“We have… formed the preliminary view that all employees should have access to unpaid family and domestic violence leave.” This declaration from the Australian Fair Work Commission acknowledges that medical, legal, housing, childcare, and financial needs might arise or change in the wake of violence. Although the announcement comes as part of the Fair Work Commission’s rejection of a bolder proposal, unions hail the announcement as a world-first.
Young men’s working hours dropped more sharply than older men’s between 2000 and 2015, and young men spent a huge portion of their new leisure time playing video games. Modeling demand for leisure, the National Bureau of Economic Research comes to a surprising conclusion: video games are not just a time-filler for the un- and under-employed; video games are actively enticing young American men away from work. The New York Times recaps the working paper.
Starting with the class of 2020, students in Chicago public schools will have to prove that they have a job, college acceptance, apprenticeship, commitment to the military, or other plan in order to graduate from high school. Critics of this new requirement point to Chicago’s tight labor market. They also highlight that the mandate comes with no monetary support—Mayor Emanuel calls for philanthropic and business funding—and might position for-profit colleges to benefit at students’ expense.
JD Supra surveys conflicting data about the impact of increased minimum wage on earnings, and then conjectures that minimum wage hikes are pushing restaurants towards mechanization. Shake Shack offers some support for this assertion: the burger joint’s new CFO seems focused on technology as a way of addressing rising labor costs, among other challenges.
Daily News & Commentary
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September 17
A union argues the NLRB's quorum rule is unconstitutional; the California Building Trades back a state housing law; and Missouri proposes raising the bar for citizen ballot initiatives
September 16
In today’s news and commentary, the NLRB sues New York, a flight attendant sues United, and the Third Circuit considers the employment status of Uber drivers The NLRB sued New York to block a new law that would grant the state authority over private-sector labor disputes. As reported on recently by Finlay, the law, which […]
September 15
Unemployment claims rise; a federal court hands victory to government employees union; and employers fire workers over social media posts.
September 14
Workers at Boeing reject the company’s third contract proposal; NLRB Acting General Counsel William Cohen plans to sue New York over the state’s trigger bill; Air Canada flight attendants reject a tentative contract.
September 12
Zohran Mamdani calls on FIFA to end dynamic pricing for the World Cup; the San Francisco Office of Labor Standards Enforcement opens a probe into Scale AI’s labor practices; and union members organize immigration defense trainings.
September 11
California rideshare deal advances; Boeing reaches tentative agreement with union; FTC scrutinizes healthcare noncompetes.