Two of the United States’ largest corporations, Amazon.com Inc. and Starbucks Corp., are currently embroiled in a controversy with the US Labor Department and unions over what they allege are illegal attempts to broaden the duty of businesses to report money spent on anti-union activities.
Both Amazon and Starbucks are objecting to subpoenas issued recently by the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor Management Standards. The subpoenas are demanding information pertaining to travel and additional expenses related to efforts to resist unionization. Both corporations argue that these subpoenas overreach the legally required disclosures.
Interestingly, Amazon’s lawyers are challenging the Department of Labor to initiate enforcement action if it insists on obtaining the requested information. The company’s position is that, if such action is taken, the Labor Department would need to stand by the legal defense of its demands.
The unions and agencies involved in this dispute maintain that the information is necessary for their investigations. However, from the viewpoint of these corporations, the aforementioned disclosures represent an unlawful extension of the law.
For more details, check Bloomberg Law to read the full article.