In a case that perhaps attracted more attention than usual because it was Chief Justice Roberts’ first oral argument and participation in an opinion, workers recently scored a unanimous Supreme Court victory in the case of IBP v. Alvarez. While workers probably shouldn’t expect too many unanimous victories from the Roberts Court, once in a …
Workers Win Their First Case Before the Roberts Court Read More »
The retail juggernaut known as Wal-Mart is not having a very easy time of it these days. Reeling from the release of some very damaging internal memos, and gearing up to combat a new documentary that chronicles Wal-Mart’s role in bringing down wages and working conditions, the company has been forced to establish a PR …
Goliath is Reeling: Not a Good Time to Be Wal-Mart Read More »
Loyalty to your employer used to be one of the most important values that any employee could have, and no one can deny the role it has always played in career advancement. And until as recently as last week, you might have been forgiven for thinking that it was one of the values held most …
Loyalty: Not What It Used to Be, But is Washington to Blame? Read More »
What do the band U2 and the movie North Country have in common? Even when you count lead singer Bono’s commitment to social consciousness, the answer is not that much, except for the fact that I saw them both in the past week. But after having one of U2’s most recent hits embedded in my …
North Country: Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own Read More »
We all want to figure out how to do more work in less time. Why is that? In days past, it meant you were a more valuable employee, and could expect more wages and advancement. Now, it may mean that you want to spend more time with your family, or have room for a social …
Given the current leadership in Washington, it’s not likely that we’re going to see too many laws providing more protection to workers: instead, we’re mostly seeing efforts to scale those back. But even without specific laws in place, there are corporations out there attempting to do right by their employees. While there’s the obvious point …
Doing the Right Thing Without Laws to Require It Read More »
While last week, I spoke about some of the ways the hurricane-spawned disaster in the Gulf Coast region was being used to harm workers, there is not universal cause for pessimism. There are also many positive things that employers and their employees have been doing and continue to do, both to directly support those affected …
Post-Hurricane Opportunities for Employers to Do Good: Leave Time Read More »
In the weeks since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, and after Hurricane Rita recently paid a visit, we’ve had the opportunity to see how such disasters bring out the best — and worst — in everyone. Amongst many stories of courage and heroism you will also find examples of the worst behavior you might …
Hurricanes: The Worst Excuse to Take Away Workers’ Rights (Not That One’s Needed) Read More »
As the nation reeled from the massive destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina, it was also newsworthy that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, William H. Rehnquist, passed away following a battle with thyroid cancer. John Roberts, having already been nominated to fill the seat of retiring Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, was quickly nominated …
John Roberts Nomination for Chief Justice: Bad News for Workers? Read More »
Like many Americans, I have spent the last week obsessed and devastated by the reports of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of the city of New Orleans, as well as parts of Mississippi and Alabama. Even with Labor Day occurring, it was hard to think about anything else. While it seems slightly unseemly to worry about it …
Madeline Messa is a 3L at Syracuse University College of Law. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism. With her legal research and writing for Workplace Fairness, she strives to equip people with the information they need to be their own best advocate.
