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What I've Been Reading This Week


It has been an extremely busy couple of weeks in and out of the office.  As a result, this is a shorter post than I would have preferred...but I have had less time than normal to read through articles as I would have liked.

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


NLRB Criticized For Enabling Racially and Sexually Demeaning Misconduct By Striking Workers

Recently, D.C. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett authored an opinion (and wrote a concurring opinion) in which he criticized the NLRB for its "too-often cavalier and enabling approach" to racially and sexually demeaning misconduct by employees on strike.  Readers might remember a law passed in Pennsylvania last year which removed the "labor dispute" exemption for unions...which addressed similar bad behavior as this case.  Interesting to note a high ranking judge take aim at the NLRB for giving "refuge" to conduct that she labeled as being "not only intolerable by any standard of decency, but also illegal in every corner of the workplace."  Marcia Coyle has a great analysis of Judge Millett's criticism of the NLRB that I think readers would enjoy reading.



Dcist.com has an in depth look at the impact that paid sick leave has had:   In cities that guarantee paid sick leave, there has been a 5% drop in the rates of the flu and other contagious illnesses.  This article is well worth a read for those interested to see the positive impact that paid sick leave has been shown to have.



For those interested in equal pay matters, look no further.  Rebecca Shabad over at CBS News has one of the best researched articles on the topic that I can recall.  In the article, Shabad tracks equal pay developments from around the country (including measures that have become law in Maryland in Massachusetts recently) while also recognizing the continued struggle to finally achieve equal pay in the workplace across the entire country.  It goes without saying that while a lot of progress has been made, there is quite a bit left to accomplish.


Ohio Supreme Court Dismisses Minimum Wage Complaint

Leila Atassi over at Cleveland.com has an update on the Ohio Supreme Court's recent ruling on September 14th that dismissed a complaint filed by backers of a $15/hour minimum wage rate in Cleveland.  According to the Court, the case was dismissed as the issue is not yet ripe for review.  For those looking for a less "legalese" explanation:  The complaint asked the Court to require the Cleveland City Council to accept 18,0000 signatures that had not been considered (the signatures were gather to try and get the $15/hour minimum wage matter on the ballot this November).  However, that did not happen so a special election is currently set for May 2, 2017 in which voters will have the opportunity to vote on whether to raise minimum wage rates in the city.

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