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What I've Been Reading This Week


Earlier this week I pointed readers to the settlement of two class action suits filed against Uber.  However, a new suit was recently filed against the company on behalf of all U.S. Uber drivers (who are not in Massachusetts and California...as those drivers were involved in the prior two class actions).  This new suit alleges that Uber misclassified its drivers as independent contractors, failed to pay overtime wages and compensation, owes its drivers expense reimbursement and failed to turn over gratuities.  I think it is appropriate to lead off this post with an article dedicated to that topic.

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



Erik Sherman over at Forbes has a good look at the recent lawsuit filed against Uber.  Sherman, who wrote an update on the pending settlement of the prior two class actions, breaks down the basics of what this new suit seeks.  As he writes, it might be in Uber's best interests to settle this matter out of court (and again kick the independent contractor vs. employee issue down the road).  Time will tell...


USWNT's Attorney Responds to U.S. Soccer Federation

The Huffington Post wrote an overview on the numbers published by the U.S. Soccer Federation in response to the equal pay lawsuit filed by the USWNT.  According to the numbers published by the U.S. Soccer Federation, the pay gap between male and female soccer players is 2.2% (among top players), rather than the 25% that the lawsuit alleged.  However, the USWNT's attorney responded and pointed out that the numbers published by the U.S. Soccer Federation were a "complete distortion" when it was considered the total pay that could be earned when comparing the salary of the men to the women.


EEOC Fact Sheet on Bathroom Access for Transgender Employees

Readers might be aware of the recent transgender bathroom debate going on in North Carolina and Mississippi, not to mention the federal lawsuits filed on the issue earlier this week.  The EEOC recently put out a "Fact Sheet" on the topic that is worth a read.  Perhaps the most important part of the Fact Sheet is the reference to recent cases that on the topic...this is a good resource for employers and employees alike!


OSHA's Guide to Restroom Access for Transgender Workers

This is another good resource for employers and employees to refer to when dealing with transgender bathroom access.  Included in the OSHA Guide is contact information for employers and employees to use to get more information on the topic.  Like the EEOC Fact Sheet, this OSHA Guide is worth a review.

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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