu to discuss what the court’s holding means on-the-ground for workers and employers, and how we can expect California businesses to react. Fri, 03 May 2019 20:35:00 -0000 full A federal appeals court said late last week that a legal test for ‘employee’ status in California established in 2018 applies retroactively. The highly anticipated decision means increased litigation risk for many businesses in the gig economy, and especially for companies that rely on a franchise model. This week on Punching In, California labor-side attorney Michael Rubin of Altshuler Berzon joins host and legal reporter Hassan Kanu to discuss what the court’s holding means on-the-ground for workers and employers, and how we can expect California businesses to react. A federal appeals court said late last week that a legal test for ‘employee’ status in California established in 2018 applies retroactively. The highly anticipated decision means increased litigation risk for many businesses in the gig economy, and especially for companies that rely on a franchise model. This week on Punching In, California labor-side attorney Michael Rubin of Altshuler Berzon joins host and legal reporter Hassan Kanu to discuss what the court’s holding means on-the-ground for workers and employers, and how we can expect California businesses to react.

]]> 764 Testing the Boundaries of Arbitrating Race Bias Claims Following the U.S. Supreme Court's lead, federal judges are not shy about enforcing employees' agreements to arbitrate just about any workplace dispute. But a former Tesla electrician argues that there's something different about race discrimination claims brought under a Reconstruction-era civil rights law passed to give freed slaves access to federal court. Tesla and the former worker recently met at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to argue over whether his allegations are subject to mandatory arbitration.  Imre Szalai, a Loyola University New Orleans law professor, joins Punching In this week to discuss why a 150-year-old civil rights law might evade arbitration and Tesla's best arguments to keep race bias claims against it out of court. Robert Iafolla hosts. Fri, 19 Apr 2019 14:57:00 -0000 full Following the U.S. Supreme Court's lead, federal judges are not shy about enforcing employees' agreements to arbitrate just about any workplace dispute. But a former Tesla electrician argues that there's something different about race discrimination claims brought under a Reconstruction-era civil rights law passed to give freed slaves access to federal court. Tesla and the former worker recently met at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to argue over whether his allegations are subject to mandatory arbitration.  Imre Szalai, a Loyola University New Orleans law professor, joins Punching In this week to discuss why a 150-year-old civil rights law might evade arbitration and Tesla's best arguments to keep race bias claims against it out of court. Robert Iafolla hosts. Following the U.S. Supreme Court's lead, federal judges are not shy about enforcing employees' agreements to arbitrate just about any workplace dispute. But a former Tesla electrician argues that there's something different about race discrimination claims brought under a Reconstruction-era civil rights law passed to give freed slaves access to federal court. Tesla and the former worker recently met at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to argue over whether his allegations are subject to mandatory arbitration.  Imre Szalai, a Loyola University New Orleans law professor, joins Punching In this week to discuss why a 150-year-old civil rights law might evade arbitration and Tesla's best arguments to keep race bias claims against it out of court. Robert Iafolla hosts.

]]> 489 Democrats Take Aim at Workplace Harassment, Forced Arbitration In this week’s Punching In podcast, Jaclyn Diaz talked with Maya Raghu from the National Women’s Law Center about a new bill proposed in Congress last week that aims to tackle workplace discrimination and harassment from several angles.  Fri, 12 Apr 2019 19:41:31 -0000 full In this week’s Punching In podcast, Jaclyn Diaz talked with Maya Raghu from the National Women’s Law Center about a new bill proposed in Congress last week that aims to tackle workplace discrimination and harassment from several angles.  In this week’s Punching In podcast, Jaclyn Diaz talked with Maya Raghu from the National Women’s Law Center about a new bill proposed in Congress last week that aims to tackle workplace discrimination and harassment from several angles. 

]]> 448 Business Groups Applaud Trump Administration’s ‘Joint Employer’ Moves “Joint employment” regulation is a key priority for many of the largest employer lobbying groups in the country. The Trump administration is finally responding to widespread calls to revamp Obama-era policy in that area, with both the federal labor board and Department of Labor working to give companies more leeway to use contractors without taking on additional legal risk with regards to the contracted workers.  Matthew Haller, government relations representative for the International Franchise Association, joins Punching In this week to discuss how we got here, and the significance of the agencies’ rulemaking. Fri, 05 Apr 2019 19:27:00 -0000 full “Joint employment” regulation is a key priority for many of the largest employer lobbying groups in the country. The Trump administration is finally responding to widespread calls to revamp Obama-era policy in that area, with both the federal labor board and Department of Labor working to give companies more leeway to use contractors without taking on additional legal risk with regards to the contracted workers.  Matthew Haller, government relations representative for the International Franchise Association, joins Punching In this week to discuss how we got here, and the significance of the agencies’ rulemaking. “Joint employment” regulation is a key priority for many of the largest employer lobbying groups in the country. The Trump administration is finally responding to widespread calls to revamp Obama-era policy in that area, with both the federal labor board and Department of Labor working to give companies more leeway to use contractors without taking on additional legal risk with regards to the contracted workers. 

