Senators Pressure Retailers to Root Out “Shameful” Labor Abuse of Truckers

– USA TODAY

A group of high-profile Democratic Senators wrote letters to the nation’s top retail CEOs demanding they crack down on trucking companies that turned their workers into modern-day indentured servants. The call to action comes in response to a yearlong USA TODAY Network investigation that found port trucking companies in California forced their drivers into debt, pressured them to work up to 20 hours a day and paid them pennies per hour.

 

Worried Sick About Losing a Job

– The Wall Street Journal 

Fear of getting laid off or fired naturally makes workers worry about their finances. A lack of job security may put people at risk for numerous health problems, too, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from more than 17,000 working adults who took part in the government’s 2010 National Health Interview Survey and found that workers feeling insecure are more likely to report lifetime histories of ulcers, diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart disease.

 

A Winning Parental Leave Policy Can Be Surprisingly Simple

– Harvard Business Review 

The paid-parental-leave arms race is red-hot because employers see a unique opportunity to nab talent and headlines by one-upping their competitors. Although 86% of American employees have no access to paid parental leave, at elite firms access is growing. Employers can avoid undercutting this powerful message by making sure that their paid leave policy applies equally to all new parents — mothers and fathers, biological and adoptive, LGBT, salaried and hourly — without requiring that employees first prove themselves to be primary caregivers.

 

Who Wants to Run That Mom-and-Pop Market? Almost No One

– The New York Times

Small town mom and pop retail outlets face fierce headwinds in today’s economy. In many communities, they’re extinct.