A Generation That Will Determine the Course of American Employment This is going to be a story about millenials, wait, don't leave just yet, I'm not here to make accusations of narcissism and laziness. In fact, as you may have guessed, we'll be talking about how millennial needs, opportunities, and interests will define the working landscape in America for the foreseeable future. Better? Good. Because as the much fussed over generation starts to take the reins in business, ac

On May 17, 2016 whitehouse.gov announced sweeping changes to Department of Labor policy when it comes to worker eligibility for overtime pay, or rather, one major change is being made that will have a sweeping effect across the country for the coming decade. According to Scott Horsley of NPR News as recently as 1970, over 60% of salaried (you read that correctly: salaried) employees qualified for overtime rates when made to work more than 40 hours in a week. As of today, that

Welcome back to our 101 series! Previous editions have focused on overtime laws and wrongful termination, so hit the links if you'd like to catch up. Today we're talking about employee entitlements in the state of California, like meal breaks and rest periods. Since the laws differ from state to state most employees, and a good chunk of employers as well, are unaware of the breaks to which employees are entitled. So let's dive right in: how many breaks you get and how long th

Albeit, factory work is a different story, but still, women haven't always had to wear heels to work. Image credit of Wikimedia Commons. Today the internet is abuzz with the story of a London woman who was asked to go home without pay when she showed up to her new office wearing flats instead of heels. According to her manager, 2–4 in. heels are required as part of a professional dress code. The young woman, Nicola Thorp, protested asking if men were held to the same stand

Carolina Miranda of the LA Times seems to think so. Her article published on May 10 suggests that if the case gets any traction it could set a dangerous precedent for programs, institutions, who want to promote cultural diversity in employment. While media outlets and bloggers alike have been quick to treat this story as another opportunity to wag the finger at finicky millenials, who in the blogosphere are both hyper sensitive to issues of racism and privilege, and inured to

Consumer watchdog, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, submitted an ambitious proposal for public comment this Thursday. The proposed rule would greatly limit the ability of large banks "to bar the consumer from filing or participating in a class action with respect to the covered consumer financial product or service." In short, the new rule would keep banks and other financial institutions from locking customers into contracts that restrict legal recourse for contract

According to a number of sources, including Huffington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and a Facebook post made public by one of the women involved, a group of seven Orange County women are suing Urth Caffé, a small Los Angeles based chain of organic coffeehouses. In a Facebook post made on April 23, one of the plaintiffs stated "I am completely appalled by the racist and Islamophobic treatment some friends and I were subjected to by staff at Urth Caffé in Laguna Beach last nigh

A recent article published by the LA times reports the US Supreme Court made a 6–2 ruling in favor of a government employee who was wrongfully terminated for what was determined to be protected speech. The crux of the issue lay in the fact that previous court rulings had established a small loophole where employees, even in public sector jobs, could not sue for retaliation if the employer punished them for perceived political beliefs. The third circuit court of appeals mad