Articles on workplace-related issues from newspapers and Internet news sources around the country.
October 22, 2020
The Do’s and Don’ts of Workplace Etiquette
Source: Robin Madell, U.S. News
COVID-19 has changed some work etiquette. Here's what to know whether you're working from home or the office.
The New Workplace Majority: Millennials, Perennials & Parents
Source: Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Forbes
Longevity and shifting gender roles have dramatically redrawn the face of workforces across the world.
1 in 4 American workers has thought about quitting over Covid-19 stress, poll says
Source: Lauren M. Johnson, CNN
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the world unfathomable stress, but a recent survey of workers points to where the virus has really applied pressure.
Sexual Harassment Underreported at State Department, Report Says
Source: Pranshu Verma, The New York Times
Sexual harassment at the State Department most likely goes underreported because employees lack confidence in the agency’s responsiveness to the issue and because the department has failed to handle complaints properly.
Jumbo Supermarket Will Pay $20,000 to Settle EEOC Age Discrimination Suit
Source: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC
M1 5100 Corp., a grocery store doing business as JUMBO in Greenacres, Fla., has agreed to pay $20,000 and provide equitable relief to settle an age discrimination suit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
October 21, 2020
Essential Workers Need Better Masks
Source: Devabhaktuni Srikrishna, Harvard Business Review
With a vaccine still months away for most people in the United States and years away in many other countries, a specific kind of mask is the most effective way to immediately protect essential workers in a wide range of industries who may be at greater risk of exposure to Covid-19.
We need to talk about the bias against child-free employees
Source: Lauren Serota, Fast Company
How are child-free people being included and valued in their workplace? Which policies are in place to ensure their needs are met? Too often this conversation pits parents against nonparents, but that’s damaging to both groups—and misses the larger problem.
Store Workers to Get New Training: How to Handle Fights Over Masks
Source: Sapna Maheshwari, The New York Times
Many retail workers will receive a new sort of preparation for this year’s holiday season: training on how to manage conflicts with customers who resist mask-wearing, social distancing and store capacity limits.
Conduent to Pay $77,500 to Settle EEOC Disability Discrimination Lawsuit
Source: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC
Conduent Business Services, LLC will pay $77,500 and provide other relief to settle a disability discrimination lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Target to pay more than $70 million in bonuses to hourly employees ahead of holidays
Source: Melissa Repko, CNBC
Target said Monday that it will spend more than $70 million on another round of employee bonuses during the coronavirus pandemic, as the holiday shopping season picks up.
October 20, 2020
Labor Law: Employers should communicate policies on time off for voting
Source: Karen Michael, Richmond Times Dispatch
As Election Day approaches, Virginia employers will need to communicate any company policies surrounding time off to vote, and other expectations.
'If We Had a Panic Button, We’d be Hitting it.' Women Are Exiting the Labor Force En Masse—And That's Bad For Everyone
Source: Abby Vesoulis , Time
The United States is in the midst of a crushing economic recession, COVID-19 infection rates are spiking, and thousands of schools and childcare facilities have yet to reopen in-person classrooms. The group bearing the brunt of this torrent of bad news? Women.
Can Your Boss Require You To Get A COVID-19 Vaccine When It's Released?
Source: Rachel Vasquez, Wisconsin Public Radio
Some health officials say a COVID-19 vaccine could become widely available in the next six months, and that leaves a lot of questions for workers and employers.
Department of Justice charges Google with multiple violations of federal antitrust law today
Source: Tony Romm, The Washington Post
The Department of Justice on Tuesday charged Google with violating federal antitrust law, finding after a year-long investigation that the tech giant wrongfully wielded its digital dominance to grow its search and advertising businesses to the detriment of corporate rivals and consumers.
Google Employees Are Free to Speak Up. Except on Antitrust.
Source: Daisuke Wakabayashi, The New York Times
A company operating in the shadow of government regulators has some very particular rules about what workers can say about it.
October 19, 2020
New survey: Women in Hollywood are twice as likely as men to experience unchecked bullying at work
Source: Brian Truitt, USA Today
A new survey from The Hollywood Commission confirms that abusive conduct is a pervasive problem in Hollywood made worse by the entertainment industry's power imbalances – and the targets of the bullying are often young workers and assistants.
