Skip to main content

What I've Been Reading This Week


I think I spent more time on the road this week for work than I did at my desk in the office.  As a matter of fact, I know that to be the case.  As a result of rushing to catch several flights and driving for hours on end to get to courthouses in small counties, I had little time to read through articles this week.  With that being said, when the news broke Wednesday afternoon that an impasse had been reached in the mediation over the U.S. Women's National Team's equal pay suit, I knew that was a particular matter that I wanted to highlight this week.

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


Mediation Breaks Down in U.S. Women's National Team's Equal Pay Lawsuit

As Liz Clarke writes, after a three day mediation of the U.S. Women's National Team's equal pay lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation, talks broke down Wednesday with diminishing signs of a chance for the parties to reach a settlement before trial.  Both sides subsequently released sharply worded remarks, criticizing the other side for the stalemate.  Assuming talks do not resume in the coming weeks, the case is headed for a jury trial.


Lawsuit Challenges Parental Leave Policy for Men at Law Firm, Jones Day

This past Tuesday, a lawsuit was filed against a law firm, Jones Day, on the grounds that the policy is discriminatory toward male employees.  The lawsuit alleged that Jones Day offers female employees eight more weeks of leave than their male counterparts, and when one male employee complained about the policy, he was subsequently terminated.  This lawsuit addresses one of the more nuanced, but nonetheless important, topics in regard to parental leave:  Whether males in the workplace are being unlawfully discriminated against when their employers offer them less leave than females.  This is certainly a case to keep an eye on going forward.

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,...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking: Labor Secretary Rumored to Be Leaving Administration

A few hours ago, word leaked out that Labor Secretary Marty Walsh (“Walsh”) is in the midst of negotiations to head up the NHL Players Union and leave his position at the Labor Department. Walsh, who has served as the sole Labor Secretary under President Biden, has taken part in a labor renaissance of sorts as support for organized labor has increased during his term as Labor Secretary (although the number of workers that have joined a union over the past two years has not grown as mush as some expected.)  He has also overseen the ongoing negotiations with rail workers over a new contract, although that matter is still on shaky ground and playing out as we speak. As for who might step into the vacant Labor Secretary role, there are already rumblings that President Biden should nominate Deputy Labor Secretary Julie Su (a strong labor advocate) or even a progressive like Senator Bernie Sanders.  Until Walsh officially gives his notice, however, I would expect some/many potential...
Post a Comment
Read more

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Vetoes Minimum Wage Hike

A few months ago, readers might remember that I pointed out that the New Jersey Legislature had voted to approve a minimum wage hike in the state .  Under the approved legislation, the minimum wage rate would rise to $10.10/hour in the next year and at least $15/hour over the next five.  (The current minimum wage rate in the state is $8.38/hour).  In that article, I had noted that the bill was then going to go before Governor Chris Christie for his approval or veto. As I had suggested previously, I thought that the Governor would likely veto the bill based upon his prior actions and comments on similar legislation.  Well, a few days ago, Governor Christie did just that and vetoed the bill on the grounds that it "would trigger an escalation of wages that will make doing business in New Jersey unfathomable."  Pointing to the increase in hourly minimum wage rates, the Governor referred to the bill as a "really radical increase."  (It is interesting to c...
Post a Comment
Read more