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What I've Been Reading This Week


With the update on the Supreme Court's decision yesterday in the New Prime, Inc. v. Oliveira case, I point readers to that update given the Court's unanimous decision finding that an arbitration provision was not enforceable.  For those that already checked out that article and are looking for something new, I came across a few articles this week worth highlighting.  In particular, I call attention to a new wrestling promotion that is making equal pay one of the tent poles of its new organization.  It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

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


New Wrestling Promotion Announces Equal Pay For Male & Female Wrestlers

Some readers might enjoy watching wrestling, whether it be WWE, ROH, NJPW, or another indie promotion.  Of course, let us not forget UFC or Bellator for those looking for something a bit more physical.  Last week, it was announced that a new wrestling promotion was being created called All Elite Wrestling ("AEW").  At the AEW announcement in Jacksonville, it was noted that the promotion intended to implement equal pay for entry level wrestlers.  As Brandi Rhodes, one of the participants in the AEW announcement later clarified, while all male and female wrestlers would not be paid the same, AEW intended to do away with the gender pay gap for its wrestlers.  This is noteworthy in so much that with equal pay being a major talking point over the past few years, the newest high profile wrestling promotion made sure to make note of it in its introductory press conference/announcement.  It will be interesting to see if other, more established promotions follow suit.



Earlier this week, Jennifer Carsen at HrDive addressed a situation many employers might have faced:  what to do when they decide to discipline an employee that has recently engaged in protected activity.  I will clarify here, we are not talking about an employer disciplining an employee for engaging in protected activity (which in and of itself is illegal).  Rather, an employer that decides to discipline an employee for a reason unrelated to the employee engaging in protected activity.  Walking through how employers can address this situation with several prominent employment law attorneys, Carsen provides several suggestions for employers such as making sure you have documented the problem previously and building your case for disciplining the employee with sufficient support, among other ideas.  Well worth a read.



Many employers often have offices, worksites, warehouses, etc. in multiple states.  While that does not necessarily present a problem, issues can arise when an employer tries to implement uniform paid sick and safe time policies that can often run afoul of the laws in different states.  As the article notes, there are a wide range of statewide and local laws in place across the country in regard to paid sick and safe time that an employee is entitled to.  Employers, while it may be easier to create a uniform policy for your employees, make note of the pitfalls that could pop up here and expose you to liability.


Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Announces Presidential Candidacy: What to Expect

For those readers looking for a broad overview of the platforms of the candidates that have recently announced their intention to run for President in 2020, I refer you to Reuters, Politico, The Washington Post, The New York Times, etc.  For the sake of this post, I wanted to instead touch on some of the employment, labor, and HR related positions of some of the candidates.  Earlier his week, Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand from New York announced that she would run for President in 2020.  Noteably, she is a supporter of a $15/hour minimum wage rate, universal paid family leave, and taking further steps to combat sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace.  While her candidacy is still young and her entire platform has not been specifically set out, at a minimum, her position on the hot button employment, labor, and HR related matters should strike a cord with the Democratic base.

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