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What I've Been Reading This Week


Given that Senator Marco Rubio finally introduced his paid family leave proposal this week (after several false starts), I think it is appropriate to lead off this post with a closer examination of his proposal.  This one still has a long ways to go before becoming law, but some of the specifics of the bill are worth a read.

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


Senator Marco Rubio Formally Unveils Economic Security for New Parents Act

At long last, Florida Senator Marco Rubio has rolled out his proposed paid family leave plan yesterday, dubbed the "Economic Security for New Parents Act".  I have attached a fact sheet from Senator Rubio's website which breaks down some of the specifics of the plan.  Readers might recall that this proposed paid family leave bill would allow workers to borrow from their Social Security benefits in order to cover their paid leave.  In return for borrowing from their Social Security benefits, these workers would have to delay their right to receive those benefits for a set period once they reached retirement age.  It is worth noting that fellow Republican Senators Joni Ernst (from Iowa) and Mike Lee (from Utah) had originally been in talks to co-sponsor the legislation, however they did not sign on prior to Senator Rubio introducing the legislation yesterday.  Their reason for not doing so?  They apparently could not agree on the details in the bill.  Hmmm.  Somewhat troubling for supporters of this bill, but it is still early in the ballgame here.


Ban The Box Has Turned 20: A Look At Some of the Challenges Going Forward

Jennifer Carsen at HRDive wrote an article earlier this week that noted while ban the box has turned 20 (well, on July 15th that is), there are still challenges that employers face going forward when implementing this initiative.  In her article, Carsen pinpoints several things employers can do to ensure compliance with ban the box laws (as they can vary from city to city and state to state), such as adopting a national ban the box policy that attempts to comply with as many ban the box laws as possible.  Regardless of whether an employee is a national company or only operates within one state or city, this article is worth a review for some well thought out insights.


A Closer Look At Addressing Whether HR Discussions Are Confidential & The Purpose of Exit Interviews

On Tuesday, Johnny Taylor Jr. at USA Today discussed whether an employee's conversation with HR is confidential and what purpose an exit interview actually serves.  As Taylor points out, if an employee raises an issue in a discussion with HR that concerns potential liability for the organization or an issue that could significantly impact the business or other employees, the HR representative is more often than not obligated to discuss the matter with those that need to know within the company.  As a result, a confidential mediation discussion can sometimes result in the discussion not being confidential after all, despite what an employee might think.  Taylor proceeds to address what purpose an exit interview, a discussion that should be highly relevant to both employers and employees alike.

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