Posts tagged 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
9th Circuit panel will hear Uber/Postmates case on AB5
December 22, 2023 // The decision handed down by a three-judge panel in March was notable primarily for its reasoning that Uber and Postmates had been denied equal protection of the law in the process that led to the California approval of AB5, state legislation that required companies that hire independent contractors to reclassify them as employees. Equal protection of the law was the only claim by Uber and Postmates that the appellate panel backed; it supported the lower court rejection of other arguments. The panel cited the statements of then-Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, now a state labor leader but the key driver in turning AB5 into law, as evidence that the move to more tightly define when a worker can legitimately be considered an independent contractor was an effort targeted at gig drivers like those at Uber.
Recent Legal Battle Latest in War to Protect the American Worker
December 6, 2023 // To justify its actions, the union claimed Baker had signed a subsequent dues-authorization form in 2020 that included the opt-out window provision. But when she asked to see the document, the union refused. After being forced to hire an attorney, Baker was finally able to negotiate a settlement with CSEA in July 2022. Under its terms, her dues deductions would stop immediately, and she would be reimbursed for the dues that had been deducted from her pay since April. The union also acknowledged for the first time that Baker had not been considered a member since April 2022, which was news to Baker. CSEA also enclosed a copy of the dues authorization she had allegedly signed two years earlier. The document had an e-signature rather than a “wet signature,” and Baker denies ever having approved it.
Freedom Foundation bundles FIVE FORGERY cases into one appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court:
October 5, 2023 // Abernathy said. “First, there’s abundant case law showing that, in cases like this, the union is treated as a state actor and can be held accountable for its actions. And secondly, the Supreme Court had already ruled that dues can’t be deducted by either the state or the union without the employee’s consent. It doesn’t matter what state laws say. The U.S. Constitution takes precedence.” The Supreme Court has declined to consider several similar cases in recent years, Abernathy said, but the justices can only tolerate the lower courts’ errors for just so long. “Unless you enforce it, even a landmark ruling like Janus is just a piece of paper,” Abernathy concluded. “Unions and activist judges have been allowed to act as if Janus never happened since the day it was issued. At some point, the court has to demonstrate that it meant what it said and said what it meant.”
ALASKA CASE GIVES SCOTUS A CHANCE TO REINFORCE JANUS
October 3, 2023 // Unfortunately, lower courts — including the Alaska Supreme Court and the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — have been reluctant to hold either states or unions to that standard. If the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to hear the case, it will effectively be asked to specifically apply to public employers the majority opinion issued just five years ago in Janus. If the court rejects the petition, the Alaska Supreme Court’s decision will stand. But even if the court takes up the case, a decision isn’t likely before winter. Most likely, months or years of written and oral arguments could be forthcoming. “Unless you agree to enforce it, even a landmark ruling like Janus is just a piece of paper,” Stahlfeld said. “Because unions and activist judges have been allowed to act as if Janus never happened, states like Alaska that want to comply with the ruling have been obliged to adopt legislation reinforcing what should have happened all along.”
Rep. Kevin Kiley Fights for Freelancers Against Julie Su Nom in First Workforce Protection Subcomittee Hearing
April 21, 2023 // Through the PRO Act, DOL rulemaking, and installing those who will do their bidding atop federal government agencies, the establishment Democratic Party, in lockstep with the Big Labor lobby hopes to force tens of millions of Americans out of freelancing and independent contracting and into “employee” status, which would allow the unions to focus on organizing new sectors in the face of dwindling membership. Rep. Kiley has fought against these efforts every step of the way, first in the California State Assembly and now in Congress, and called the hearing to highlight just how destructive the Biden/Su agenda will be to all Americans, and not just Californians, and has called Su “the architect and lead enforcer of AB-5.”
Op-ed: Political Earthquake in CA as Numerous High-Ranking Officials and Union Leaders Face Legal Trouble
April 3, 2023 // While many are focused on National Politics, with the former President being indicted, California's elite have their own worries with multiple major legal scandals. The political fissure runs from Sacramento to the southern border and will have aftershocks for years.
Opinion: It Turns Out Anti-Gig Economy Law AB 5 Was Tarnished by ‘Backroom Dealing’
March 30, 2023 // The court cited Gonzalez’s own damning tweets, interviews, statements and a Washington Post op-ed, even suggesting that AB 5 is rooted in “corruption, pure spite, and naked favoritism.” Indeed, the judges’ line of questioning at the July 13, 2022, hearing signaled their dismay at Gonzalez’s “shocking statements,” noting that Uber was the focus of her attention. The plaintiffs’ complaint included a list of disparaging remarks by Gonzalez, such as calling Uber’s chief legal counsel “full of shit” on Sept. 18, 2019 — the same day Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 5 into law.
Unions Are Stealing Dues Through Forgery. The Supreme Court Must Step In.
February 12, 2023 // The Freedom Foundation, a national union watchdog group, has filed about a dozen cases where unions allegedly forged people’s signatures in order to keep taking money from their paychecks. It’s an issue that has become so pervasive the Supreme Court must eventually step in and correct the 9th Circuit’s decision.
Forgery Cases Give Supreme Court Opportunity to Hold Unions Accountable for Shady Tactics
January 18, 2023 // aken collectively, the forgery cases clearly suggest a coordinated strategy on the part of unions panicked into breaking the law at the prospect of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in dues money when members they’ve spent decades preying on discover that the power to decide about workplace representation has always been in their own hands. The Supreme Court made its intentions in Janus crystal clear. Public employees have an iron-clad First Amendment right to keep their jobs even if they choose to have nothing to do with a union.
The Nation’s Largest Teachers’ Union Is Bleeding Members With a Shady Investment Scheme
January 18, 2023 // For more than 17 years, the National Education Association (NEA) has been siphoning off millions in kickbacks for exploiting its members’ trust and convincing them to invest in annuities and other investment vehicles that charge outrageous fees and underperform compared to similar plans available on the open market.