Skip to main content

What I've Been Reading This Week


A few days ago, I was talking to a regular reader of the blog about some controversial comments that were made by a Utah Republican official in regard to equal pay.  I was going to lead this post with that article but thought a more light hearted note about puppy parental leave would be a good change of pace.  To say puppy parental leave is somewhat of a ground breaking concept would be an understatement.

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


Scottish Brewer Introduces Puppy Paternity Leave

I have heard of parental leave.  I have heard of maternity leave.  But 'puppy' paternity leave is a new one.  With that being said, this is a great article on a Scottish brewer that is opening a location in Ohio and has decided to offer its employees a week of leave to take care of a new puppy.  As the article notes, this leave policy is apparently the first in the industry (or any industry that I can recall).  Not a bad perk to work for this brewer, right?   I wonder if they are hiring...?


Utah Republican Official Resigns After Controversial Equal Pay Comments

Josh Hafner at USA Today wrote an article earlier this week with an update on James Green, former vice chair of the Wasatch County GOP, who made controversial statements in regard to equal pay.  In a letter written by Green which was published in a local newspaper, Green said men make more in the workplace because they are the primary breadwinners and by making more, women could stay at home and nurture their children.  Green went on to state that equal pay requirements would force women out of the home (where they likely preferred to be) to join the workforce.  Needless to say, these comments raised a firestorm of criticism and forced Green to step down.  The article has a good overview of how things played out after Green's letter was published.

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