Articles by Josh Eidelson

Gig Firms Want California to Override Court Ruling

Leading gig economy companies including Uber and Lyft are quietly lobbying California’s top Democrats to override or undermine a court ruling that could make many of their contract workers into employees. In April, the California Supreme Court issued a far-reaching …

How Tesla Severance Agreement Addresses Worker Safety Complaints

Language in a confidential severance agreement Tesla Inc. is using as part of the biggest job cut in its history is likely to deter dismissed employees from going public with worker safety concerns, according to employment-law experts. A proposed severance …

Tesla Seeks to Quell Doubts About Factory Workers’ Safety

Tesla Inc. would need to release more information than Elon Musk gave shareholders to set the record straight on the electric-car maker’s work-safety record, according to former occupational health officials who worked under the Obama administration. The rate of injuries …

Class Action Alleges Facebook’s Ad Tools Discriminate Against Older Job Seekers

A proposed class action lawsuit alleging Facebook’s ad placement tools facilitate discrimination against older job-seekers has been expanded to identify additional companies, further widening the latest front in claims that candidates are being filtered out by gender, geography, race and …

NFL Cheerleaders Could Test Joint Employer Liability Rule

The NFL’s cheerleader problems are back. The New York Times reported Wednesday that cheerleaders for the Washington franchise were made to pose topless for season ticket holders in Costa Rica in 2013. Earlier this year, a former New Orleans Saints …

Trump Administration, McDonald’s Rush to Avoid Employer Liability Trial

The National Labor Relations Board is ignoring its own guidelines and rushing to settle a major workplace action involving McDonald’s Corp., lawyers for employees involved in the litigation alleged. If the workers win at trial, the case could have a …

Appeals Court Rules Firing Over Sexual Orientation Is Illegal

Gay workers and their corporate supporters won a legal victory over the Trump administration as a federal appeals court ruled that firing people over their sexual orientation is a form of illegal sex discrimination. The appeals court in Manhattan overturned …

Google Upheld in Firing of Conservative Employee Who Criticized Diversity Policies

Google’s firing of an engineer over his controversial memo criticizing its diversity policies and “politically correct monoculture” didn’t violate U.S. labor law, a federal agency lawyer concluded. Statements in James Damore’s 3,000-word memo “regarding biological differences between the sexes were …

Hotels Facing Increased Scrutiny Over Employees’ Safety

One guest at the Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle opened his door naked and urged housekeeper Ely Dar to come in. Another offered her money in exchange for a massage. A guest once told her she was beautiful, then grabbed …

Trump Appointees Expected to Reorient Equal Employment Commission

The federal agency tasked with combating workplace discrimination is about to get a Republican majority for the first time in a decade, inspiring relief among employers and anxiety among workers’ rights advocates. President Donald Trump’s picks for the Equal Employment …