9 Ways To Make Working Remotely A Game Changer For Work Life Balance
Source: Nancy L. Anderson, Forbes
What are you doing with your free time now that you don't have to commute? You finally have a little extra time. Are you maximizing the spaces between, too?
CVS to hire thousands of pharmacy techs as it prepares for more Covid-19 cases, rollout of vaccine
Source: Melissa Repko, NBC News
CVS Health said Monday it plans to immediately hire 15,000 employees to prepare for an expected rise in Covid-19 and flu cases this fall and winter.
5 Professors Sue Rutgers, Saying It Shortchanges Women on Pay
Source: Jillian Kramer, The New York Times
Five female tenured professors accused Rutgers in a lawsuit, filed in State Superior Court, of paying them far less than their male counterparts.
Did workers’ compensation changes go too far? Kansas Supreme Court to decide
Source: Megan Stringer, The Wichita Eagle
Now, the Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of what seems like a small shift in state benefits for injured workers but has the potential to look beyond it and decide if workers’ compensation is doing its job in Kansas.
October 16, 2020
This Amazon program is helping people get training, certification and jobs in cloud computing
Source: Jennifer Liu, CNBC
AWS re/Start aims to help unemployed and underemployed people, as well as candidates with no tech background or limited experience in a traditional job setting, gain an entry-level cloud computing job upon graduation.
73% Of Americans Fearful Of Returning To Workplace Because Of Covid-19 Concerns
Source: Edward Segal, Forbes
The coronavirus crisis spawned yet another crisis — fear among the nation’s workers that as the pandemic continues to rage across the county, it could be hazardous to their health to return to offices, factories, and other places of employment.
Amazon has resumed policies that penalize workers for taking too many breaks, just in time for Prime Day
Source: Annie Palmer, CNBC
Amazon warehouse workers claim the company has resumed tracking their productivity on the job, putting them at greater risk of being exposed to the coronavirus, according to a court filing submitted Wednesday.
EEOC Issues Final Rule Revising Procedural Regulations Under Title VII, ADA, and GINA
Source: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a final rule that amends its procedural regulations to explicitly provide for digital transmissions of documents and to update no cause determination procedures.
Princeton to Pay Nearly $1.2 Million to Female Professors to Address Inequity
Source: Concepcion de Leon, The New York Times
Princeton University has agreed to pay nearly $1 million in back wages to female professors after a review found disparities in compensation between male and female professors, the U.S. Department of Labor said.
October 15, 2020
Latinos, farmworkers, 20-year-olds have most COVID-19 cases in Santa Barbara County
Source: Mike Hodgson, Santa Maria Times
Latinos, agricultural workers, 20-year-olds and the elderly have been affected by COVID-19 at levels disproportionate to their percentage of Santa Barbara County’s population, according to a report on pandemic demographics delivered Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors.
4 Limiting Beliefs That Harm Workplace Relationships
Source: Jocelyn Kung, Entrepreneur
Conflict and tension abounds. Building trusting, resilient relationships in the workplace has never been more critical.
Cincinnati-Area Group of Korean Restaurants to Pay $75,000 to Settle EEOC Sexual Harassment Suit
Source: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC
A Cincinnati-area restaurant group will pay $75,000 to a former employee and implement other relief to settle a federal lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
How Employee Assistance Programs Can Help Your Whole Company Address Racism at Work
Source: Jodi Jacobson Frey, Harvard Business Review
It may surprise some employers to know that when employees experience racism and/or other forms of discrimination and oppression, one of the places they can turn for help is their Employee Assistance Program or EAP.
July Is the New January: More Companies Delay Return to the Office
Source: Gillian Friedman, The New York Times
From Ford to Microsoft, white-collar companies are increasingly extending working from home through next summer.
October 14, 2020
She Was Going Into Labor. But She Had a Bar Exam to Finish.
Source: Heather Murphy, The New York Times
Brianna Hill, who gave birth to a baby boy between sections of the exam, has earned kudos for determination. But some law school graduates say her story points to flaws with the testing system amid the pandemic.
Bad Bosses: When Good Intentions Go Wrong And 5 Ways To Lead Well
Source: Tracy Brower, Forbes
This week, we celebrate Boss’s Day and the timing seems right to not only celebrate the great ones, but also appreciate the bad ones.
