WIRTW #502 (the “AirTalk” edition)

Earlier this week, the U.S. Senate made history by unanimously changing its rules to permit Senator (and new mom) Tammy Duckworth to bring her newborn onto the Senate floor while she cast votes.

Yesterday, I guested on Los Angles public radio station KPCC’s AirTalk and spoke with Libby Denkmann about what this means for the future of parental leave laws in America, and why we should be ashamed that countries like Iran and Afghanistan do more for their working moms than we do.

Thanks to Libby for the great conversation, and to my friend, Kate Bischoff, for the connection.

You can listen here. The segment starts at 29:50, and my interview starts at 41:30.



Here’s what I read this week:

Discrimination

• Where’s the music industry’s #MeToo moment? — via A Journal of Musical Things
• Your Employee Is Pregnant—Here Are 5 Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make — via Suzanne Lucas, Evil HR Lady
• Visualizing the #MeToo movement using Google Trends — via The Official Google Blog
• Now THIS right here is some hecka-cold retaliation (allegedly) — via Eric Meyer’s The Employer Handbook Blog
• Getting Real About Unconscious Bias in the Workplace — via Blogging4Jobs
• The Mainstreaming of Implicit Bias Training — via Dan Schwartz’s Connecticut Employment Law Blog
• At EEOC, harassment cases last for years — via Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
• Beyond Title III: Website Accessibility Lawsuits Filed Alleging Inaccessible Online Employment Applications — via Employment Law Lookout

Technology

• Episode 23 – Flippin’ the Proverbial Bird — via Marc Alifanz's and Dennis Westlind's Hostile Work Environment Podcast
• How to handle ghosting in the workplace — via Ladders
• How Technology Is Changing Communication In The Workplace — via Forbes
• The Instant Message Generation Gap — via The Wall Street Journal
• Gmail’s new design features ‘confidential mode’ to keep emails private — via Boy Genius Report
• Everything #HR Needs to Know About Machine Learning — via hr bartender
• Biometrics in the workplace: Private or not? — via California Employment Law Report
• The GDPR Covers Employee/HR Data and It’s Tricky, Tricky (Tricky) Tricky: What HR Needs to Know — via Ohio Chamber Blog
• What Does Your Cyber Insurance Actually Cover? — via Technologist

HR & Employee Relations

• What I Learned About Working Parenthood After My Kids Grew Up — via Harvard Business Review
• Mister Rogers’ guide to a more neighborly company culture— via  Ragan.com
• Doctor: Menopause Symptoms Can Have ‘Dire Effect’ On Women In The Workplace — via CBS Chicago
• Fair Credit Reporting Act—Employment Law Basics — via EntertainHR

Wage & Hour

• Unpaid Labor: Focus Shifts from Hollywood to Baseball to Church — via All in a Day’s Work
• Office Space (1999): Lessons for Avoiding Independent Contractor Misclassification — via Who Is My Employee?
• 11 roofing companies hit with FLSA claims stemming from Hurricane Irma rebuilding efforts — via HR Dive
• Opinion Letters Are Back, and Employers Should Pay Attention. — via Employment Law Matters
• DOL Issues Opinion Letter Allowing Employers to Avoid Payment for Excessive 15-Minute FMLA Breaks; Employers Yawn — via Jeff Nowak’s FMLA Insights

Labor

• Democrats love unions. Just not for their own campaign workers. — via NBC News
• Does Misclassifying Employees As Independent Contractors Violate Labor Law? — via Labor Relations

OSHA & Safety

• Is Slamming Down The Phone “Workplace Violence”? — via Evil Skippy at Work
• Workplace Violence Prevention Plans Now Mandatory for California Hospitals and Skilled Nursing Facilities — via Health Employment & Labor
• Tesla reportedly failed to disclose some worker injuries at its factory — via The Verge
• Frustrations Grow as Nominations are Delayed — via OSHA Law Blog