09-12-2024

Marlo Spaeth, an individual with Down syndrome, worked as a Wal-Mart sales associate for fifteen years. Wal-Mart instituted a policy requiring specific work shifts based on customer traffic patterns and issued a directive against individual schedule changes. Spaeth received a new shift of 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. She had difficulty with the change and Wal-Mart spoke to Spaeth about her attendance issues and began disciplinary actions. Spaeth asked to return to her old schedule. Store managers said they did not understand Spaeth’s schedule requests as requests for accommodation. Wal-Mart fired Spaeth for attendance issues. The EEOC sued Wal-Mart for disability discrimination.

09-11-2024

Many elite institutions have seen a drop in diverse admissions following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that completely eliminated race as a consideration including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Washington in St. Louis, MIT, Amherst College, and Tufts. Some highly selective colleges like the University of Virginia, Yale, and Duke implemented various programs focused on economic diversity that may have prevented significant declines.

09-10-2024

Japan’s work culture demands a twelve-hour work day as the "bare minimum." (CNN) That same work culture discourages leaving work any earlier, taking time off, or trying to quit a job that makes you sick. To protect workers, the government began publishing a list of the worst offenders, hopefully interfering with these employers' ability to hire. So far, more than 370 companies have made that list. Japan also has labor laws in place to protect workers and give them the right to resign.

09-05-2024

Lowe’s and Ford became the latest large companies to reverse 2020-era diversity efforts because of the conservative backlash and changing political environment. Lowe's shared that it was reviewing its DEI policies following the Supreme Court's affirmative action decision in a memo to employees. Similarly, Ford shared revisions with its employees. In its letter, Ford said it evolved its Employee Resource Groups to focus on "networking, mentorship, personal and professional development, and community service," with all groups open to everyone. Ford will stop participating with the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index and “best places to work lists.”

09-04-2024

A Washington Post piece asserts 70 and 80-year-olds won’t leave the workplace, while Yahoo! Finance shared an article about how unprepared Gen X is for retirement. Both pieces show why many recent college graduates are struggling to find work.

09-03-2024

Fifteen co-workers headed out to an office retreat in Colorado's Rocky Mountains. One male hiker became separated from all of the groups. He reached the summit at 11:30 a.m. but became disoriented as he tried to head back down. At dusk, two co-workers went to look for their lost companion, who was still not back. They could not find him. At 9:00 p.m., search teams initiated drones and helicopters to look for him. Because of the storm, they were unable to find him. While nine agencies coordinated a search, the man's cell phone allowed him to reach out the following morning. Search teams rescued him from a gully, and he reported falling at least 20 times trying to come down the mountain. The man was briefly hospitalized but is now at home.

08-29-2024

The Springline Complex in Menlo Park, California, may look like a high-end hotel, but it is a "work resort." On its website, the creators indicate they designed an "engaging destination where people are coming together to connect, collaborate, create, relax and play. We've poured over every detail to create a place that draws you in and offers an ongoing sense of place, inspiration and community." The office offers fountains, "lush landscaping," and "seating areas styled like an outdoor living room." It provides an event calendar, a gym, food options, and other ways to come together. According to the New York Times, this type of work environment is popping up all over the world.

08-28-2024

In April, the Biden Administration issued revised Title IX guidelines. Federal courts in Louisiana and Kentucky issued preliminary injunctions that prevent any part of the Biden Administration's rules from going into effect in certain states. By a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court allowed the injunctions to stay in place. These states and the federal government will continue to fight these issues in lower courts.

08-27-2024

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) is the first elite institution to share enrollment data on its incoming class of 2028. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that a university's consideration of race in any way during the admissions process violated the U.S. Constitution. As a result, M.I.T. did not ask new applicants to indicate their race or ethnicity. M.I.T.'s dean of admission said he expected a drop in diverse students, and "that is what happened."