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What I've Been Reading This Week


Late last year, I made note of a paid leave bill working its way through the New Hampshire Legislature.  At the time, the proposal appeared to have bipartisan support and there was speculation that after a few prior false starts on similar legislation, this version of paid leave might have enough support to become law.  Unfortunately for proponents of this bill, the measure failed yesterday after Republicans defeated the measure.  Although the fight for paid leave in the state might be on the back burner for now, I would expect supporters of paid leave to give it another go down the road.  The only question is how long they will wait to push another paid leave bill.

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


Bike Rider Terminated For Flipping Off President Trump's Motorcade Sues Former Employer

Back in November, I pointed readers to an employee of a government contractor that was terminated after a picture of her flipping off President Donald Trump's motorcade went viral.  (The employee did not hide her 'pride' of the image as she used the picture for her social media avatar).  Earlier this month however, she filed suit against her employer and claimed she had been unlawfully terminated (by apparently being forced to resign).  The suit also claims she was promised four weeks of severance pay but only received two.  I have not seen any formal response from her former employer but I am interested to see how this one plays out.  I suspect the issue over severance pay will be more of a black and white issue compared to the disputes over whether her termination was in violation of her First Amendment rights.  Stay tuned.


Paid Family & Medical Leave Falters in New Hampshire Senate

As Adam Sexton at WMUR notes, a paid family & medical leave bill failed to advance yesterday in the New Hampshire Senate after Republicans rejected the bill.  The proposal would have provided an opt out insurance program that would have allowed workers in the state to obtain up to 6 weeks of paid leave (at 60% of their salary), paid for via a .67% insurance premium on wages.  What ultimately did this piece of legislation in?  Perhaps one of two things:  1) Opponents of the bill successfully managed to characterize the proposal as an income tax; and 2) State officials that would have administered the paid leave plan could not confirm that the program would actually be solvent.  For the time being, workers in the state are denied a paid family & medical leave plan, although something tells me supporters of this plan will regroup, retool their message, and try again.


Flagstaff's Office of Labor Standards Identifies 3 Employers Violated New Minimum Wage Law

Flagstaff recently raised minimum wage rates in the city to $10.50/hour, higher than the statewide hourly minimum wage rate of $10/hour.  Flagstaff's Office of Labor Standards, charged with enforcing the new minimum wage rates, reports that over the past six months, 17 complaints have been filed claiming employers in the city are not complying with the new wage rates.  Of those 17 complaints, Flagstaff's Office of Labor Standards identified 3 employers that failed to pay their employees in accordance with these new wage rates and have been required to pay back pay and damages.   Although none of these employers have been identified publicly, at least 2 are apparently hotels.  I suspect that there will likely be more employers that will be found to have violated the new wage rates in the coming months, but if 'only' 3 employers in Flagstaff have been found to be in violation so far, those are relatively low numbers which should be viewed as an overall positive.


Two Former NFL Cheerleaders Offer to Resolve Their Discrimination Claims For $1

A few weeks ago, I pointed readers to a discrimination claim filed by a former Saints cheerleader after she was terminated from the cheerleading group when it became known she posted a picture on Instagram in a one piece swimsuit (in violation of a cheerleading policy the team had in place).  A former Miami Dolphins cheerleader also filed a related discrimination suit against the league recently as well.  This week, the attorney that represents both cheerleaders sent the N.F.L. a letter and offered to settle the discrimination claims for $1 and a four hour meeting with N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss alleged widespread harassment of cheerleaders in the league, low pay, and long hours, among other related concerns.  At this point, the N.F.L. has not formally accepted or declined the offer.  I question whether the offer would actually be accepted, but in the interim, it certainly keeps both harassment claims in the news and at the forefront of current workplace harassment discussions.

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