Thousands of Amazon workers demand time off to vote
Source: April Glaser, NBC News
Thousands of Amazon tech workers Tuesday signed an internal petition urging the company to offer paid time off for its workforce to vote on or before Election Day.
California poised to reject affirmative action measure despite summer of activism
Source: Alexander Nieves, Politico
The surprising mood of the California electorate is confounding state lawmakers and political strategists, who believe the moment is riper than ever to repeal a 1996 statewide ban on racial and gender considerations in public hiring and college admissions.
More Companies Are Using Technology To Monitor For Coronavirus In The Workplace
Source: Jason Beaubien, NPR
As more and more businesses look to reopen, technology firms have an array of monitoring systems to try to keep the coronavirus out of office buildings, medical facilities and industrial plants.
October 13, 2020
The pandemic's continuing impact on mental health and burnout in the workplace
Source: N.F. Mendoza, TechRepublic
Employees have less energy for outside activities, less interest in socializing, more trouble sleeping, and turn to more alcohol or substance use, Limeade reports.
California Workplace Discrimination System Sheds Light On Caste System
Source: Derek Arthur, NPR
A lawsuit filed in California alleges a new type of workplace discrimination based on caste. Indians in Silicon Valley say this ancient social hierarchy has followed them to the U.S.
This is how women are fighting back against harassment on LinkedIn
Source: Katie Fiore, Fast Company
Like most social media platforms, LinkedIn has misogyny problem among some of its users. Here’s what women are doing to hold the professional networking site accountable.
Should You Take a Mental Health Day?
Source: Robin Madell, U.S. News
While you may wonder whether it’s appropriate to schedule time out of the office if you aren’t physically ill, it’s important to recognize when you’ve reached your limit mentally and emotionally.
October 12, 2020
Former Employees At Central Casting, Hollywood’s Legendary Agency, Say Actors Were Tired Of Being Typecast Into Stereotypical Roles
Source: Krystie Lee Yandoli, BuzzFeed News
Employees of Central Casting say that power has gone unchecked internally, creating what they say is a toxic workplace where complaints of racism, typecasting, and mistreatment are ignored and managers use intimidation and bullying to run the operation.
Decree entered in employment discrimination complaint against Dillard’s. It will pay $900,000
Source: Max Brantley, Arkansas Times
A federal judge approved the consent decree between the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Dillard’s, the Little Rock-based department store chain, over allegations of discrimination against Black people.
Jobless Claims Dip Slightly But Remain at Historically High Level
Source: Claire Hansen, U.S. News
The number of people who filed for unemployment benefits fell only slightly last week to 840,000, marking the sixth straight week that claims have held roughly steady at a historically high level while the pandemic hammers the labor market.
The $700 billion Hispanic business market in the U.S. is now at the tipping point
Source: Rohit Arora, CNBC
As gridlock over another round of stimulus for small business in Washington continues, 5 million Latinos are at risk of bankruptcy, a new study reveals on Monday.
Some states overpaid coronavirus unemployment insurance. Now workers will have to repay the benefits
Source: Alicia Adamczyk, CNBC
Hundreds of thousands of workers who received unemployment benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program are on the hook to repay some of the money they’ve received since March.
October 9, 2020
Do Your Employees Feel Safe Reporting Abuse and Discrimination?
Source: Lily Zheng, Harvard Business Review
While heightened awareness is making workplace conversations about sexism, racism, and other injustices more common, these interpersonal conversations alone will not remove the systemic challenges keeping inequity in place.
How to Keep Your Employees Healthy While They're Working From Home
Source: Sophie Downes, Inc.
Poor home-office ergonomics and pandemic-related stress can cause health problems.
A shocking number of women dropped out of the workforce last month
Source: Anneken Tappe, CNN
Hundreds of thousands of women — nearly eight times more than the number of men — dropped out of the US labor force last month, as the pandemic continues to exacerbate inequalities in America's economy.
Ford to keep office workers at home through at least next June
Source: Jordyn Grzelewski, The Detroit News
Ford Motor Co.'s tens of thousands of white-collar workers in North America will continue working from home through at least next June.
