Everyone please wish my smart, compassionate, talented, beautiful, kick-ass daughter a happy 16th birthday!!!
Here's what I read this past week that I think you should read, too.
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Charlotte Cook says her name and details of conversations about her time at BrewDog—which focused on workplace safety, problems with human resources, and the circumstances under which she left the company—were provided by [HR consultant] Wiser to BrewDog without her knowledge or consent.
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"Black lives" matter causes segregation. Have you ever hear[d] of "white lives" matter or "[J]ewish" lives matter[?] No. Equal opportunity.
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Minimum wage ✔️
Overtime ✔️
OSHA ✔️
Child labor protections ✔️
Anti-discrimination laws ✔️
ERISA ✔️
None of those laws, I'm told, would exist without the historic efforts put forth by labor unions.
You know what? That statement is 100 percent correct. Labor unions played a huge role in the passage of the FLSA, OSHA, ERISA, and Title VII, each of which granted a wealth of new rights and protections to employees.
They also help render labor unions irrelevant.
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As the pandemic has shown so clearly, public health issues are workplace issues. Business leaders are responsible for protecting the health and well-being of our employees, and that includes protecting reproductive rights and abortion access.…Levi Strauss joins other notable employers such as Amazon, Citigroup, Salesforce, and Yelp in covering employees' abortion-related travel expenses. I say bravo!
Under our current benefits plan, Levi Strauss & Co. employees are eligible for reimbursement for healthcare-related travel expenses for services not available in their home state, including those related to reproductive health care and abortion. There is also a process in place through which employees who are not in our benefits plan, including part-time hourly workers, can seek reimbursement for travel costs incurred under the same circumstances.
Given what is at stake, business leaders need to make their voices heard and act to protect the health and well-being of our employees. That means protecting reproductive rights.
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On April 26, the owner of a bar came to the police station regarding an ex-employee who stole his daughter's AirPods.
The stealing incident, which took place in February, led the owner to track the pods to a house that just so happened to be the home of the ex-employee's sister.
That's when the owner told the employee he was withholding his last check to cover the cost of the AirPods.
The man needed a police report to document the incident and provide the state justification of docking the ex-employee $250 from his last paycheck.
What do you think?
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A video made the rounds yesterday on Twitter of a mass of Best Buy employees foiling a shoplifting attempt with a stellar zone defense.
This Best Buy has a better defense than your favorite NFL team pic.twitter.com/pBlilzeAj9
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) May 9, 2022
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Earlier this week our country officially passed 1 million Covid-19 deaths. According to the World Health Organization, Covid's full death toll is three times higher than officially reported.
Whether the actual number is 1 million or 3 million, it's an awful milestone and a grim reminder that Covid is still out there, mutating and circulating in the community. Indeed, Covid numbers are rising nationwide, with some counties and even entire states moving back into the "high transmission" category after a short restbite.
You'd think after two-plus years of pandemic living, people would know the rules of Covid-19 road. For example, the importance of practicing good hygiene habits and not sneezing directly into the palm of your hand.
Some people, however, appear not to have received this message. For example, consider the cashier at a local Skechers store that Norah and I visited last weekend. All we wanted to do was buy her a pair of comfortable shoes to wear to her new job. Instead, we got this nasty encounter.
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Yesterday I shared about the moment labor unions are currently having, with representation petitions surging 57% over the past six months, and 625% in the hospitality and food service industry over the past decade.
The question is why.
To be sure, toxic management, poor workplace culture, and low wages are a factor. But they are a factor anytime a labor union takes hold in a workplace. I'm looking for the reasons our current labor movement is having its moment in time.
Here are my thoughts.
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The year was 1989. It was the summer between my junior and senior years in high school. I worked as a busboy in the dining room of an assisted living facility. It paid $7 an hour, which was a great wage 33 years ago.
Clearing tables, however, wasn't the only job duty. Part of my job was to "drive" non-ambulatory residents from their apartments to the dining room for dinner. One resident in particular — who, in hindsight, almost certainly suffered from some form of dementia — would answer her door completely nude. But that wasn't what made that summer job my worst job ever.
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Employers, I'm begging you, please stop firing union organizers. It's illegal. It's also a terrible union avoidance strategy because you're playing right into their hands.
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Hard Eight BBQ says it misunderstood its obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act by paying managers a share of tips earned by servers across the restaurant's five locations. As a result, following a Department of Labor investigation it reached a settlement with its managers totaling $867,572.
Matt Perry, COO of Hard Eight BBQ, told 5 NBCDFW that "managers were part of the tip pool at their five restaurants because they do the same jobs as other hourly employees on any given shift and that because of that they felt like managers should also receive a small portion of the tip share."
