Whether it’s due to concerns about terrorism, theft, or workplace violence, more and more jobs are requiring a background check these days. While it may not be so surprising that certain jobs, such as elementary school teacher, bus driver, or bank teller, require background checks, especially when checks may even be required by law, it …
Now that the Academy Awards have all been awarded, the suspense has ended, as the movie Crash surprisingly took home Best Picture, and the eight-times nominated Brokeback Mountain earned its director, Ang Lee, the Best Director Oscar. This year was nonethless remarkable for the number of nominated movies that educated us about important social issues. …
Oscar-Nominated Films Tell Real-Life Workplace Stories Read More »
It’s hard to find someone among the working poor who doesn’t want to have at least a middle-class lifestyle. Even those who don’t necessarily yearn to be wealthy would prefer to make enough that they can live comfortably and support their families. Yet what is billed to the ticket to the middle-class life — building …
Missing in the Equation: the American Middle Class Read More »
Are you a “cyberslacker?” — one of the new breed of employees who spends time at work going online “to shop, play games, pay bills, view pornography, download music, communicate with friends, maybe even look for another job?” If so, it might be a good time to knock it off, given how many employers these …
There was a time in this country when “right to work” meant a right to a job — that if you couldn’t find a job in the private sector, the government would provide you one, as an employer of last resort. Now, to the extent that we recognize a “right to work,” it’s a concept …
This Sunday, 90 million Americans, and another 40 million people around the world, will watch Super Bowl XL. The Super Bowl is not only American football’s biggest game—it is a showcase for television’s most expensive, and often most innovative, commercials, which are now as integral to the broadcast as the competing teams. Some of the …
Super Bowl Advertisers’ Treatment of Workers Lags Behind Public Image Read More »
Gung Hay Fat Choy: Happy Chinese New Year! As millions, if not billions, of people worldwide celebrate the beginning of the Chinese Lunar New Year, it’s the season for parades, feasts and family. However, if you’re someone born in the upcoming Year of the Dog, you might have good reason to be worried — or …
Gung Hay Fat Choy: Dogs, Irrational Discrimination & Judge Alito Read More »
It’s the time of year when everyone contemplates their past and their future, beginning a self-assessment process designed to make 2006 the best year ever, or at least free of 2005’s mistakes. Is it a time for big changes in your life? Or has something validated that you’re headed in the right direction? One look …
Working for Less: Why We Need Workplace Fairness Read More »
Last week, the state of Maryland became the first in the country to pass a bill — by overriding the governor’s veto — which requires large employers to spend a certain percentage of their budget on health insurance for their employees. Officially known as the Fair Share Health Care Fund bill, the measure was unofficially …
Maryland Leading the Way in States’ Fights Against Wal-Mart Read More »
This week, the biggest show in town (Washington, DC, that is, and perhaps the rest of the country too) is the hearings on Samuel Alito’s nomination to be a Supreme Court justice. Senators purport to be hanging on every word Alito says in the hearings to divine whether he will make an appropriate Supreme Court …
Alito: Should Workers Trust His Actions, or His Words? Read More »
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.