Workers With Health Insurance Face Rising Out-of-Pocket Costs
Source: Reed Abelson, The New York Times
The high cost of health care is persisting during the pandemic, even for people lucky enough to still have job-based insurance.
October 8, 2020
5 strategies to fix a toxic workplace
Source: Rajkumari Neogy, Fast Company
An epigenetics coach explains the key tactics that will assist leaders to repair work cultures torn apart by blame, lack of accountability, and trauma such as the one that flourished on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show.’
Don’t Let Election Passions Roil Your Workplace
Source: Bob Feldman, Harvard Business Review
A new report by the Dialogue Project that is based on a year-long research effort offers advice on how to help employees engage in productive discourse and provides unsettling data about how difficult it can be.
Man fired for being ‘too American,’ old, wearing khakis: EEOC complaint
Source: Gabrielle Fonrouge, New York Post
A former marketing executive was chastised by his bosses for being “too American,” wearing khaki pants to work and being too old, according to an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint.
Trump Moves to Tighten Visa Access for High-Skilled Foreign Workers
Source: Zolan Kanno-Youngs, The New York Times
The Trump administration announced significant changes on Tuesday to the H-1B visa program for high-skilled workers, substantially raising the wages that U.S. companies must pay foreign hires and narrowing eligibility criteria for applicants.
Transgender man files pregnancy discrimination suit against Amazon
Source: Dan Avery, NBC News
A transgender man in New Jersey is suing Amazon, claiming he was harassed and denied a promotion with the online giant after telling his boss he was pregnant.
October 7, 2020
Nearly 3 in 10 Native American women work a front-line job, but they’re far from receiving equal pay
Source: Courtney Connley, CNBC
Native American women are on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis, with nearly 3 in 10 working a job that is considered essential during today’s pandemic.
Women's health organisation president resigns following bullying and racism investigation
Source: Liz Ford, The Guardian
The president of a women’s health charity has resigned following an investigation into allegations of racism and bullying within the organization.
What the workforce will look like in 2025 as it morphs due to pandemic
Source: Lori Ioannou, CNBC
The coronavirus pandemic has radically altered the way we work, and companies of all sizes are experimenting with new ways to manage their far-flung virtual organizations.
Latino workers are at increased risk of dying on the job, new report says
Source: Nicole Acevedo, NBC News
The rise in fatalities is especially seen among immigrant workers in three states — the same states that are also seeing a disproportionate share of Covid-19 cases and deaths among Latinos.
Supreme Court clears way for class-action lawsuit from minor league players being paid below minimum wage
Source: Katherine Acquavella, CBS Sports
The United States Supreme Court is allowing a class-action lawsuit to proceed from minor-league baseball players who allege they are being paid less than the minimum wage.
October 6, 2020
Black Lives Matter logos in the workplace divide employers, workers and customers
Source: Paul Roberts, The Seattle Times
Although there are no hard and fast rules on which employers do or don’t allow BLM symbols at work, a few patterns are apparent.
Judge declines to stop rule requiring Michigan state employees to OK union dues annually
Source: Candice Williams, The Detroit News
Labor unions were dealt a setback when a federal court in Detroit rejected a request that it stop new rules approved by the Michigan Civil Service Commission that will cancel union members’ dues if not renewed every year.
1.6 million Californians could start seeing delayed unemployment pay soon—will other states follow?
Source: Jennifer Liu, CNBC
Roughly 1.6 million Californians could soon begin to see months of unpaid unemployment benefits finally reach their bank accounts.
Fired Warner Bros. marketing executive sues studio over discrimination, ‘boys club’ culture
Source: Anousha Sakoui, Los Angeles Times
A 31-year marketing executive has sued Burbank-based Warner Bros. in Los Angeles, accusing the Hollywood studio of gender-based discrimination and retaliation.
Regal Movie Chain Will Close All 536 U.S. Theaters On Thursday
Source: Bill Chappell, NPR
Roughly 40,000 Regal employees across the U.S. now face a work furlough.
October 5, 2020
‘Mentorship made my career’: How to pay it forward to young talent while remote
Source: Rachel Loeb, Fast Company
These days, mentorship opportunities don’t happen readily in a remote environment, and their absence is a loss to emerging leaders as well as to those invested in developing them.
