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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


I spent more time on the road, in planes, and in hotel rooms this week than I have in recent memory.  So goes the life of a busy attorney.  As a result, excuse the brevity of this week's post.  With that being said, I do point readers to the ongoing minimum wage and paid leave "fight" in Massachusetts.  That is quite an interesting story as November approaches...

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


Starbucks to Conduct Nationwide Racial Bias Education Training

Without getting too far into the weeds on this story, earlier this week, Starbucks announced it would close 8,000 locations next month to conduct racial bias training after an incident at one of its locations in Philadelphia recently.  The company announced that on the afternoon of May 29th, it would close its locations to conduct the training.  Employers that have heard about this development might want to use it as an opportunity to look at their own work environment and consider whether similar racial bias training would be helpful.  Of course, every situation and work environment is different, but at a minimum, the situation Starbucks finds itself in could be used as a learning opportunity for others.


Minimum Wage & Paid Leave Ballot Measures Could Be Before Massachusetts Voters in November

As Bob Salsberg at The Associated Press writes, it is looking increasingly likely that voters in Massachusetts will have the option to vote on two ballot measures this fall in regard to raising the minimum wage rate in the state and providing for paid family and medical leave.  The one way these ballot measures could be resolved without actually going before voters?  If legislators in the state and the Governor can reach a compromise on the matters by the end of the month.  If that does not happen, it is likely that voters would then have a chance to weigh in at the polls in November (and thus take the matter away from the legislators and the Governor).  At this point, there still appears to be enough disagreement between Democratic legislators and a Republican Governor that many expect a compromise is unlikely by the end of the month.  Stay tuned.

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