Today’s News & Commentary — November 1, 2016

McDonald’s paid $3.75 million to settle a federal lawsuit in California that sought to hold the company liable for one of its franchise owners failing to failing to pay proper wages. The suit is one of several filed after the NLRB issued complaints in 2014 seeking to hold McDonald’s and other franchisors as joint employers. Joe Sellers, an attorney for the workers, said the settlement marked the first time McDonald’s committed to paying workers for labor violations in a franchisee-operated store.

Ford reached a tentative four year deal with Unifor early Tuesday morning. Unifor is Canada’s largest private-sector union, and a strike would have disrupted production at factories that accounts for nearly 10% of Ford’s North American output. The deal is reported to be similar to Unifor’s agreement with G.M. and Fiat, though details have yet to be released.

The Harvard Business Review offers an interesting discussion on winners and losers in the gig economy. Workers with specialized skills and expertise as well as entrepreneurial workers are those that come out on top; workers whose skills are common or commoditized lose out.

For those reading Today’s News & Commentary who want to escape office life, the New York Times offers some advice on how to quit. Among the tips: “If I cared what everyone else thinks, I would still be at a blue-chip company and feeling unfulfilled.”