Su, Supreme Court in spotlight this week

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QUICK FIX

JUST CONFIRMING FOR THURSDAY: Julie Su’s confirmation to the government’s top Labor job is shaping up to be a critical test of Democrats’ ability to keep their paper-thin majority taped together.

Su was confirmed to be deputy Labor secretary under Marty Walsh on a party-line vote in 2021, and Republicans have given no indication they will vote differently this time around.

That leaves Senate Democrats with little room to spare. Facing tricky reelection battles, several moderate Democrats remain undecided on whether to ultimately back her. Sen. Dianne Feinstein‘s (D-Calif.) ongoing health-related absence only adds to the precarity.

Senate HELP Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Sunday acknowledged the precarity, saying on MSNBC that her confirmation “comes down to some of our corporate Democrats in the Senate” — calling out Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) by name.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Republicans are expected to tailor their criticisms of Su to sway on-the-fence Democrats. To wit, Sen. Bill Cassidy (La.), the top Republican on the Senate HELP Committee has contrasted Walsh and Su’s familiarity with the union bargaining table.

“Setting his politics aside, no one could say Marty Walsh didn’t have significant experience in negotiations and managing organizations,” Cassidy said in a statement. “With 150 labor contracts expiring this year the potential of replacing him with someone who has no direct experience handling labor disputes should be concerning,” he added.

Labor unions have been rallying behind Su in an effort to keep Democrats’ unified. The United Mine Workers’ Cecil Roberts — a key Manchin ally — sent a letter to Senate leaders Friday urging confirmation and AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler penned an op-ed for Ms. Magazine last week backing Su as well.

Expect the jockeying to only intensify over the coming weeks and months. Nick and Olivia have more for Pro subscribers here.

GOOD MORNING. It’s Monday, April 17. Welcome back to Morning Shift, your go-to tipsheet on labor and employment-related immigration. Send feedback, tips, and exclusives to [email protected] and [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter at @nickniedz and @oliviaolanderr.

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In the Workplace

SCOTUS WATCH: The Supreme Court is set to take up a case Tuesday that could require companies to do more to accommodate workers’ religious practices or risk violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The case stems from an evangelical Christian former postal worker, Gerald Groff, who observes the Sabbath on Sundays and was disciplined by the U.S. Postal Service for refusing to deliver Amazon packages on those days. Groff ultimately quit his job in 2019.

Under federal law employers have to “reasonably accommodate” workers’ religious beliefs unless doing so places an “undue hardship” on the company and its business. In 1977, the Supreme Court held in Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison that criteria is met whenever an accommodation imposes more than a “de minimis” cost on the employer — a rather low bar.

Lower courts ruled against Groff, though the Supreme Court in recent years has been receptive to expanding religious liberty protections and at least three members of the court’s conservative majority — Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch — have previously signaled a desire to revisit the Trans World standard.

The court is also considering whether a company can demonstrate “undue hardship” based on the effect a requested accommodation puts on an employee’s coworkers — such as those who had to cover the packages that Groff wouldn’t deliver on Sundays.

More workplace news: “Workers for slaughterhouse cleaning firm that hired children repeatedly used stolen identities to get jobs,” from NBC News.

Around the Agencies

UNRINGING THE BELL ON TELEWORK: The White House last week directed federal agencies to pare back some of their telework policies, though it did little to quell Republicans who have pushed for government workers to return to their offices.

“Agency workforces are generally expected to increase meaningful in-person work—that is in-person work that is purposeful, well-planned and optimized for in-person collaboration—while still using flexible operational policies as an important tool in talent recruitment and retention,” Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young wrote in guidance released Thursday.

OMB is instructing agencies to reevaluate their use of telework moving forward and set up metrics to measure their policies’ effect on performance.

But if the Biden administration’s move was intended as an olive branch to the GOP, it was not received as such. House Oversight Chair James Comer blasted OMB’s memo, saying it “shed virtually no light on when federal employees are returning to their office” or what forms of telework are appropriate.

“It’s essential the federal workforce get back to the workplace and provide better service to the American people,” Comer said in a statement, adding that House Republicans intend to ask federal agencies how many of their workers are teleworking.

On the Hill

HAPPENING TUESDAY: Sens. Bernie Sanders and Bob Casey are headlining a town hall on workforce shortages in child and home care along with the heads of SEIU and the National Domestic Workers Alliance.

The event is part of a broader lobbying push, previewed in Shift earlier this month, by care advocacy groups seeking federal funding to invest in these sectors. The care workforce has long struggled to hire and retain workers given the demanding nature of the job and its relatively meager pay, challenges that have been exacerbated since the pandemic’s onset.

More Hill news: “Lawmakers, Unions Eye Tax Code Change to Advance Labor Agenda,” from Bloomberg Law.

Unions

STEELWORKERS WANT CLEANER PAPER MILLS: The United Steelworkers union is seeking additional testing and sanitation across the country’s paper mills after workers at a plant in Michigan experienced an outbreak of blastomycosis.

“Rather than waiting to see if cases develop at other paper mills, management across the industry must be proactive and institute robust safeguards now,” USW International President Tom Conway said in a statement Saturday.

As of Friday there have been 21 confirmed cases of the fungal infection — including one worker who died — as well as 76 probable cases, all of which are tied to the Escanaba facility, public health officials said. The mill’s owner has halted operations amid the outbreak.

More union news: “Donald Trump Quit SAG-AFTRA Two Years Ago — But Still Collects 6-Figure Pension,” from The Hollywood Reporter.

IN THE STATES

RUTGERS STRIKES A DEAL: Rutgers University has reached a tentative agreement with unions to end a historic strike and resume classes this week, our Dustin Racioppi reports.

After five days of “intensive” bargaining at the statehouse, the two sides announced the framework for a deal early Saturday morning. It was one of the largest strikes in higher education history and the first at Rutgers since its founding 257 years ago — 10 years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The deal includes raises of at least 14 percent for full-time faculty and counselors; a more than 40 percent bump in per-credit rate for part-time lecturers; a nearly 28 percent increase in the minimum salary for postdocs; and “substantial enhancements” for teaching assistants.

One caveat: It’s unclear how all this will be paid for, as Trenton lawmakers are hashing out the state’s annual budget.

More local news: “D.C. faces big challenges as remote work demand persists, poll finds,” from The Washington Post.

Immigration

FROM ODESA TO TULSA: An Oklahoma business nonprofit is recruiting Ukrainians to work tech jobs in Tulsa, The Wall Street Journal reports.

“These recent arrivals are particularly attractive, according to local officials and business leaders, because they are eligible to bypass many immigration restrictions through a humanitarian program that allows Americans to sponsor Ukrainians to live and work in the U.S. for two years.”

More than a dozen Ukranians and their families have been approved to move to the city known as the Oil Capital of the World.

What We're Reading

— “Millions Gain Access to 401(k)s as More Small Businesses Launch Plans,” from The Wall Street Journal.

— Opinion: “The Problem With the Retirement Age Is That It’s Too High,” from The Atlantic.

— “Company Plans to Ditch Human Workers in Favor of ChatGPT-Style AI,” from Bloomberg.

— “Virtual Reality Promised us a New World. Instead, It’s Become a Breeding Ground for Harassment,” from ELLE.

— “Kroger Worker Loses Suit Against Franchisor Over Mass Shooting,” from Bloomberg Law.

THAT’S ALL FOR SHIFT!