01-16-2025

A nationwide class of warehouse workers filed a lawsuit against Amazon over its smartphone app. Entitled “A to Z,” the required employee app provides the avenue for requesting accommodation, accessing employee schedules, and requesting time off. According to the suit, the app regularly refused requests for disability accommodations and did not engage in the interactive process required by the ADA. Amazon has not yet issued a comment on the lawsuit.

01-15-2025

At the end of 2024, the EEOC published a new fact sheet on wearable tech in the workplace. The fact sheet addresses how anti-discrimination laws restrict collecting and using information from those wearables. There is growing concern about the intrusive nature of this tech. Wearable technologies include smart watches, glasses, and helmets that monitor employees in the workplace, sensors that warn of nearby hazards, and GPS devices that track locations. The EEOC distinguished between collecting information, using information, and reasonable accommodations for wearables.

01-14-2025

With President Biden’s term ending, his proposed Title IX rule has also likely ended. The proposed rule expanded Title IX’s definition of sex-based harassment to include sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender stereotypes. President Biden wanted to protect the rights of transgender students. The U.S. District Court for Eastern Kentucky decided that Biden’s rule violated the First Amendment and Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

01-09-2025

An estimated 9.2 million low-wage workers will receive pay raises in 2025 because of minimum wage increases. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), these increases will equal $5.7 billion. Twenty-one states and forty-eight cities and counties will raise wages beyond their state minimum wages.

01-07-2025

Harvard College was a primary defendant in the lawsuit underlying the Supreme Court decision prohibiting race as a consideration in admission decisions. A Harvard law professor who has studied Black representation in the legal profession told the New York Times that the decision and Harvard being named created a chilling effect. The law school enrolled 19 first-year Black students, the lowest number since 1965. Last year, 43 Black students enrolled, and some years as many as 70 have attended.

01-02-2025

Matilda Djerf is a Swedish fashion influencer. She started her fashion brand, Djerf Avenue, in 2019. The 27-year-old sells clothing and beauty and homeware products. In 2023, Forbes featured her in its “30 under 30” list. Her 4.5 million followers like her “clean girl” aesthetic looks. In mid-December, a Swedish tabloid (Aftonbladet) reported that 11 anonymous current and former employees said Djerf mistreated them. She allegedly bullied staff and designated one bathroom just for her and a small group of favored employees.

12-30-2024

Amazon drivers began to strike on December 18, clearly intending to disrupt holiday deliveries and wanting Amazon to feel the impact. The strike is limited to seven Amazon sites, including New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Chicago. The Teamsters stated that about 9,000 workers joined the strike.

12-23-2024

On March 10, 2024, George Stephanopoulos said on-air that Donald Trump had been “found liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll civil case. The jury in that case returned a guilty verdict against Trump for sexually abusing Carroll. The judge had noted that New York has a narrow definition of rape (i.e., vaginal penetration by male genitalia only). Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC and Stephanopoulos one week after the broadcast. In December, Disney (ABC’s parent company) reached a $15 million settlement with Trump.

12-19-2024

Incoming President Trump campaigned on his plan for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Immigrants perform many jobs in essential industries like construction, agriculture, technology, and health care. These industries have struggled to find domestic workers to fill the positions. The Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that immigrants comprise 18.6% of the 2023 workforce (CNBC).