Matthew Haller, government relations representative for the International Franchise Association, joins Punching In this week to discuss how we got here, and the significance of the agencies’ rulemaking.

]]> 677 Employment Discrimination Liability Stretches Beyond Employers In the modern workplace, a variety of entities beyond employers can end up making decisions that really matter when it comes to hiring, discipline, and firing. Some employers contract with firms to handle background checks for job candidates, for example, while others are required to enforce the policies of their corporate parents.  A growing body of case law lets workers and job applicants sue those non-employers for job discrimination. Sachin Pandya, a law professor at the University of Connecticut, joins Punching In this week to discuss precedents and laws that can make non-employers liable for workplace bias.  Fri, 29 Mar 2019 18:14:00 -0000 full In the modern workplace, a variety of entities beyond employers can end up making decisions that really matter when it comes to hiring, discipline, and firing. Some employers contract with firms to handle background checks for job candidates, for example, while others are required to enforce the policies of their corporate parents.  A growing body of case law lets workers and job applicants sue those non-employers for job discrimination. Sachin Pandya, a law professor at the University of Connecticut, joins Punching In this week to discuss precedents and laws that can make non-employers liable for workplace bias.  In the modern workplace, a variety of entities beyond employers can end up making decisions that really matter when it comes to hiring, discipline, and firing. Some employers contract with firms to handle background checks for job candidates, for example, while others are required to enforce the policies of their corporate parents.  A growing body of case law lets workers and job applicants sue those non-employers for job discrimination. Sachin Pandya, a law professor at the University of Connecticut, joins Punching In this week to discuss precedents and laws that can make non-employers liable for workplace bias. 

]]> 387 Lone Labor Board Democrat in the Dark? National Labor Relations Board Member Lauren McFerran, the board’s sole Democrat, recently suggested during an American Bar Association meeting that the NLRB’s Republican majority is weighing regulations without her input. That could implicate a federal law aimed at transparency among executive-level leaders. Former Republican labor board member Brian Hayes joins Punching In this week to discuss how things worked when he was at the agency, and the possible legal implications of the McFerran situation. Legal reporter Hassan Kanu hosts. Host: Hassan Kanu. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.  Fri, 15 Mar 2019 18:00:00 -0000 full National Labor Relations Board Member Lauren McFerran, the board’s sole Democrat, recently suggested during an American Bar Association meeting that the NLRB’s Republican majority is weighing regulations without her input. That could implicate a federal law aimed at transparency among executive-level leaders. Former Republican labor board member Brian Hayes joins Punching In this week to discuss how things worked when he was at the agency, and the possible legal implications of the McFerran situation. Legal reporter Hassan Kanu hosts. Host: Hassan Kanu. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.  National Labor Relations Board Member Lauren McFerran, the board’s sole Democrat, recently suggested during an American Bar Association meeting that the NLRB’s Republican majority is weighing regulations without her input. That could implicate a federal law aimed at transparency among executive-level leaders. Former Republican labor board member Brian Hayes joins Punching In this week to discuss how things worked when he was at the agency, and the possible legal implications of the McFerran situation. Legal reporter Hassan Kanu hosts.

Host: Hassan Kanu.

Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch. 

]]> 511 Independent Contractor or Employee? The Answer Matters The National Labor Relations Board recently changed its legal test for deciding whether a worker is an employee with rights under federal labor law or an independent contractor without those rights.  Employment classification has long been a key issue in a range of workplace litigation, including wage lawsuits and discrimination claims. Classification has become even more important with the expansion of the “gig economy,” which heavily relies on workers being independent contractors.  William Gould, former NLRB chairman and professor emeritus at Stanford Law, joins Punching In this week to discuss employment classification and a potential roadmap for granting unionizing rights to independent contractors. Labor reporter Robert Iafolla hosts. Host: Robert Iafolla. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.   Fri, 08 Mar 2019 20:56:00 -0000 full The National Labor Relations Board recently changed its legal test for deciding whether a worker is an employee with rights under federal labor law or an independent contractor without those rights.  Employment classification has long been a key issue in a range of workplace litigation, including wage lawsuits and discrimination claims. Classification has become even more important with the expansion of the “gig economy,” which heavily relies on workers being independent contractors.  William Gould, former NLRB chairman and professor emeritus at Stanford Law, joins Punching In this week to discuss employment classification and a potential roadmap for granting unionizing rights to independent contractors. Labor reporter Robert Iafolla hosts. Host: Robert Iafolla. Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.   The National Labor Relations Board recently changed its legal test for deciding whether a worker is an employee with rights under federal labor law or an independent contractor without those rights. 

