Over the last few weeks, I’ve been seeing more tweets from human resources types and mainstream reporters using the phrase “wage theft”.  Two recent examples? William Tincup (who runs the popular online DriveThruHR show that I appeared on a while ago) recently tweeted:

And The New York Times labor reporter, Steven Greenhouse yesterday tweeted:

Yes, even The New York Times Editorial Board is beginning to use the term with surprising carelessness suggesting “law enforcement officials” (a term typically reserved for police officers, not Department of Labor officials) routinely use it.

It’s time for employers to beware this phrase and fight its usage because, in my view, it’s really an attempt to turn something often unintentional, into something nefarious and intentional.

Or as Mandy Patinkin’s character in The Princess Bride said: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

What DO I mean? Well, think of the word, “theft” and most of us think of the intentional taking of something that belongs to someone else. Like your jewelry, or your iPhone. Even your company’s trade secrets.Continue Reading “Wage Theft”: The Trendy Phrase That May Not Mean What You Think It Means

We interrupt our normally scheduled post on a recent Second Circuit case….

Monday is an anniversary that many of us in Connecticut will long remember — the anniversary of the big October snowstorm (or “Alfred” as Channel 3 called it).   Combine that storm with Irene earlier in 2011, and we’ve seen more than our

Updated: August 28, 2011 – As of mid-morning, more than 40 percent of the state is without power, making this storm the highest power outage in state history.  Widespread office closures are expected for Monday and early this week.

It’s the (relatively) calm before the storm on Saturday night.  Hurricane Irene is definitely coming.

But

When new laws get passed, the complications that arise from the passage aren’t immediately clear.  But a look at Connecticut’s new family violence leave provisions (effective October 1, 2010) demonstrates how some of those complications are now making themselves apparent. 

As you may recall, the new Family Violence Victim leave law permits employees to take

There’s a relatively new children’s book out now entitled, "The Wolf Who Cried Boy". It’s a humorous take on the old fable and I read it outloud one evening this week at home.  

I can’t help but be reminded of both the classic and new story, reading all of the hyperbole and hype of the last 24 hours

To the surprise of absolutely no one, the U.S. House of Representative overwhelmingly passed two employment law bills addressing compensation issues.  

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, HR 11, pretty much split among party lines 247-171. The Paycheck Fairness Act, HR 12, passed 256-163.  

The bills now move on to the Senate