Shirking from home? Staff feel the heat as bosses ramp up remote surveillance
Source: Alex Hern, The Gaurdian
As management seeks more oversight of workers away from the office, campaigners fight for privacy to be respected.
Gabrielle Union & NBC Reach “Amicable Resolution” Over ‘America’s Got Talent’ Discrimination & Misconduct Claims
Source: Dominic Patten, Deadline
Almost a year after Gabrielle Union was fired as a judge from America’s Got Talent after just one season, she and NBC have come to a deal over her claims of misconduct and racial discrimination on the show and at the Comcast-owned network.
The pandemic could push an alarming number of women out of the workforce
Source: Kathryn Vasel, CNN
The share of women in senior vice president roles increased to 28% at the start of 2020, up from 23% in 2015, according to the annual Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.Org.
Mothers’ Careers Are at Extraordinary Risk Right Now
Source: Marianne Cooper, The Atlantic
The conditions of teleworking combined with increased child-care demands are a perfect storm for bias against working mothers.
October 2, 2020
How IBM aims to support STEM careers in the Hispanic community
Source: Sheryl Estrada, HR Drive
Many Hispanic individuals living in the U.S. cite a lack of opportunities for career advancement and an obstacle to success — and IBM is aiming to change that.
Despite coronavirus impact, U.S. Mexican workers send big amounts of money back home
Source: Shannon Stapleton, NBC News
Early in the pandemic, experts predicted that migrant workers in the U.S. would wire home less money as the virus hammered the American economy. But those predictions didn’t materialize for workers from Mexico, who have sent home huge amounts of money, called remittances.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Bills To Protect Child Actors From Sexual Harassment & Abuse
Source: David Robb, Deadline
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed three bills into law to protect child actors from sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace. Child-protection advocates hailed the new laws as solid steps forward.
Amazon says more than 19,000 workers got Covid-19
Source: Annie Palmer, CNBC
Amazon on Thursday released comprehensive data on the spread of the coronavirus among its employees, disclosing for the first time that more than 19,000 workers, or 1.44% of the total, contracted the virus this year.
Toxic workplaces are everywhere, but minimum wage workers know them well
Source: Abigail Hess, CNBC
Minimum wage jobs are disproportionately held by immigrants; women; Black and Latino workers; and young workers — characteristics that can exacerbate inequalities in the workplace.
October 1, 2020
New York’s new sick leave law: 13 things workers need to know as benefit kicks in
Source: Rick Moriarty, Syracuse
The sick leave law requires all private employers in the state to provide their workers with up to 40 or 56 hours of sick leave annually, depending on the employer’s size.
How This NYC Bill Would Address Harassment And Discrimination In Healthcare
Source: Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes
New York City City Council Member Helen Rosenthal has introduced a bill that would establish a Gender Equity Advisory Board for NYC's hospitals.
Parent company of Olive Garden violates the Civil Rights Act with its tipping policies, activists say
Source: Tim Carman, The Washington Post
Activists looking to eliminate the sub-minimum wage for tipped employees are taking a new approach: They’re arguing the lower tipped wage, sometimes as little as $2.13 an hour, violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Seattle Passes Minimum Pay Rate for Uber and Lyft Drivers
Source: Noam Scheiber, The New York Times
The Seattle City Council approved a minimum pay standard for Uber and Lyft drivers, becoming the second city in the country to do so.
September 30, 2020
'This Is Too Much': Working Moms Are Reaching The Breaking Point During The Pandemic
Source: Andrea Hsu, NPR
With the added complexities of managing multiple Zoom calls at work and online learning for the kids, parents – especially moms — are hitting a breaking point.
Google’s $310 million sexual harassment settlement aims to set new industry standards
Source: Jennifer Elias, CNBC
Google parent company Alphabet has agreed to more than 80 updates or changes to its policies and procedures around sexual misconduct and harassment as part of an extensive legal settlement.
How to talk about mental health with your boss
Source: Kathryn Vasel, CNN
While talking more openly and providing employee resources about mental health can help destigmatized issues, it's still a tough conversation to have with your boss.
Disney is laying off 28,000 employees as pandemic hammers its theme parks
Source: Frank Pallotta, CNN
Disney is laying off 28,000 people in the United States as the coronavirus pandemic hammers its parks and resorts business.
