In today’s news and commentary, HHS cancels union contracts, the California Supreme Court issues a new ruling on minimum wage violations, and rising jobless claims show continued weakness in the labor market.
On Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services moved to cancel its contracts with federal unions and ended recognition of its employees’ collective bargaining rights. The affected offices are represented by four main unions, including the NTEU and AFGE. The HHS move comes after a panel of the D.C. Circuit stayed a preliminary injunction of President Trump’s March 27, 2025 executive order seeking to end collective bargaining across much of the federal workforce. Earlier this month, multiple other agencies, including the EPA, VA, and USDA also terminated their collective bargaining agreements, as Gurtaran and Mila previously reported.
Meanwhile, the California Supreme Court on Thursday issued a ruling in Iloff v. Lapaille that heightened the standard for employers seeking to make a good faith defense with respect to violations of state minimum wage laws. The case concerned a worker, Laurence Iloff, who performed maintenance on the grounds of a rental property and was thus allowed to live rent-free in one of the houses, but otherwise received no benefits or compensation. After the employers ended the arrangement, Iloff sought unpaid wages, liquidated damages, and penalties. The high court ruled that Iloff was entitled to an award of liquidated damages...
Russian propaganda is spreading false statements that the account of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, was allegedly created with...