BossFeed Briefing for March 6, 2017. It's been less than a week and a least a half-dozen controversies since the President's address to a joint session of Congress. And we're just two days from a major cutoff at the State Legislature: any bill that doesn't pass its "house of origin" by March 8th is likely dead for the year... unless it's declared "necessary to implement the budget."
Three things to know this week:
The Washington State House voted to advance an amended bill that would require larger employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees — stuff like bathroom breaks & access to water. It now awaits action in the State Senate.
Immigrants held in private prisons run by GEO Group have filed a class-action lawsuit, charging violation of the federal ban against forced labor. GEO Group owns the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, among many others across the country.
El Sol de Yakima wrote about the potential impact of the proposals before the State Legislature to roll back the minimum wage, prominently featuring Working Washington leader Paula Zambrano. Even if you don't read Spanish, the photographs are worth a look.
Two things to ask:
Can they build a better mousetrap? After construction workers in New York drew attention to an employer's business practices with a giant inflatable rat, the employer responded with a larger inflatable cat. Then the workers responded — with an even bigger rat.
Will they ever accept that they lost the election? Anti-worker lobby groups including the Washington Retail Association and the Washington Farm Bureau have filed a lawsuit in Kittitas County Court seeking to overturn the minimum wage initiative we passed in November. A court date has been set for April; we'll be keeping a close eye.
And one thing that’s worth a closer look:
The workplace culture of the tech industry is getting a well-deserved reexamination after Uber's CEO was caught on tape verbally abusing a driver who asked him about deteriorating pay & conditions. The incident came just days after women engineers who had worked at the company came forward with disturbing accounts of the unacceptable working environment there.
Read this far?
Consider yourself briefed, boss.
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