September 29, 2020
Some Workers Face Looming Cutoffs in Health Insurance
Source: Reed Abelson, The New York Times
Not only are businesses shedding workers, with the nation’s unemployed numbering roughly 13.6 million, but employers are also cutting expenses like health coverage, and projections of rising numbers of uninsured have grown bleak.
As Ellen DeGeneres fights claims of a toxic workplace, here are 3 signs you work in one
Source: Abigail Hess, CNBC
Ellen DeGeneres addressed allegations made by former employees that her long-running talk show, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” had an internal culture of racism, fear, and intimidation as well as sexual harassment.
Cicero police employee accused of domestic violence kept job despite investigator’s warning
Source: Abel Rodriguez, Injustice Watch
The case is another example of how police departments often fail to hold their employees accountable for domestic violence allegations.
A voice for the 'excluded' and 'oppressed': Latinos remember Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Source: Raul A. Reyes, NBC News
Hispanic leaders and organizations noted the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's focus on civil, voting and immigrants' rights.
What Ginsburg’s Death Means for Upcoming Fights Against Sex Discrimination
Source: Madison Pauly, Mother Jones
The broader fight against discrimination based on sex, which defined Ginsburg’s career prior to her appointment to the federal bench, remains riddled with unsettled legal questions, some of which will come before the Supreme Court in short order.
September 28, 2020
Sacramento’s Latino-Owned Businesses Not Receiving Pandemic Resources Now Fearing Permanent Closure
Source: Sarah Mizes-Tan, Capital Public Radio
A new report on the impact of COVID-19 on local Sacramento businesses highlights their continued struggle as the pandemic enters its sixth month.
'We move the economy': How Latino-owned businesses are meeting unique challenges
Source: Natalia E. Contreras, The Indianapolis Star
LISC Indianapolis, a non-profit organization that collaborates with different local organizations to help transform distressed neighborhoods are hiring more Latinos and bilingual representatives to better reach the community and help them succeed.
Pandemic Will ‘Take Our Women 10 Years Back’ in the Workplace
Source: Amanda Taub, The New York Times
Improvements in gender equality in the workplace may be another casualty of the coronavirus, as women find their place in the work force more at risk.
New Study Shows Rude Workplace Emails Can Harm Productivity And Mental Health
Source: Bryan Robinson, Forbes
Two studies led by a University of Illinois Chicago researcher show that dealing with rude emails at work can create lingering stress and take a toll on your well-being and family life.
September 25, 2020
UPS and FedEx looking to make hundreds of holiday hires in metro Denver
Source: Aldo Svaldi, The Denver Post
UPS plans to hire 2,400 seasonal workers in metro Denver and FedEx is looking to hire more than 900 as the package delivery companies gear up for what they expect to be a busy holiday season even with the pandemic.
DoorDash and Postmates Pay Out More Than $350,000 to Seattle Gig Workers Due to Hazard Pay Law
Source: Gabe Guarente, Eater Seattle
The enforcement of a new Seattle law designed to offer gig workers hazard pay during the pandemic seems to be paying off.
Log on in paradise: The exotic destinations inviting remote workers
Source: Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN
A number of exotic destinations which have seen their tourism revenue pretty much vanish over the past few months are using the situation to their advantage by offering extended visas to remote workers in a bid to inject money into their economies.
September 24, 2020
Grappling with childcare while working from home? How employers plan to help
Source: Darla Mercado, CNBC
As employee benefits enrollment season rolls in, companies are weighing new ways to accommodate working parents.
Jobless claims climbing in sign of ongoing distress in labor market
Source: Irina Ivanova , CBS News
The number of Americans filing for unemployment aid remains stuck at a high level.
Laid-off hotel, airport workers caravan to Sacramento in support of bill protecting their jobs
Source: Lori Weisberg, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Workers are stepping up pressure on Gov. Newsom to sign a bill that would help ensure they will get rehired as their employers reopen in the coming year
A Google employee is suing for discrimination. He wants to know if Google can use his data against him.
Source: Reed Albergotti, The Washington Post
Attorneys representing a Google employee suing the company want to know whether the search engine giant thinks it is allowed to view his digital communication, a case that has renewed questions about the extent of Google’s power to surveil.
