Courts Block State Laws Aimed at Protecting Workers, For Now

Some groundbreaking state laws aimed at improving worker conditions have been blocked by courts, just as they were set to take effect early this year, a sign that industry groups will continue to fight measures that they say could upend business models and upset the status quo.

A judge temporarily blocked parts of a law that provides new protections for agricultural workers in New York; the trucking industry in California successfully fended off enforcement of a new test for determining when a worker is a contractor; and a separate California law that would limit mandatory arbitration agreements was similarly halted. ...