labor laws

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Spain Looks to Downsize Its Workweek

From 40 hours down to 37.5

(Newser) - Workers in Spain may soon have 2.5 more hours of weekly rest. As the AP reports, the Spanish government approved a bill on Tuesday reducing the workweek from 40 to 37.5 hours. Twelve and a half million full-time and part-time private-sector workers will benefit from the reduction, expected...

State Bill Would Give Workers the 'Right to Disconnect'

It's the brainchild of California Democrat Matt Haney

(Newser) - Emailing an employee during their time off could become punishable by law in California, the first state in the US weighing employees' " right to disconnect ." Such laws are already on the books in 13 countries and just over the US-Canada border in Ontario. California could potentially become the...

Bernie Sanders: 4-Day Work Week Bill Is 'Not Radical'

Though Republicans apparently disagree

(Newser) - Bernie Sanders on Wednesday introduced a bill that would eventually move the United States to a four-day work week without reducing pay or benefits. The Thirty-Two Hour Workweek Act would, over a period of four years, move the threshold at which overtime must be paid from 40 hours to 32...

After Long Fight, Google Workers Due $20 Apiece

Settlement is the culmination of a 2016 lawsuit filed over 'evil' workplace policies

(Newser) - Google will pay $27 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it silenced employees through "evil" and illegal policies. It's "the largest agreement of its kind," per Semafor . But it's "a drop in the bucket" for Google, whose parent company "turned almost $20 billion...

Boss Who Dumped Pennies on Worker's Driveway Must Pay

Stunt led to investigation that found Georgia body shop owner had violated labor laws

(Newser) - An auto body shop owner who paid a worker's final wage of $915 using 91,500 oil-covered pennies has been ordered to pay $39,934 to nine workers—and authorities will likely take a dim view of any attempt to settle up using nearly 4 million greasy pennies. A...

New Labor Law in This State Lets Kids Work Longer Hours

Iowa GOP pushes through child labor legislation that even lets minors serve booze in some cases

(Newser) - Every Democrat in Iowa's Senate, as well as two Republicans, voted nay on a controversial bill early Tuesday that would allow teens to work longer hours in currently banned jobs, including in roles that serve booze. But the rest of the body's GOP pushed the legislation through by...

McDonald's Franchise Owners Violated Child Labor Laws

14- and 15-year-olds were working too many hours, and too late at night

(Newser) - That 14- and 15-year-olds were working at McDonald's locations in and around Pittsburgh was fine; the hours they were working weren't. McDonald's franchisee Santonastasso Enterprises, owned by John and Kathleen Santonastasso, has been hit with a $57,332 civil penalty in connection with child labor violations involving...

Let's Leave 5-Day Workweek Behind After the Pandemic

Many already are reconsidering how and where they work, Anna North writes, and the schedule isn't inevitable

(Newser) - With the pandemic inspiring many Americans to reconsider how, where, and how much they want to work, this might be a opportunity to retire the five-day workweek. Employees' connection to the eight-hour, five-day week already is disrupted, and Anna North suggests in Vox that we don't have to return...

Supreme Court Sides With Employers in Big Labor Case

Says companies can restrict workers' ability to band together in complaints

(Newser) - The Supreme Court says employers can prohibit their workers from banding together to complain about pay and conditions in the workplace. The justices ruled 5-4 Monday, with the court's conservative members in the majority, that businesses can force employees to individually use arbitration to resolve disputes, per the AP...

Papa John's Franchisee Gets Jail for Dodging Overtime

NYC owner also to cough up more than $500K in back pay, damages, penalties

(Newser) - A Papa John's owner tried to make a buck off his employees' backs, and now he's paying big time. Abdul Jamil Khokhar, who owns nine of the chain's restaurants in the NYC area along with BMY Foods, has pleaded guilty to not paying the correct minimum wage...

Here's What Wisconsin's Plan Would Actually Do

Ezra Klein: It's a 'multi-part attack on unions,' and the changes are big

(Newser) - Today's protests in Wisconsin are expected to be the biggest yet, notes the Wisconsin State Journal , with counter-protesters joining the fray for the first time. Which makes it a good time to assess exactly what Gov. Scott Walker's plan (read it here ) would actually do, writes Ezra Klein in...

Apple Finds Child Labor Abuses at Foreign Factories

Company's own report details 11 cases overseas

(Newser) - Apple's own investigation of the factories in its supply chain found 11 cases of 15-year-olds on the job. The company didn't identify the locations, but most of its facilities are in China. Apple ordered a "complete analysis" and a review of employment records. The report also found that about...

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