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What I’ve Been Reading This Week

 

As things start to get back to normal (in terms of courts holding in person hearings and trials), I suspect the work from home routine of the past 15 months will change a bit.  With that increased travel comes a bit less time to read through articles like I had been used to lately.  This week was no exception with an in person trial taking place...which is quite the change from doing things virtually via Zoom, Teams, etc.  However, there were still a few good articles worth highlighting.

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


Minimum Time Off: The Next Big Thing?

MTO (or minimum time off) is a trend that is starting to take hold in some workplaces.  As this article from HRDive notes, some employers have unlimited paid time off..although that time off policy is not necessarily all it is cracked up to be.  The article points out that some studies have found that workers with unlimited paid time off actually take off less time compared to those that receive a set amount of paid time off each year.  However, a new trend that is starting to emerge is employer providing workers with minimum time off wherein workers are required to take a set number of days off each year.  As always, results will vary, but this article provides an interesting perspective that is worth considering for some employers and HR professionals.


Minimum Wage Rates In the Fast Food Industry...Going Up?

CNBC published a recent article in which it noted that while McDonald’s has pledged to increase the hourly pay rate at its corporate owned locations, the question has turned to whether the franchisee owned locations will follow suit.  As the article notes, one franchisee owner in the northwest has decided to raise pay rates ($13/hour for junior staff and $20/hour for managers.)  Of course, this is only one franchisee but the article speculates that other McDonald’s franchisees will follow suit as the fast food industry seeks to retain (and draw in) workers in an already tight labor market.

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