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Workplaces, state and local governments, and the CDC have relegated mask mandates to the dustbin of Covid history. But just because people are no longer required to wear masks anywhere doesn't mean that some people aren't choosing to do so on their own. The end of mask mandates, however, has not ended the culture wars that have surrounded mask for the past two-plus years.
According to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 56% of Americans still favor mask mandates on planes, trains, and public transportation, 49% for workers who interact with the public in restaurants and other places, and also 49% for crowded public events. (My own poll on LinkedIn revealed a smaller 36% still in favor of mask mandates on planes and public transportation.)Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
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Ask anyone from Philadelphia (including me) about the city's best cheesesteak, and the names you will not hear mentioned are Pat's (its inventor) or Geno's. Yes, they famously hold court at the intersection of 9th and Passyunk in South Philly. They might be Philly's most famous cheesesteaks, but they are not the best (a title which, in my humble opinion, belongs to Tony Luke's … but that's a story for another day).
Does the same hold true for buffalo wings? The eponymous chicken wing was invented at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. During her choir trip last weekend, Norah had the opportunity to visit the Anchor Bar. No, she didn't order wings for lunch, but she did sample one. What did she think?
Here's what I read the past week that I think you should be reading, too.
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As businesses work to settle employees into offices, some are pulling out the stops—literally, on kegs, casks and wine bottles—in an attempt to make workplaces seem cool. Sure, executives could simply order people to return to their cubicles, and some have, but many want their workers to come back and like it.
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In response, HR spent several days reviewing security camera footage in an attempt to discovery the perpetrator, which it could not do. The plant manager also met with the entire shift and advised that such harassment would not be tolerated.
In response, the plant manager gave Burns the weekend off with pay. Pre- and post-shift walkthroughs of the locker room were also started to seek any offensive items. HR interviewed 19 employees but could not lock down a suspect. Finally, the company adjusted the cameras to offer better coverage.
After reviewing more camera footage, the company narrowed its investigation to one suspect, present in the locker room prior to all three incidents. All employees were also re-interviewed, and the suspect was suspended without pay even though he could not be confirmed as the culprit. Finally, Burns was offered a transfer to a different shift, which he declined.
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How do I know that labor unions are making raging comeback? Historically, my posts on unions, union organizing, and union avoidance would struggle on LinkedIn to break 1,000 views and would only garner a handful of likes and comments. Over the past few weeks, however, my posts on the dramatic and successful rise in union organizing have been viewed well over 100,000 times with hundreds upon hundreds of likes, comments, and shares. It's an issue that has raised passion on both sides.
How else do I know? Because my social and news feeds are full of stories about union organizing. I think I've read more stories about labor unions in the past 18 months than I did in the first two decades of my legal practice combined.
Yesterday, it was my pleasure to appear on Labor Relations Radio to discuss all of these issues. We covered the reasons for the rise in union organizing, why I'm anti-union (but pro-employee), the use of salts in the Amazon and Starbucks campaigns, and the NLRB's general counsel's Cemex brief, which calls for the NLRB to alter rules on mandatory card check recognition, the elimination of captive audience speeches, and other issues that will dramatically tilt the organizing playing field even more in favor of the unions than it already is.
You can listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
A huge thank you to Peter List for inviting me on his show.
Here's what I read the past week that I think you should be reading, too.
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Beginning July 6, 2022, Ohio employers have a new set of rules under which to pay their employees.
SB 47 revamps Ohio's wage and hour statute to correct some major differences that have historically existed between it and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
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"Due to the 6.8% inflation rate, all US workers are entitled to at least a 6.8% pay adjustment. We have received reports of some ABUSIVE EMPLOYERS not providing these adjustments. If you have not received such a raise, please ask your employer why your PAY WAS CUT.""WHAT TO DO ON A BREAK TODAY: (1) Talk about your PAY. (2) Talk about your RIGHTS. (3) Begin ORGANIZING A UNION. GOOD employers are not afraid of these, but ABUSIVE ones are.""You have a protected LEGAL RIGHT to discuss your pay with your coworkers. This should be done on a regular basis to ensure that everyone is being paid fairly. It is ILLEGAL for your employer to punish your for doing this."
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I tell my students, "When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game."
I think of this quote often when I think about what it means to be an ally at work.
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Last Friday, workers won the first-ever union election at an Amazon warehouse (a fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York). This is the biggest workplace story of the year, and it won't even be close.
Here's why.
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To wrap things up this week, I thought I'd update two stories.
1/ UCLA Unpaid Job Posting
In addition to taking down the offensive job posting, UCLA tweeted this update.
Had UCLA included some of this reasonable explanation as part of its job posting, it could have avoided being excoriated online.
