Our latest blog explores why courts matter for workers, and how Trump's judges are rolling back their rights and protections. Check out the full post here. | |
Retail and service jobs can be brutal on the best days, and the holidays exacerbate the mistreatment of working people. For many people who are just trying to get by, the only options for work are service-based jobs that pay federal minimum wage during the year with the only pay increase coming during the holiday season. The courts should be an avenue of redress for employees facing mistreatment or unsafe working conditions. If the employer is not following minimum wage standards, if the workplace is unsafe, or if adequate breaks aren’t provided, employees have a right to adjudicate their claims and have their day in court. Access to justice for low wage workers was never simple, even before the Trump Administration, thanks to underfunded legal services, conservative rulings that often made it hard to even get to discovery (let alone a jury trial), forced arbitration that pushed disputes into secret corporate-favored proceedings, and so on. But Trump is reshaping our justice system, and workers are being harmed. Trump’s judicial nominees have proven histories of rolling back labor and employment rights that took decades – if not generations – of fighting by people across the country. They were chosen as judges precisely because they prioritize the rights of the wealthy and powerful over everyday Americans. For workers, that means that the right to make ends meet, to be paid adequately, and to have quality benefits, is under assault. | |
