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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


Right to work laws, striking graduate students at Harvard, employee appreciation, and paid family leave...talk about running the gamut of topics this week.  While USA Today provided a few highlights this week, HR Dive and the Richmond Times-Dispatch provided a few good articles on the other matters.

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


Virginia Democrats’ Potential Repeal of Right to Work Law Takes a Hit

In recent weeks, I had noted that with Democrats in Virginia taking control of the General Assembly for the first time in decades, there had been rumblings of the state’s right to work law being repealed. Last Monday, however, Democratic Governor Ralph Northam told the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates that this was not a priority, saying “I cannot foresee taking actions [that would include] repeal of the right to work law.”  As Michael Martz at the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes, Governor Northam’s comments are an effort to reassure businesses in the state that with Democrats gaining control of the General Assembly, political priorities will not suddenly lurch left in the state.  The question now becomes whether Democrats in the General Assembly will call the Governor’s bluff, pass legislation to repeal the state’s right to work law, and then force the Governor to veto the legislation (a potentially risky move in a state that has started to lean Democratic.)


Harvard Graduate Students Strike Over Demand For $25/Hour Pay & Other Benefits

On Tuesday, hundreds of Harvard graduate students went on strike and began picketing outside the office of Harvard President Lawrence Bacow.  The graduate students, represented by the United Automobile Workers, claim that Harvard has failed to agree to a collective bargaining agreement that would provide these graduate students with a pay rate of $25/hour, expanded healthcare benefits including mental health coverage, and stronger protections against sexual harassment.  While this article from USA Today reports that here have apparently been almost 30 bargaining sessions between the parties over the course of a year, the graduate students have approval to go on strike if an agreement was not reached by the start of this week.  Although Harvard has stated that several matters have been agreed upon, it appears there is still (much) more work to do before this matter gets resolved.


More Employers Shifting to “Repeated Engagement” to Bolster Employee Appreciation Events

I am sure many readers have had employers that host an annual party or event around Christmas.  For many employers, this is the one event a year in which it recognizes its employees, pays for a meal out, rents a venue for the event, etc.  While this is often sufficient for many employers, HRDive wrote a recent article and pointed out that a small, but growing trend among employers that now incorporate “repeated engagement” to recognize its employees.  For instance, Eventbrite allows its employees to put on talent shows throughout the year and holds various holiday themed parties, Guitar Center holds “jam nights” in which its employees are able to showcase their musical talent, and Cupertino Electric pays for its remote employees to fly to Vegas for an annual appreciation event.  While employers that implement these “repeated engagement” programs has only risen to 17% this year (up from 10% in 2015), might this new way of showing repeated appreciation for employees become the new trend among employers?


A Closer Look at Ivanka Trump's Fight For Paid Family Leave Legislation

Courtney Crowder over at USA Today wrote an article earlier this week which highlighted the efforts by Ivanka Trump to get paid family leave legislation through Congress...and what the hold up has been so far.  Readers will likely recall that Ivanka has been spearheading efforts to get a paid family leave bill through Congress for a while now.  Although there have been some stops and starts, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy tweeted yesterday that a bipartisan paid leave bill would soon be introduced in Congress.  While we await that legislation, this article should give readers a good overview of the matter.

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