September 23, 2020
Pandemic leaves domestic workers facing tough choices, often without a safety net
Source: Kate Gibson, CBS News
Seventy-two percent of domestic workers reported losing all their clients as of the first week of April, according to a survey released by NDWA, which advocates on behalf of the nation's 2.5 million domestic workers — housekeepers, childcare workers and home health care aides.
Why higher unemployment taxes are ‘all but certain’ for businesses
Source: Greg Iacurci, CNBC
States are poised to raise taxes on businesses starting next year and cut jobless benefits for workers as the coronavirus-fueled downturn continues to stress unemployment systems around the country.
Cal/OSHA will create emergency COVID workplace safety rules
Source: Jie Jenny Zou, Los Angeles Times
After months of discussion, California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health will move forward with emergency statewide standards to address what worker advocates have been calling “an occupational health emergency.
How the pandemic reset workers’ concept of work-life balance
Source: Kevin Collins, Fast Company
In a reimagined remote work environment, how well we prioritize aspects of our lives we enjoy the most will define the new face of work and life.
September 22, 2020
Here's why Dayton's employment rebound is outpacing state, national trends
Source: Jacob Fisher, Dayton Business Journal
Dayton's employment rebound is outpacing state and national trends, according to PNC experts.
Republican senators introduce bill for $28 billion in additional aid for airline industry as job cuts loom
Source: Leslie Josephs, CNBC
Republican Senators on Monday introduced a bill that would give the ailing airline industry more than $28 billion in additional aid as carriers get ready to cut more than 30,000 jobs as early as next month.
Paid leave rules have changed — will they affect your workforce?
Source: Kayla Webster, Employee Benefit News
The Department of Labor revised the paid sick and family leave act after a judge from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York invalidated some of its stipulations — calling into question whether the rest of the country should follow suit.
EEOC Finding Of Age Discrimination Against IBM Signals New Requisite For Diversity, Equity And Inclusion
Source: Sheila Callaham, Forbes
After a lengthy investigation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has confirmed what was already known by many: IBM leaders directed managers to replace older workers with early career hires.
Law Firms Pay Supreme Court Clerks $400,000 Bonuses. What Are They Buying?
Source: Adam Liptak, The New York Times
A new study suggests that Supreme Court restrictions on what cases former clerks can work on have not been completely successful.
September 21, 2020
GAO: Millions in danger of missing coronavirus payments
Source: Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press, ABC News
A government watchdog says millions of Americans are in danger of missing coronavirus relief payments of up to $1,200 per individual because of incomplete government records.
California bill gives hope of employment to formerly incarcerated firefighters — but will it work?
Source: Alex Riggins, The San Diego Union-Tribune
While AB 2147 was hailed as correcting a ‘historic wrong,’ prisoner reentry experts question whether the legislation will have its intended effect.
California halting new unemployment claims for two weeks to catch up on backlog
Source: Aldo Toledo, Mercury News
Overwhelmed by a flood of jobless people amid the COVID-19 pandemic and struggling with aging technology, California’s state department responsible for paying unemployment claims has decided to stop processing new claims for two weeks as it attempts to catch up on a massive backlog.
A California Law Was Supposed to Give Uber Drivers New Protections. Instead, Comedians Lost Work.
Source: Eliot Brown, APK Metro via The Wall Street Journal
Early this 12 months, the organizers of a small Bay Space theater advised Alicia Dattner they wouldn’t be capable to pay her for an upcoming comedy act. The explanation: A brand new California regulation that reclassified gig-economy employees, equivalent to Uber drivers, as staff meant it might be too costly to rent her.
Can You Claim Employee Misconduct in an OSHA Citation?
Source: Courtney M. Malveaux, National Law Review
When Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cites for a workplace injury, employers often claim employee misconduct as an affirmative defense. There are a few key points employers can keep in mind.
Long Battle In Store For Laid-Off Workers Trying To Prove Covid-19 Age Discrimination
Source: Ted Knutson, Forbes
Think you’ve been laid off from a job but didn’t get one in the Covid-19 recession because of age discrimination?
It could easily take years and a lot of luck to prove it.
How millennials’ financial futures have been impacted by pandemic unemployment
Source: Abigail Hess, CNBC
This spring, the coronavirus pandemic led to the biggest unemployment spike in U.S. history.
