With Facebook and Syria dominating the headlines this week, you might have missed a startling HR bombshell that dropped in the U.K. A new law went into effect requiring employers to post their company’s gender pay gaps on their own websites. True story. The idea is the “naming and shaming” will force British employers, 70 percent of which pay women less than men, to finally take a step toward pay equity. If they don’t, HR will be in the hot seat trying to hire top talent, especially women. The New Republic
This week, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that salary history cannot justify a wage differential between men and women, causing employers there (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) to say: “Now what?” We’d advise you to take an honest look at your hiring practices and salary decisions. Were they based on past salary information? If so, and if you’ve got a pay differential between men and women on your hands, determine if other factors like education and experience were involved. If not, it’s time to close that gap.Harvard Business Review
This week, HBR released the findings of their study of thousands of teams across all industries, sectors, and geographies to learn what makes some teams successful while others fail. It’s the quality of the team’s relationships. If you’ve got a supportive team, it’s all good. But just one toxic team member can destroy a high-performing team. Toxic team members create unnecessary drama, erode the team brand and culture, and generally make everyone miserable. What to do about it? Talk to the person frankly. If that doesn’t work, go to the boss. Last resort, you be the one to leave. As HBR stated: Life is too short for work to suck the life out of you. Harvard Business Review
In what might have been the worst idea in the history of HR, United Airlines decided to replace its quarterly bonus structure with a lottery that would reward one random person with $100,000 while his or her coworkers get zip. It ignited a maelstrom of employee ire, adding to an already toxic corporate culture its new CEO was hired to fix. This week, United’s VP of HR sent out a memo telling employees that the lottery was scrapped and it was business as usual. We’re wondering whose bright idea it was in the first place. Inc.
For the second time in as many weeks, it was announced that the concept of being a “joint employer” is getting its day in court. Two men, contract workers at Tesla’s electric car factory, are suing Tesla and the staffing firms West Valley Staffing and Citistaff Solutions, for the racial harassment and hostility they endured at the factory. When the men complained about it, the staffing firms demoted one and fired the other. These were gig workers, but they’re suing Tesla, alleging it is a “joint employer.” The courts will decide if that’s true. One thing is for sure: The gig economy continues to grow. Companies that use temp, seasonal, and contract workers should keep an eye on this case. Bloomberg
Wednesday’s Senate confirmation of conservative John Ring to the National Labor Relations Board restored the Republican majority on the board, virtually guaranteeing that key decisions affecting employers, like the Browning-Ferris joint-employer ruling and the “quickie election” rule about unionization, will be revisited. Look for those Obama-era decisions to be rolled back. Politico
