The United States of America: land of liberty, bastion of opportunity, the world’s leading economic power. But if you’re a low-wage worker and wake up sick, you’d better clock in on time or you risk losing your wages and even your job. Paid time off for illness, taken for granted in professional sectors and much …
420,000 More Workers in Cook County Will Soon Have Paid Sick Leave Read More »
There’s a lot more going on in this election than the presidential race between Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican nominee Donald Trump. Borne out of the dedication and hard work of activists, ballot initiatives give citizens the opportunity to vote directly on legislation and constitutional amendments at the state and local level, sometimes even …
Minimum Wage Increases On the Ballot In Four States Read More »
The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide an issue of huge importance to everyone who cares about access to justice. The question, in Campbell-Ewald v. Gomez, is whether corporate defendants in class actions are entitled to bribe class representatives to abandon the rest of the potential class members. Yes, you read that right. According …
The Obama administration will soon unveil its new overtime pay rules, which will mean that millions of additional workers will get overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours a week. Many low-wage employers are obviously upset about this—they’ve been using the weak overtime rules to make salaried employees work more than 40 hours …
Low-wage industry tries to fearmonger on overtime pay, fails Read More »
After investigating 150 nail salons over 13 months, New York Times reporter Sarah Maslin Nir found that “manicurists are routinely underpaid and exploited, and endure ethnic discrimination and other abuse.” The findings are presented in a long-form multimedia story and offered in English, Spanish, Korean and Chinese. Nir followed manicurists who, after leaving their cramped …
Your Manicurist is Likely Being Paid Illegal Starvation Wages Read More »
Chicago workers continued the roving fast food and retail strike Thursday, joining strikers and picketers around the nation calling for increased wages and better working conditions for the thousands of low-wage workers who staff some of the nation’s largest companies but are not paid even enough to scrape by. A crowd of workers and supporters sporting employee …
In Streets of Chicago, Fast Food Workers Celebrate Small Victories Read More »
While most attention in the Boston tragedy is rightfully focused on the victims of last Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, the damage done by the terrorist attacks didn’t end with the explosions or the subsequent shootout that led to additional deaths. Much of the city shut down during the manhunt for the terror suspects; …
Boston’s Low-Wage Workers Affected by City’s Shutdown Read More »
It’s a double whammy for low-wage workers when they get hurt or fall ill on the job. First, they lose pay because the vast majority (more than 80%) of low-wage workers do not have any paid sick leave to take time off to recover. Second, not only does the pay check shrink, but because of …
Low-Wage Workers Hit Hardest by Workplace Injuries, Illnesses 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.
