As the 2024 election approaches, we want to remind everyone what is at stake for workers: the minimum wage, overtime protections, the ability to form unions or bring claims collectively. The very foundation of our work, of the cases we bring, of the very cases that you might currently be a part of is hanging in the balance.  

If you haven’t registered to vote, you can find out how to do so here: https://vote.gov/.  You can find your polling place here: https://www.usa.gov/find-polling-place   

We know that our clients support politicians from different political parties. We respect that you make decisions based on who will best represent you, and we all have issues that are important to each of us. When we represent you, your political affiliation doesn’t matter to us because we want to help you and your co-workers recover your stolen wages.  

The reason this election is so important is because this president may have the opportunity to appoint one or more Supreme Court justices. These judges make decisions that impact the entire country, like when a few years ago they ruled that employers could force workers to waive their right to collective action lawsuits in court. As many of you know, that decision has left many of you unable to pursue your claims with your colleagues, and instead you must proceed individually in private arbitration. 

Additionally, the president and other elected officials have the ability to enhance workers’ rights by increasing the minimum wage and the overtime threshold (meaning more workers would be entitled to overtime) or to strip workers of their rights through one-sided policies that favor corporate interests. 

As your employment attorneys and staff, we encourage you all to look to the past to make the best decisions for the future, and to vote for the parties and candidates who have historically paved the way for workers’ rights. President Franklin D. Roosevelt  introduced the National Labor Relations Act and championed the Fair Labor Standards Act; President Lyndon B. Johnson expanded labor protections and civil rights with his Economic Opportunity act; President Barack Obama restored labor rights after the early 2000s recession and increased the minimum wage for federal contractors; President Joe Biden  was the first  president to join a picket line when he visited striking auto workers. 

The choices made now will shape the future of workers’ rights for years to come.