All articles tagged with #labor rights
Bit Reactor has begun reinstating furloughed employees following the successful launch of Star Wars Zero Company. CEO Greg Foertsch confirmed that more than half of the pre-furlough team is returning to paid positions this week. However, a significant portion of staff remains unpaid, as the studio continues to navigate financial constraints and ongoing legal disputes.
AEW star Benjamin Satterley, known as Pac, died at age 40 one day after competing at All Out. His passing has intensified scrutiny of professional wrestling's lack of labor protections, health benefits, and the physical toll of the sport.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the 'No Robo Bosses Act' and other measures on his final day of legislative authority, banning employers from using AI solely for firing or disciplining staff. The new laws require human review for automated decisions and mandate written notices for AI-driven mass layoffs. Newsom also issued an executive order rejecting the term 'superintelligence,' criticizing the federal government for failing to regulate the technology. While labor unions hailed the move as a victory, business groups argued the law’s definitions are too vague, creating uncertainty for employers using standard management tools.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 947, the 'No Robo Bosses Act,' banning employers from using AI solely to fire or discipline workers. The law requires human review of AI-driven decisions and mandates written notice to affected employees. Newsom also issued an executive order rejecting the term 'superintelligence' and criticized the federal government's lack of AI regulation.
Investigative reporting reveals that hundreds of human contractors are reviewing user-uploaded images and prompts for Microsoft’s Copilot AI. These workers evaluate the quality of AI-generated edits, often involving sexually explicit, nonconsensual, or disturbing content, without the ability to flag safety issues. While Microsoft states it uses data to improve products, it has not confirmed if users can opt out of these specific human reviews, raising significant privacy and labor welfare concerns.
404 Media reports that human contractors hired by Microsoft to evaluate Copilot’s image editing features are exposed to disturbing, sexually explicit, and harmful user requests. These workers review uploaded photos and generated edits to ensure quality, often encountering non-consensual sexual imagery, child exploitation content, and pro-anorexia prompts. The practice reveals that users assume their AI interactions are private, while human reviewers assess the output based on 'intuition' rather than safety filters. Microsoft confirmed it uses customer data to improve products, while the contractor agency Prolific did not respond to inquiries. This follows earlier reports of similar practices at OpenAI, highlighting a systemic issue in AI training where human labor is used to refine models without adequate protection for workers or transparency for users.
DoorDash agreed to a $131.5 million settlement with New York City to resolve claims of underpaying 264,000 delivery workers. The deal includes $115 million in restitution and $16 million in fines, marking the largest worker settlement in the city's history. This resolution follows a period of intense political scrutiny, as the company had spent $1.4 million opposing Mayor Mamdani’s election, which now oversees strict labor enforcement.
New York City has finalized a $131.5 million settlement with DoorDash, marking the largest resolution for delivery workers in US municipal history. The deal addresses underpayments and late wages affecting approximately 264,000 workers between 2023 and 2026. Of the total sum, $115 million will be distributed directly to workers, while $16.7 million covers civil penalties and program costs. The agreement stems from a probe by the city's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, which found DoorDash failed to meet minimum pay standards. DoorDash has acknowledged the errors, attributing them to technical bugs and complex delivery scenarios, and has committed to paying affected workers in the coming weeks. The settlement also mandates three years of data reporting and the development of software to allow workers to monitor pay algorithms.
DoorDash has agreed to a $131.5 million settlement with New York City to resolve allegations of underpaying and late-paying delivery workers. The deal, announced on September 22, 2026, includes $115 million in direct relief for approximately 264,000 workers and $16.7 million in civil penalties. The company admitted to 'screwing up' due to technical bugs and complex delivery scenarios, while the city cited 'design tricks' that deprived workers of over $550 million in tips. The settlement includes a three-year monitoring program and requires DoorDash to adopt the city's method for calculating on-call pay.
Senate Democrats and Republicans are rushing to finish a bipartisan college sports bill, with Sen. Chris Murphy proposing an amendment to replace neutral employment-status language with the College Athlete Right to Organize Act, effectively letting NCAA athletes collectively bargain. The move highlights internal Democrats’ divisions and opposition from labor groups like AFL-CIO, while Murphy also aims to apply transfer-portals-style restrictions to coaches and add protections for athletes reporting misconduct. The vote may occur this week as amendments are debated to speed passage, though final support remains uncertain.
A King County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of 70 Beehive Espresso baristas, awarding about $1.85 million in unpaid wages and damages and concluding owner Alan Tagle benefited from workers’ labor; workers described isolation, fears of retaliation, and organizing with help from Working Washington Rights Center.
The UK government named 658 employers for underpaying staff on the minimum wage, ordering repayment of more than £4m to workers and levying about £7m in penalties; causes ranged from payroll calculation errors and salary-sacrifice exclusions to other technical pay issues, with B&Q and Five Guys among the notable firms on the list.
A three-judge 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the National Labor Relations Board’s ruling that Starbucks violated workers’ rights at a Manhattan store by banning union shirts and multiple pins, saying the board failed to properly balance employees’ rights with the company’s image and safety concerns; the case is remanded for a new, more evenly weighed assessment.
After 2025 layoffs at Rockstar raised concerns about union busting, GTA 6 developers are seeking official recognition for a union called Rockstar Game Workers Union under IWGB. The Guardian reports current employees are coordinating with IWGB to secure recognition before GTA 6’s November release, with a potential strike if voluntary recognition is ignored. If successful, Rockstar would become only the second UK game studio with a recognized union after ZA/UM. Ex-employee Jordan Garland and IWGB president Alex Marshall emphasized giving workers a voice, while pre-orders for GTA 6 reportedly push the title past 3 billion dollars.
As World Cup 2026 unfolds across 16 US host cities, researchers warn thousands of workers face dangerous heat exposure, with risk rising in sunny venues and during heavy labor. FIFA says it has protections (cooling, water access, work-rest schedules, medical staff, real-time weather monitoring) and host-city requirements, but labor advocates doubt enforcement and point to state preemption limiting local heat-safety rules; temporary workers remain especially vulnerable, though some unions have secured protections in places like Kansas City.