Skip to main content

What I've Been Reading This Week


This was a tough week to narrow down the articles I wanted to highlight.  One of the more enjoyable notes I came across dealt with some rather "unusual" California Labor Code requirements.  Maybe unusual is not the right word...but I will say these are parts of the Labor Code that many might not have seen before or reviewed in a while.  Well worth a quick glance.

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


A Closer Look at Making Unlimited Time Off Actually Work

Ashley Speagle has a great article on how the recent announcements by several companies of unlimited time off or unlimited parental leave can actually end up working.  She has some good thoughts on instituting clear expectations and rules to ensure everyone is on the same page and even changing the "unlimited" language in policies to include "minimums".  


Bernie Sanders Joins Fight For 15 Ahead of Pope's Visit to D.C.

This is a good article from The Hill which makes note of Bernie Sanders taking part in a Fight for 15 strike, in an attempt to get Pope Francis to address their fight for an increased minimum wage.  The hope of these protesters is that while the Pope is in D.C., he will take up their cause and advocate for a higher minimum wage.  Time will tell if this actually works, but it cannot hurt to have a high profile name join the cause, right?

Beware What Is Put In Writing...That Can Come Back to Bite You

Robin Shea wrote a very interesting note on two attorneys who got in a dispute over a date to schedule an on-site inspection in a worker injury lawsuit.  In this instance, the date set for the inspection was September 14, which occurs during the Jewish New Year celebration.  However, this date was supposed to be September 10 and was inadvertently transcribed on the letter as September 14.  The other attorney, who was Jewish, became incensed at this date and sent a nasty graham to the other attorney and accused him of being "despicable, ignominious, cowardly, and a morally bankrupt racist."  The attorney who received this letter then went and asked the Court to sanction the other attorney for his conduct and somewhat slanderous language.  Even though the Court did not sanction any party in this case, employers and employees alike should be aware:  Anything that is put in writing can come back to bite you...especially when personal insults are leveled.


A Few California Labor Codes to Remember

The Laconic Law Blog always has some good notes and insights; this one being no exception.  As Eric Welter notes, there are several California Labor Code requirements that many probably are not aware of.  These are a few good ones to review!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

NLRB: Discussion Among Employees About Tip Pooling is Protected Concerted Activity

  This Advice Memorandum from the National Labor Relations Board’s Associate General Counsel, Jayme Sophir, addressed whether employees which discussed and complained about tip pooling at work constituted protected concerted activity. In relevant part, an employer in New York operated a chain of steakhouses.  While tip pooling was in place at these steakhouses, some of the employees objected to it on the grounds that it was not transparent and improperly divided tips among the workers.  Employees were told not to complain or talk to each other about the tip pool and were told that doing so would endanger their jobs.  Despite the employer later attempting to provide some clarity as to how the tips were being divided, rancor still existed among some employees.  At one point, the employees were told by a general manager that some employees that had been talking about the tip pool were “cleared out” and the employer would continue to do so. In the Advice Memorandum, it was noted that emplo

Happening Tomorrow: Connecticut’s Minimum Wage Increases

For those employers and employees alike in Connecticut, mark your calendars as tomorrow, the minimum wage rate increases in the state from $13/hour to $14/hour. This wage hike comes after Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont had signed Public Act 19-4 into law in 2019 which progressively raised the state’s hourly minimum wage rate every year for five years.  In fact, next year, the hourly wage rate will top out at $15/hour.  Beginning in January of 2024, the hourly wage rate will be indexed to the employment cost index. For additional information:   https://portal.ct.gov/Office-of-the-Governor/News/Press-Releases/2022/06-2022/Governor-Lamont-Reminds-Residents-That-Minimum-Wage-Is-Scheduled-To-Increase-on-Friday

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