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What I've Been Reading This Week


Apologies in advance for the brevity of this post.  I am sitting on the runway at LAX and it is tougher to type sitting on an airplane than when I am in my office.

With that being said, I have seen friends, colleagues, neighbors, strangers, and everyone in between doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge over the past few weeks.  I came across a very interesting article a few days ago that I thought would be perfect to kick off this week's "What I've Been Reading This Week" post.  As always, below are a few articles that caught my eye this week.


Litigation Upcoming for ALS Ice Bucket Challenges in the Workplace?

Everyone has likely seen a video or heard about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  It is a great way to raise awareness and for those who also donate in addition to dumping a bucket of water on their heads, it is a unique way to raise funds.  With that being said, questions are starting to arise about how the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge can impact the workplace.  Daniel Schwartz has a few thoughts that employers should address before hosting or approving an Ice Bucket Challenge at the office.

 
Can Going Green Positively Impact the Workplace?

This is an interesting article that suggests that going green can positively impact morale in the workplace.  According to a study, businesses that took part in environmentally friendly practices had more engaged and active employees as well as a more overall positive business outcome.  Reading through this article, I found that a lot of it made sense.  To top it off, there are few thoughts on how employers can become more green friendly.  Food for thought for those employers wanting to make a difference.


24 Questions to Address Before Terminating an Employee

Jeff Polsky always has some good articles that I come across; this one is no exception.  Quite simply, the article identifies 24 questions that an employer should ask before terminating an employee.  Some of the questions are common sense such as whether the employee has an employment contract that dictates what the grounds for termination are while other questions force the employer to ensure they have everything in order and have the necessary documentation of the decision lined up, in the event of possible litigation.

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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

A few years ago, I remember when the “Fight for $15” movement was taking off around the country.  Lo and behold, it appears that a $15/hour minimum wage is not the stopping point, which should be no surprise.  As the below article notes, New York is aggressively moving to ramp up hourly wage rates even higher.  While all the  below articles are worth a read, I called particular attention to that one. As always, below are a couple article that caught my eye this week. Disney World Workers Reject Latest Contract Offer Late last week, it was announced that workers at Disney World had rejected the most recent contract offer from the company, calling on their employer to do better.  As Brooks Barnes at The New York Times writes, the unions that represent about 32,000 workers at Disney World reported their members resoundingly rejected the 5 year contract offer which would have seen workers receive a 10% raise and retroactive increased back pay.  While Disney’s offer would have increased pa