Skip to main content

What I've Been Reading This Week


Tough to narrow things down this week as I came across quite a few articles worth pointing out this week.  Perhaps one of the more thought provoking articles comes from The New York Times in which the growing split in many workplaces (between full time and temp/contract workers) has become a glaring problem for some employers.  Using Google as an example, the article takes a look at how temp/contract workers are starting to fight for better pay, benefits, and time off (traditionally only provided to full time workers.)

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


To Pay or Not Pay Summer Interns: The Age Old Adage

Matt Durham recently wrote an article which addressed the situation that confronts many employers this time of the year:  Should their interns be paid?  While this is often a rather complicated question, Matt does a good job breaking down the 7 key factors that courts look at when determining whether an intern should be entitled to compensation.  Although every situation is different, this article serves as a good refresher for those looking for a bit of guidance on the topic.


Tipped Workers & the Proper Pay Rate

Many employers inevitably run across a situation in which they employ a worker that receives tips.  As a result, the employer can pay these workers a tipped wage (often $2.13/hour in many states.)  While this tipped wage is lower than the minimum wage rate, often these employees earn a great deal more in tips from customers.  However, questions arise about what an employer must do when the employee earns less than the minimum wage rate (calculated as the tipped wage plus tips) or the employee qualifies for overtime.  Brett Holubeck at The Texas Labor Law Blog provides insight for employers in this instance that is well worth a read for employers and employees alike.


Employer Issued Fitness Trackers & An Employee's Right to Privacy

It seems like within the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of employers that issue their employees fitness trackers to monitor fitness activity and sleep patterns of the employees.  The question often arises over whether these employees have a right of privacy that would prohibit employers from requiring their employees to wear the fitness trackers.  (While the U.S. Supreme court has seemed to suggest that employees lack any reasonable expectation of privacy with employer provided technological equipment, such as fitness trackers, it appears some states such as Illinois have started to lean the other direction.)  I suggest readers give this article from Lariza Hebert a read for an in depth discussion and analysis of the matter.


Google, Full Time Workers, Temp Workers, & the Fissured Workplace

Earlier this year, Google was reported to have approximately 102,000 full time workers compared to roughly 121,000 temp and contractors working for it around the world.  This has started to draw attention to the company, as the temp and contract workers have been reported to make less money, have different benefit plans, and receive no paid vacation time compared to Google's full time workers.  One observer, former administrator of President Barack Obama Labor Department's Wage and Hour Division, David Weil, has characterized this as a fissured workplace.  (The fissured workplace refers to the arrangements in which businesses have started to avoid paying payroll taxes, providing benefits, and other "perks" of employment by utilizing a large scale temp/contract workforce.)  With that being said, Daisuke Wakabayashi at The New York Times noted that several of Google's contractors have attempted to claw back, recently getting Google to require its contractors be provided health benefits, a $15/hour minimum wage, and paid parental leave.  Although this is just a start, this should be viewed as a major victory for temp/contract workers across the board.


McDonald's Faces Onslaught of Pressure From 2020 Presidential Candidates

In recent weeks, more than two dozen sexual harassment charges have been levied against McDonald's.  On the heels of these sexual harassment charges came protests from the company's workers as they demanded better wages, better working conditions, and the right to form a union.  In fact, last week, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (running for the Democratic nomination for President), held a video town hall discussion with these protesting workers in which he lauded their ongoing fight with McDonald's.  Senator Sanders is not alone in his support of these workers, as other Democratic Presidential candidates including New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Washington Governor Jay Inslee, and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro have all lent their support to efforts by these workers to obtain better working conditions.  As the 2020 Presidential race heats up and both Republicans and Democrats fight for the working class vote, I would expect to see additional attention paid to this and other similar fights against large scale employers like McDonald's.

Comments

Post a Comment

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
Post a Comment
Read more

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
Post a Comment
Read more

Utah Non-Compete Bill Falters in House

Last month, a non-compete bill sponsored by Representative Brian Greene (Republican from Pleasant Grove) & up for vote in the Utah House failed to make it through the Legislature.  The bill sought to ban enforcement of non-competes if they came after a worker was already employed, given no compensation (such as a bonus or promotion) for signing the non-compete, and laid off within six months.  However, by a 22 - 49 vote, the bill was resoundingly defeated after some business groups lobbied to kill the non-compete bill.  One group in particular, The Free Enterprise Utah coalition, argued that the Utah State Legislature should hold off on any changes to non compete laws in the state until a survey about non competes was done among Utah businesses.  Representative Greene had countered this claim and argued that a survey was not needed to show that the current non compete laws in the states allowed many businesses, including some small high tech companies in the state, to per
Post a Comment
Read more