Skip to main content

What I’ve Been Reading This Week


Yesterday, it was announced that FTC is moving to do away with non compete agreements.  To call that a potentially massive development is a major understatement.  While I will address that matter next week, there were a few articles on other topics that I read over the past few days that are worth highlighting for the purposes of this post.

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


Minimum Wage Hikes Take Place in 23 States: A Closer Look

This past Sunday, January 1st, minimum wage hikes went into place in many states across the country with other states hiking wages later this year.  I refer readers to this article from Paul Davidson who highlights which states (and cities) have hiked their wages to start off 2023.


Survey Finds Strong Support for Michigan’s Right to Work Law

A few weeks ago, I had made note of Democrats regaining majority control in the Michigan Legislature.  In doing so, attention turned to whether Democrats in the state would seek to do away with the right to work law currently in place.  While nothing is certain (whether Michigan’s right to work law will be on the chopping block), a recent survey found that nearly twice as many Michiganders favor the state’s right to work law than those that oppose it.  Does that mean Democrats will not move to do away with the law? Hardly.  But, based upon this survey, it does show a surprising amount of support for right to work in the state.

Comments

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,...

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...

San Diego Rolls Back Vaccine Mandate For City Workers

Last Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to do away with the vaccine mandate for city employees. The city’s vaccine mandate that was in place required city workers to get the coronavirus vaccine or risk termination.  Perhaps to this surprise of no one, the city’s policy came under fire with 14 employees being terminated and over 100 other employees resigning.  With the coronavirus subsiding, including in Southern California, the San Diego City Council took action. Now, bear in mind, the repeal of the vaccine mandate does not take place immediately. With that being said, the mandate will be repealed March 8th.  I suppose the question now is, what other cities or regions follow San Diego’s lead? For additional information:   https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2023-01-24/san-diego-repeals-controversial-covid-19-vaccine-mandate-citing-drop-in-cases-hospitalizations