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What I've Been Reading This Week


I have been fortunate enough to be in the office the past few weeks and catch up on things.  In doing so, I have had a little more free time to read through some articles and cases.  In particular, the article on the impact of higher minimum wages in Australia gave a good insight into what might happen here in the U.S., should $15/hour become the prevailing minimum wage rate.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


A Look at the Impact of Higher Hourly Wages in Australia

Minimum wage is a hot button issue that has been prevalent across the country in recent months.  I know hardly a week goes by without me seeing a new development on the matter in a city or state.  Given the relatively higher hourly minimum wage rate in Australia (AUD $17.70...or about $11.16 in U.S. dollars), this is a well researched article from Quartz about the impact (both good and bad) that the higher hourly wage rate has on workers in the country.  Perhaps an indication of what could happen in the U.S.?


NLRB Requires Specificity in Management Rights Clauses

Recently, the NLRB ruled that the union did not clearly and unmistakably waive its right to bargain over changes to the employer's work rules, absenteeism policy, and progressive discipline schedule.  As Summer Speight writes, in the Board's decision, it held that the employer was found to have violated the National Labor Relations Act by unilaterally implementing such changes.  Well worth a read.

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