Large rectangular office building with rows of square windows behind a tall dark sign with gold lettering and a circular seal, set on a lawn under a blue sky with flags and lampposts nearby.

DOL Strips Affirmative Action Mandate From Apprenticeships

The U.S. Department of Labor unveiled its blueprint Thursday for rolling back decade-old regulations requiring apprenticeship program sponsors to meet certain affirmative action and equal employment opportunity obligations, releasing a rule the agency said would repeal "burdensome and legally questionable" demands.

employment law paperwork with gavel and stamp

Employment Cases See Sharp Spike In Q3

Nearly 15,000 new employment lawsuits were filed in the third quarter of 2026, an increase of nearly 80% from the prior quarter, according to data from legal analytics provider Lex Machina.

Man in gray suit, light blue dress shirt and red-and-white striped tie at a brewery holds a microphone, with several men in the background

Labor Eyes Progress As Dems Seize Control Of Congress

The Democrats' decisive showing in this week's midterm elections have labor advocates hopeful that the next Congress will act on union priorities, including the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, with an eye toward enacting a pro-worker agenda once President Donald Trump is gone from the White House.

Expert Analysis

Justices Must Protect Enforcement In DOL Fine Power Case

Michelle Dromgold-Sermen, Jessica Vasquez-Luna and Julissa Barrera

In deciding whether the U.S. Department of Labor’s in-house court has the power to decide monetary penalties arising from H-2A ...(read more)

Consistency Is Key In Pipeline Incident Investigations

Phil Sandick and John Rainwater

A pipeline release that causes worker injury does not trigger one investigation, but five or more, running on different timetab...(read more)

NLRB Ruling Allows Leeway On Disciplining Misconduct

Sarah Niemiroski

The National Labor Relations Board's recent decision in Lion Elastomers gives employers more room to discipline employees for t...(read more)

Labor More

Maynard Nexsen Adds 9 Constangy Attys Across 3 States

Maynard Nexsen PC said Thursday the firm has added nine labor and employment attorneys from Constangy Brooks Smith & Prophete LLP, expanding its presence in New York, New Jersey and Missouri.

NJ Hospital Can't Add Radiation Therapists, NLRB Agent Says

Two radiation therapists at a hospital in Newark, New Jersey, can't join the International Union of Operating Engineers local that represents the hospital's nurses and technicians, a National Labor Relations Board official...(read more)

House Democrat Urges Labor Agencies To Preserve Records

The top Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee urged the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board and other federal agencies on Wednesday to preserve government records ahead of the nex...(read more)

Feds Say Union, Groups Can't Stop Wash. Ballot Demands

President Donald Trump's administration urged a Washington federal court not to block federal officials from asking the state to set aside ballots cast by suspected noncitizens, arguing that a union and two voter advocacy ...(read more)

Starbucks' NLRB Litigation Shrinks, But Cases Linger

More than five years after the union campaign at Starbucks hit the public eye, what was once a growing pile of National Labor Relations Board litigation involving the company is shrinking, though many cases remain unresolved.

NLRB Names New Regional Director Of Boston Office

A longtime National Labor Relations Board employee has been appointed regional director of the agency's regional office in Boston, the board announced.

SkyWest Union Latest To Oppose Spirit's Ch. 11 Data Sale

A union representing flight crew members for SkyWest Airlines has asked a New York bankruptcy court for permission to intervene in the Chapter 11 case of budget airline owner Spirit Aviation Holdings so that it can submit ...(read more)

Discrimination More

Racing Against Whistleblowers Could Cost Companies

The U.S. Department of Justice's new cash rewards program for tips on criminal fraud threatens to ramp up the pressure on companies to hurry internal investigations and quickly report suspected misconduct to the government...(read more)

Controversial DOJ Civil Rights Division Leader Steps Down

Harmeet K. Dhillon, a U.S. Department of Justice official who instituted dramatic changes as leader of the Civil Rights Division, has stepped down from her role.

Theodore Roosevelt Building signage before an office building
Federal Workers Seek To Halt Gender-Affirming Benefits Ban

Two federal employees urged a D.C. federal court to block President Donald Trump's administration from eliminating coverage for gender-affirming care from their 2027 health benefits, arguing thousands of people will be har...(read more)

Ga. Atty Fights Sanctions Bid For Sharing Severance Talks

An attorney for a woman suing the investment firm that laid her off told a Georgia federal judge Wednesday that a defense lawyer's bid to sanction him for causing "reputational harm and professional embarrassment" by publi...(read more)

2nd Circ. Says Ex-EMT's Retaliation Suit Lacks Evidence

The Second Circuit declined Wednesday to revive a former EMT's suit claiming she was transferred to a billing department role for complaining that her male colleagues harassed her, ruling she failed to overcome the ambulan...(read more)

IKEA 'Boys' Club' Derailed Manager's Career, Bias Suit Alleges

An ambitious IKEA middle manager lost her shot at a promotion and eventually lost her job entirely because of the toxic "boys' club" culture of the company's leadership team, she alleged in a new discrimination suit in Was...(read more)

5th Circ. Backs Texas City In ADA Retaliation Suit

The Fifth Circuit refused to reopen a former Texas municipal employee's lawsuit alleging she was fired over requested accommodations for her thyroid disease and mental health issue, finding her "vague and ambiguous" presui...(read more)

Wage & Hour More

Diminished 'Kings' Chain Looks To Liquidate Over Atty Fees

A Pennsylvania federal bankruptcy judge had qualms Thursday about plans to wind down the last two restaurants in the formerly regional Kings Family Restaurant chain, worrying the involuntary bankruptcy was driven by lawyer...(read more)

Va. Hospital Workers In Time-Shaving Suit Can Move As Class

A Virginia federal judge on Thursday allowed hospital workers to pursue their state claims as a class in a suit accusing their employer of rounding away minutes worked before and after their shifts, rejecting the hospital ...(read more)

Ford logo on the exterior of a vehicle
Ford, EV Battery Co. Must Face Workers' Unpaid Wage Suit

Ford Motor Co. and its electric vehicle battery joint venture must face a proposed class and collective action alleging unpaid wages after a Michigan federal judge ruled Wednesday that workers sufficiently alleged the auto...(read more)

Mission Foods Affiliate Seeks Arbitration Of Wage Suit

A Texas-based affiliate of Mission Foods urged a California federal judge to send a former employee's proposed wage class action to individual arbitration, arguing that he repeatedly signed arbitration agreements with the ...(read more)

Wash. Justices Won't Hear Concrete Co.'s $649K Wage Appeal

Washington's highest court declined to review a concrete company's challenge to a state agency's finding that it underpaid workers who used radar and X-ray imaging to scan concrete on a Seattle-area light rail bridge proje...(read more)

Ogletree Adds Ex-Amazon Employment Atty To Seattle Office

A leading in-house employment attorney for Amazon has departed to join Ogletree Deakins' Seattle office, bringing expertise helping Fortune 50 companies navigate workforce challenges to the firm.

7th Circ. Probes Milwaukee Tool's Forced-Labor Liability

Seventh Circuit judges grappled Wednesday with whether a federal anti-trafficking law allows a former Chinese prisoner to sue Milwaukee Tool over allegations it sold gloves made with forced prison labor in China, questioni...(read more)