Littler’s WPI Labor Day Report 2018
The State of the U.S. Workforce and Outlook for the Year Ahead
Kevin Bu rke
Brenda Canale
Sebastian Chilco
Cori K. Garla nd
Tessa Gelbman
Lance Gibbons
David Goldstein
Greg Greubel
S. Libby Henninger
Shireen Karcutskie
Jorge Lopez
Sean McCrory
D. Finn Pressly
Matthew U. Sch erer
Meredith L . Schramm-Strosser
Meredith Shoop
CONTRIBUTING AUTHORS
Michael J. Lot ito | Co-Ch air, Workplace Policy Inst itute
Maury Baskin | Co-Cha ir, Workplace Policy Institu te
James A. Pa retti, Jr. | Share holder, Workplace Polic y Institute
Ronald Bird , Ph.D. | Adjunc t Professor of Econo mics at George Was hington Universit y,
Former Chief Econom ist, U. S. De partment of L abor (2005 to 2009)
EXECUTIVE EDITO RS
| September 2018 |
Littler’s WPI Labor Day Report 2018 | The State of the U.S. Workforce and Outlook for the Year Ahead
B
MESSAGE FROM THE WPI CO-CHAIRS
A park at 92nd Street and 9th Avenue in New York City was the venue for the first Labor Day in our history.
The Central Labor Unions of New York, Brooklyn, and Jersey City had 20,000 tickets to sell for the festivities
celebrating the great contributions labor had made to our country. The date was September 5, 1882.
Over the next 12 years, 23 states enacted legislation adopting Labor Day as a state holiday. Congress made it
a federal holiday in 1894. It is most appropriate the holiday continues to this day.
The changes that have taken place to our labor markets since then are too numerous to mention. Among
them are moving to an industrial economy and passing laws recognizing union rights, prohibiting
discrimination, setting minimum wage and overtime pay, and promoting safe workplaces, to name just a few.
American workers have not only played a profound role in making America the economic engine it is today,
but have also been called numerous times to war and other conflicts, while enduring the Great Depression,
the Great Recession, and many other economic and social challenges.
Of course, workers cannot be successful without entities to employ them, which is where Littler enters
the equation. For over 75 years we have striven to provide our clients and friends with timely and creative
strategies to navigate an often bewildering array of workplace rules and regulations to ensure compliance
so the rights of employees are protected. Organizations need a voice in how the workplace should
develop. Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute® (WPI™) oers that voice through coalition building, regulatory
engagement, direct interventions with policy makers, crafting legislation, and the like. In short, WPI is the
bridge between the workplace legal world and its policy implications.
So it is fitting, given who we are and what do, for Littler’s WPI to oer our Labor Day Report. We hope you
enjoy it and find it useful. Please give us your feedback so we can make the report even better next year.
In the meantime, let’s celebrate another Labor Day as we recognize with loud applause all those who have
made this holiday an American tradition we trust will never end.
—Michael J. Lotito and Maury Baskin
Michael J. Lotito
Shareholder | Co-Chair,
Workplace Policy Institute
San Francisco, CA
MLotito@littler.com
41 5 .6 7 7. 31 3 5
Maury Baskin
Shareholder | Co-Chair,
Workplace Policy Institute
Washington, D.C.
MBaskin@littler.com
202.772.2526
Littler’s WPI Labor Day Report 2018 | The State of the U.S. Workforce and Outlook for the Year Ahead
C
Table of Contents
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
II. AN OVERVIEW O F THE STATE OF THE U.S. LABOR M ARKET 3
III. CHANGI NG NATURE OF WORK 3
The Contingent Workforce a nd the Sharing Economy 3
The Skills Gap and th e Coming TIDE 5
IV. KEY LABOR AND E MPLOYMENT DEV ELOPMENT S OF THE PAST YEAR 7
A. LABOR RELATIONS 7
New NLRB Compositio n 8
Shift in the Gen eral Counsel’s Priorities 8
NLRB’s Election Ru le Scrutinized 10
The 2016 Persuad er Rule Rescinded 10
Key NLRB Decisions Refl ect the New Republican Majority 11
Joint Employer Limbo 13
Supreme Cour t’s Epic Decision Conclusively Establishes the Lawfulness of Class and
Collective Action Waivers in Arbitra tion Agreements
13
B. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY 14
Status of the EEOC 14
EEOC’s Priorities 14
Age Discrimination 15
Harassment 15
Nondisclosure Agreements and Harassment Settlements 16
Pay Equity 17
Status of LGBTQ Discrimination 18
Criminal Background Checks 19
C. FEDERAL CONTRACTING 20
D. WAGE AND HOUR 22
Developments from the E xecutive Branch Agencies 22
Legislative Updates 26
Judicial Update 27
E. SAFETY, HEALTHCARE, AND BENEFITS 28
OSHA’s Record in the Trump Administration 28
Legalized Marijuana a nd Drug Testing 30
Status of the Aordable C are Act 30
Association Health Plans 30
