In today’s news and commentary, private payrolls fall unexpectedly, the NYC Council overrides veto on publishing pay data, and workers sue Starbucks over unreimbursed expenses. 

On Wednesday, payroll processing firm ADP released an employment report showing that private companies had cut 32,000 workers in November. The news was unexpected, coming in well below estimates of a 40,000 increase and following a hopeful October report showing a gain of 47,000 positions. The losses were overwhelmingly fueled by cuts in businesses with less than fifty employees. The ADP report will certainly affect the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut or keep steady its key interest rate. The Fed is certainly feeling the pressure of its dual mandate as inflation remains above the 2% target while the labor market is balanced “on a knife-edge.” Futures traders currently have the probability of a rate cut pegged at 90%. 

On Thursday, the New York City Council voted 40-7 to override a mayoral veto and require large employers in the city to periodically report aggregated pay data broken down by employees’ race and gender. The new law, Int. 982A, will only apply to businesses with 200 or more employees and has a multi-year implementation ramp. The council hopes that this measure will pressure employers to address pay disparities for women and people of color. The submission of data will be able to be done anonymously. 

Workers in California have filed a lawsuit against Starbucks alleging that the company has failed to reimburse employees for expenses associated with its new dress code. The lawsuits, filed on Thursday under the Private Attorneys General Act, allege violations of the California Labor Code. The lawsuits also raise claims of unpaid reimbursement for use of the workers’ personal cellphones and vehicles.  “This is unjust for a billion-dollar company like Starbucks to nickel and dime its employees like me who are already scraping by and living paycheck to paycheck,” Serrana Cypret, lead plaintiff in one of the lawsuits, said in a statement. The lawsuits come amidst ongoing strikes against Starbucks and with the support of Starbucks Workers United union.