Employment classification has long been a key issue in a range of workplace litigation, including wage lawsuits and discrimination claims. Classification has become even more important with the expansion of the “gig economy,” which heavily relies on workers being independent contractors. 

William Gould, former NLRB chairman and professor emeritus at Stanford Law, joins Punching In this week to discuss employment classification and a potential roadmap for granting unionizing rights to independent contractors. Labor reporter Robert Iafolla hosts.

Host: Robert Iafolla.

Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.  

]]> 509 Tipped Wage Policy’s Effect Still Uncertain The Labor Department’s recent policy change on compensation for tipped workers and new enforcement rules on the issue, walked-back a decades old position of “80/20,” which said tipped workers should be paid the full minimum wage for time spent on tasks that don’t generate tips, provided those side duties make up at least 20 percent of their weekly hours. This has created a sea change in how labor and employment attorneys consider litigation going forward and how courts may decide these cases. Loren Donnell, a partner of the law firm Burr and Smith, joins Punching In this week to discuss the current state of the 80/20 issue after the DOL’s recent changes and what this might mean for workplace litigation. Labor reporter Jaclyn Diaz hosts. Host: Jaclyn Díaz.  Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.  Fri, 01 Mar 2019 21:26:49 -0000 full The Labor Department’s recent policy change on compensation for tipped workers and new enforcement rules on the issue, walked-back a decades old position of “80/20,” which said tipped workers should be paid the full minimum wage for time spent on tasks that don’t generate tips, provided those side duties make up at least 20 percent of their weekly hours. This has created a sea change in how labor and employment attorneys consider litigation going forward and how courts may decide these cases. Loren Donnell, a partner of the law firm Burr and Smith, joins Punching In this week to discuss the current state of the 80/20 issue after the DOL’s recent changes and what this might mean for workplace litigation. Labor reporter Jaclyn Diaz hosts. Host: Jaclyn Díaz.  Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch.  The Labor Department’s recent policy change on compensation for tipped workers and new enforcement rules on the issue, walked-back a decades old position of “80/20,” which said tipped workers should be paid the full minimum wage for time spent on tasks that don’t generate tips, provided those side duties make up at least 20 percent of their weekly hours. This has created a sea change in how labor and employment attorneys consider litigation going forward and how courts may decide these cases. Loren Donnell, a partner of the law firm Burr and Smith, joins Punching In this week to discuss the current state of the 80/20 issue after the DOL’s recent changes and what this might mean for workplace litigation. Labor reporter Jaclyn Diaz hosts.

Host: Jaclyn Díaz. 

Producer: Nicholas Anzalotta-Kynoch. 

]]> 333 California’s Battle over Worker Classification The California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision upended the legal definitions of an ‘employee’ or ‘independent contractor’ in the state, with big implications for workers’ paychecks and companies’ bottom lines. The courts are still working out how the ruling applies on the ground, including at large ‘ gig economy’ businesses like Lyft and Uber.  Meanwhile, stakeholders and state politicians are discussing a legislative compromise. Mark Spring, the Northern California representative for the Wage & Hour Defense Institute (WHDI), joins Punching In this week to discuss the state of classification in the state. Spring is managing partner of CDFLaw’s Sacremento offices. Legal reporter Hassan Kanu hosts. Fri, 22 Feb 2019 21:08:00 -0000 full The California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision upended the legal definitions of an ‘employee’ or ‘independent contractor’ in the state, with big implications for workers’ paychecks and companies’ bottom lines. The courts are still working out how the ruling applies on the ground, including at large ‘ gig economy’ businesses like Lyft and Uber.  Meanwhile, stakeholders and state politicians are discussing a legislative compromise. Mark Spring, the Northern California representative for the Wage & Hour Defense Institute (WHDI), joins Punching In this week to discuss the state of classification in the state. Spring is managing partner of CDFLaw’s Sacremento offices. Legal reporter Hassan Kanu hosts. The California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision upended the legal definitions of an ‘employee’ or ‘independent contractor’ in the state, with big implications for workers’ paychecks and companies’ bottom lines. The courts are still working out how the ruling applies on the ground, including at large ‘ gig economy’ businesses like Lyft and Uber. 

Meanwhile, stakeholders and state politicians are discussing a legislative compromise. Mark Spring, the Northern California representative for the Wage & Hour Defense Institute (WHDI), joins Punching In this week to discuss the state of classification in the state. Spring is managing partner of CDFLaw’s Sacremento offices. Legal reporter Hassan Kanu hosts.

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