A few months ago, the hot topic in employment news was the McDonald's announcement regarding wage increases for its fast-food workers. The news was received with elation by thousands of workers across the country who had fought for months to raise wages in an industry...
You hear talk of the "new economy" or the "sharing economy," often touting the benefits and improvements of new jobs, new industries and new ways of doing old jobs. Companies like Uber are part of that new economy, but sometimes it seems that aside from a few...
In America, having you day in court is symbolic of one of the more fundamental rights we take for granted, that of being able to go to a impartial court and ask for redress of wrongs. But in many instances, the right is being eliminated under a legalistic concept of...
The importance of strong government regulation of the labor market is highlighted by the difference between Massachusetts and Connecticut. In Connecticut, there is vigorous enforcement of all relevant requirements to operate as a business, from being registered in the...
Wage theft within the construction industry is a major problem for employees, homeowners and the taxpayers. The workers suffer directly, often being shorted for weeks of work or overtime. On many residential home construction projects, the quality of the homes being...
The study further identifies the lack of effective enforcement by regulatory agencies, which are designed to monitor "regular" employers, who in the post-WWII work environment, more or less complied with wage and hour laws, and required little resources to...
A new study of wage theft in the construction industry in Massachusetts describes the practice as being at "epidemic levels." The construction industry has been at the center this growing problem. If it can reach epidemic levels in a labor-friendly state like...
No employer likes to pay overtime. Many will simply prohibit their employees from working more than 40 hours in a week. And then they will subtly push the workers to finish the job anyway. Or they will simply ignore that work done beyond 40 hours is overtime, and...
Workers in the U.S. have faced many challenges over the last 30 years. Many jobs left this country as a huge number of manufacturing and garment industry jobs were shipped overseas to low-wage countries. This depleted many unions to the point of irrelevance, and as...
Wage and hour issues are often hidden. Employees are placed in positions where they feel as though they must complete a job or a task, regardless of compensation. They may have tips shorted or be subjected misclassifications that deny them their pay for hours worked....
