The US Department of Labor (DOL) announced Wednesday that it would be ending a Trump-era rule that would allow businesses to classify certain workers as independent contractors rather than employees. The end of the independent contractor rule is expected to permit so-called “gig workers” to be entitled to minimum wage and overtime compensation benefits under [...]
The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the final case of its term on Tuesday in Terry v. United States, about reductions of prison sentences for certain crack cocaine offenses. In 2008 Tarahrick Terry was arrested and charged under 21 USC § 841(a)(1) for carrying just shy of 4 grams of crack cocaine, and [...]
US Trade Representative Katherine Tai Wednesday announced the Biden-Harris Administration’s “support for waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines.” These extraordinary times and circumstances of call for extraordinary measures. The US supports the waiver of IP protections on COVID-19 vaccines to help end the pandemic and we’ll actively participate in @WTO negotiations to make that [...]
A federal judge struck down the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) moratorium on evictions Wednesday, finding that the agency exceeded its authority under the Public Health Service Act in establishing the ban. In response, the Department of Justice filed a request for a temporary administrative stay on the order, which was granted Thursday morning. [...]
Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the US District Court for the District of Columbia issued a summary judgment Monday accusing then-Attorney General William Barr of misleading the court during the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for [...]
Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted of the murder of George Floyd last month, filed a motion for a new trial on Tuesday. The motion for a new trial alleges that the court abused its discretion in a number of instances. According to the motion, Chauvin challenges the court’s denial of [...]
The Canadian government is being sued over its pandemic-era policy of turning back asylum seekers attempting to enter the country at official border crossings. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) filed a legal challenge on Tuesday against the Federal government’s decision to restrict access through the Canada-US border, citing in a statement “the severe harm [...]
The Minnesota Senate approved a bill Monday that would require voters to present photo identification at the polls. In Minnesota, the issue of photo ID was previously addressed in 2012, when Minnesotans rejected a constitutional amendment that would have required photo ID for voting. However, following the November 2020 general election, many states have considered [...]
Nine major US sports unions on Monday announced their joint opposition to legislative efforts to impose new voting restrictions. Following the November 2020 election, many states have either considered or have passed legislation restricting the right to vote. In early March, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed legislation that made early voting more difficult, in addition to [...]
US Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Monday announced plans to reunite four migrant families separated at the US-Mexico border under the former Trump administration. Mayorkas will oversee the reunifications under President Joe Biden’s newly-created Family Reunification Task Force — an Executive Order signed by President Biden in February. “Our team is dedicated [...]
