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What I've Been Reading This Week


I came across a lot of great articles this week which made it tougher to narrow down.  With the recent announcement out of West Virginia in regard to its right to work legislation becoming effective on July 1, 2016, I thought leading this post off with a right to work article was appropriate.  It will be interesting to see who the 27th state will be that is able to pass right to work legislation.  

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


Colorado Takes Steps Toward Becoming a Right to Work State

The Denver Business Journal has a note on a recent vote by Republicans in the Colorado Senate to pass a bill that would make Colorado the 27th right to work state.  While Republicans in the Senate were able to approve the bill, the fact that the House is controlled by Democrats with a 34 - 31 majority means this legislation is likely going nowhere.  Short of a few Democrats switching sides and approving the right to work legislation, Colorado Republicans will likely have to wait and try again when they have numbers on their side.


Why Equal Pay Could Become the Next Big Class Action Trend

Given the fact that equal pay has become a hot button issue on the Democratic side in the primary season so far, I found this to be a thought provoking article.  The National Law Review speculates that given the recent announcement by the EEOC in regard to employers now being required to submit information on employee wages and work hours broken down by gender, race, and EEO-1 category, among other national developments on the equal pay front, equal pay class action suits might become a growing trend.  This is certainly a plausible scenario, given the environment in which equal pay claims are becoming a more common occurrence on the litigation front.  Employers, take note:  equal pay class actions could become a reality in the not too distant future!


Would Hillary Clinton's Support of a $15/Hour Minimum Wage Boost Her Candidacy?

The Statesman Journal has a good op-ed piece from The New York Times in which Hillary Clinton is encouraged to embrace a $15/hour minimum wage message.  As The Times suggests, Clinton's support of a $12/hour minimum wage does not go far enough.  Instead, it is argued that given that a minimum wage increase would be phased in over several years, a $15/hour minimum wage is more in tune with what these workers would need to earn over the long haul, once the full wage increase became effective.  I do not know if I agree with the argument that Clinton's candidacy would become stronger once she embraced a $15/hour minimum wage though...she already appears to have a good hold on the nomination (and might be wary of embracing a $15/hour minimum wage position if she had to "sell" that in a general election, as opposed to a Democratic primary fight).

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