West Virginia governor vetoes legislation clarifying right-to-work law News
West Virginia governor vetoes legislation clarifying right-to-work law

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice [official profile] on Tuesday vetoed [press release] Senate Bill 330 [text], an attempt to clarify the right-to-work law passed last year. Justice says the issue is currently before the courts and the process should not be interfered with as dictated by the Constitution. Justice called for the legislature [press release] to instead focus on the budget. He further stated that the right-to-work law is an “issue for the Supreme Court to decide” and interfering in its judgment “is imprudent and contrary to public policy.”

Employment issues continues to be a controversial issue in the US. In January Kentucky passed [JURIST report] right-to-work legislation. In March the Missouri Supreme Court [official website] ruled [JURIST report] that St. Louis may raise its minimum wage next year. That same month, the Minnesota House approved a bill preventing [JURIST report] cities from implementing their own labor laws. In January a federal judge refused [JURIST report] to force Wal-Mart to pay $80 million in back pay. The same month the US Department of Labor [official website] filed [JURIST report] a lawsuit against Oracle America, Inc. alleging it had a systemic practice of paying Caucasian male workers more than other works in the same job position.