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What I’ve Been Reading This Week


Workplace safety has been a somewhat common topic over the past year, due in no small part to concerns over workplace safety in light of the coronavirus pandemic.  While there are several articles I want to highlight for readers this week, I call particular attention to the first article in regard to an employee that was allegedly fired after raising concerns about workplace safety in regard to possible transmission of the coronavirus at work.

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



Earlier this month, the Labor Department announced it had filed suit against PACCAR, Inc. d/b/a Peterbilt Motor Co. after the company allegedly terminated an employee who voiced concerns about being exposed to coronavirus in the workplace.  According to the lawsuit, the employee had expressed concerns about contracting the coronavirus in the workplace last year, despite the company saying they would clean the workplace to prevent transmission.  After the employee voiced his doubts about the steps being taken to prevent transmission in the workplace, the employee was terminated.  Prior to filing suit, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the employee was engaged in protected activity by voicing workplace safety concerns.  This lawsuit seeks to have the employee reinstated, paid his back wages, along with interest and compensatory damages.  This is an interesting cases for readers to watch progress through the legal system.



As readers might recall, unionization efforts are underway at several Buffalo area Starbucks.  While it is not yet clear the outcome of the elections (as votes are still being cast), Workers United (the union that is attempting to unionize a few of the Buffalo area Starbucks locations) is seeking to have the National Labor Relations Board approve an election at a Mesa, Arizona location.  I had previously noted that the attempted unionization of a few of the Buffalo area Starbucks might lead to unionization efforts elsewhere.  It looks like this might be the tip of the iceberg.



A few weeks ago, I had made note of the Great Resignation, a name given to the recent onslaught of workers that have abruptly quit their jobs in seemingly large numbers.  However, Jeff Cox at CNBC suggests that perhaps the Great Resignation has been overblown.  His reasoning?  Many experts claim the large number of resignations is not due to employees being overworked but rather hesitant to work in their given filed during the coronavirus pandemic.  As well, Cox notes that while more than 4.4 million workers left their jobs back in September, nearly 6.5 million workers were actually hired that same month.  Is there a clear answer as to whether the Great Resignation is all it has been cracked up to be?  Maybe, maybe not.  Regardless, this article is worth a read to get a different perspective on the matter.

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