2/ Brienne Allan
Brienne, now of Brave Noise Beer, recently appeared on the Good Beer Hunting podcast to discuss what her year has been like since her Instagram post asking for stories about sexual harassment and gender discrimination in craft breweries went viral. It's a great listen. My takeaway (which will be fodder for a future post): Is your business an ally, or are you just afraid of being canceled?Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
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Less than one and one-half miles away from the flagship Starbucks that launched a global coffee empire five decades ago, employees unanimously voted for their shop to unionize. It became the seventh such store to vote to unionize, joining five stores in Buffalo, New York, and one in Mesa, Arizona. Of the 157 (and rising) Starbucks currently organizing or planning to organize, only one thus far (also in Buffalo) has sided with management.
Pay careful attention to what the employees of the Seattle store that just went union told The Seattle Times in speaking about what this vote means for employees in the food and beverage service industry generally.
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Yesterday I explained why your company needs a code of conduct separate from or adjunct to your already-existing anti-harassment policy.
Today, I'm back to explain what it should contain, to whom it should apply, how violations are addressed, and how it should be disseminated.
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Meet Brienne Allan, a brewer at Notch Brewing in Salem, Mass. In May 2021 she asked a simple question in an Instagram Story— "What sexist comments have you experienced?"
What followed were hundreds upon hundreds of stories of sex-based discrimination, harassment, and other abuse.
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I woke up Saturday morning to a tweet asking me for my take on this job posting.
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No matter how many times you read our federal workplace anti-discrimination laws, you won't find the word "caregiver" among the litany of protected classes. Yet, it has been clear since the earliest days of this blog that in the proper circumstances "caregiver discrimination" is illegal.
Earlier this week the EEOC updated its Covid-19 guidance to discuss these caregiver-related issues.
Caregiver discrimination violates the laws enforced by the EEOC if it is based on an applicant’s or employee’s sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, or gender identity), race, national origin, disability, age (40 or older), or another characteristic covered by federal employment discrimination laws. Caregiver discrimination also is unlawful if it is based on the caregiver’s association with an individual with a disability, or on the race, ethnicity, or other protected characteristic of the individual receiving care.
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Trillium Asset Management, which holds $48 million of Starbucks stock, is leading the charge on behalf of a billion-dollar-plus group of investors to push the coffee retailer to adopt a "union neutral" stance.
To date, more than 130 Starbucks stores in 26 states have petitioned the NLRB to unionize. Of the seven stores that have held elections so far, six have voted to unionize.
According to the letter sent to both Mellody Hobson, Independent Chair of the Starbucks Board of Directors, and Kevin Johnson, its CEO (and obtained by CNBC), there exists grave investor concern that reports of Starbucks' "aggressive union-busting tactics" will harm the brand and its reputation (and, by extension, sales, profits, and, ultimately, share value).
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Just in case someone needed to know 🤷Employees don’t leave Companies, they leave Managers
We conclude the Charging Party engaged in protected concerted activity because the Facebook post elicited support from coworkers over scheduling, management, and employee attrition, issues that had been topics of concern for employees.
The post, as written, objectively sought to elicit support from coworkers and other employees—who were Facebook friends and would therefore see the post—regarding the perceived poor management practices that would lead to employee attrition.… [A]t least two of these employees' responses indicated their support for the Charging Party's message that bad management practices lead to a loss of employee morale and employee attrition.… Moreover, the Charging Party's post and the comments it elicited were a continuation of the Charging Party's earlier conversations with numerous other employees about the quality of the Employer's supervision.…Non-text communications, such as emojis and memes, can be just as communicative as text and prose, and when they communicate a message the law treats them no differently. If your employment lawyer isn't conversive in emojis, memes, TikToks, and other newer forms of communication, it's time for a new lawyer. Your employees are speaking like this. You need to understand it, and so does your lawyer.
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I thought I had seen all variety and manner of worst employer. Then Suzanne Lucas sent me this story.
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Earlier this week I had the pleasure of guesting on DriveThruHR, one of the oldest and (in my opinion) best HR radio shows/podcasts. We discussed the end of my pandemic practice, the start of my craft beer practice, how alcohol is in my blood (and not in the way you might think), the sudden and successful rise of the labor movement, and some worst employers. Thanks to Mike VanDervort for the invite, and Mike and Robin Schooling for the discussion.
You can listen here, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Here's what I read this past week that I think you should be reading, too.Do you like what you read? Receive updates two different ways:
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I was told to round down or round up my time. So if I start work at 7:55 I need to put 8. If I work 37 minutes, I should round down to 30, instead of 45 because this is a common business practice. Is this normal? I have entered exact times on the card and into ADP so idk why it's a problem now.
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