‘We are stuck, with little to no options’: 6 months after the CARES Act passed, many Americans are still struggling
Source: Alicia Adamczyk, CNBC
As the coronavirus pandemic upended life in the U.S. and across the world over the past six months, economists have credited the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act, with keeping many American families, and the economy at large, afloat.
September 18, 2020
Amended Workers’ Compensation Benefits for COVID-19 Positive Employees
Source: Michael Drenan, National Law Review
Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1159 (“SB 1159”) on September 17, 2020, which could expand the definition of injury under the workers’ compensation system to include illness or death resulting from COVID-19.
Payrolls increase by nearly 1.4 million as the unemployment rate tumbles
Source: Jeff Cox, CNBC
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 1.37 million in August and the unemployment rate tumbled to 8.4% as the U.S. economy continued to climb its way out of the pandemic downturn. The unemployment rate was by far the lowest since the coronavirus shutdown in March, according to Labor Department figures released Friday.
COVID-19 danger continues to drive joblessness in U.S. as another 6,500 Coloradans file for unemployment
Source: Paul Wiseman, The Denver Post
Coloradans filed 5,025 regular unemployment claims last week and 1,533 claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the program created to help self-employed and contract workers during the COVID-19 crisis, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said in a press release Thursday.
Workers fear humans implanted with microchips will steal their jobs
Source: Matt Egan, CNN
Workers worry that in the not-too-distant future they will be sidelined by humans implanted with performance-enhancing microchips.
Garment workers, paid by the piece, say they'll keep fighting to change the system
Source: Ludwig Hurtado, NBC News
California garment worker Santa Son had hoped this was the year the state Legislature would end a system that pays her and other workers for the number of items they make — not the hours they work.
'More than just a job': As layoffs loom, pilots face a tricky future
Source: Ben Popken, NBC News
Thousands of pilots across the country are facing pink slips in a matter of weeks unless the airline industry receives more financial aid from the federal government.
Trump's $300 in extra jobless aid has already run out in 7 states
Source: Aimee Picchi, CBS News
Seven U.S. states have exhausted federal disaster-relief funds tapped to provide supplementary federal jobless aid to millions of Americans, while other states are running low.
Federal law now gives some parents paid time off to help their kids with remote learning
Source: Andrew Keshner, MarketWatch
Last month, a recently-reopened school district near Atlanta, Ga. told more than 1,000 students and staffers they had to quarantine after a coronavirus outbreak.
She Was Denied An Acting Role Because Of Her Disability. Now She Runs An Agency Representing Disabled Actors.
Source: Allison Norlian, Forbes
Keely Cat-Wells runs a talent agency in Los Angeles where she represents disabled actors.
New Census data reveals no progress has been made on closing the overall gender pay gap
Source: Courtney Connley, CNBC
New data released by the U.S. Census Bureau shows that, between 2018 and 2019, no progress was made on closing the overall wage gender gap, with the average full-time working woman still earning just $0.82 for every dollar earned by men.
September 17, 2020
How Amazon Automated Work and Put Its People to Better Use
Source: Alex Kantrowitz, Harvard Business Review
For the past decade, Amazon has been pushing to automate office work under a program now known as Hands off the Wheel. The purpose was not to eliminate jobs but to automate tasks so that the company could reassign people to build new products — to do more with the people on staff, rather than doing the same with fewer people.
Another 790,021 Americans file for unemployment as the fallout from COVID-19 lingers
Source: Charisse Jones, USA Today
More than 790,000 Americans filed for unemployment insurance for the first time last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, as the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic continues to mount.
45% of women business leaders say it’s difficult for women to speak up in virtual meetings
Source: Courtney Connley
Today’s remote work culture is having both a positive and negative impact on women in the workplace.
Parents struggle with remote learning while working from home: ‘I’m constantly failing
Source: Megan Leonhardt, CNBC
In the early days of the pandemic, when schools suddenly shut down and millions of employees were sent to work from home, many parents looked forward to fall as the point when they believed life would return to normal.
Colorado’s CROWN Act, banning natural hair discrimination, goes into effect
Source: Patty Nieberg, The Denver Post
A Colorado law aimed at protecting workers and students from discrimination against race-based hair traits went into effect Monday.
