As our Thanksgiving gift to you ERE brings you this special edition of turkey-flavored Roundup. (And I thank you in advance for not leaving comments like, “Sure was a real turkey,” etc.)
The special feature is attorney Jeff Nowak’s family Thanksgiving song, with lyrics that everyone who has ever dealt with FMLA issues will enjoy (a word that may not coincide with your FMLA experience).
Click the image to hear Nowak’s rendition of Albuquerque Turkey and you’ll know in a flash why he keeps his day job as co-chair of Franczek Radelet’s Labor and Employment Practice. If you prefer to avoid frightening children and pets, you can read the lyrics here.
Turkeys Are History
OK so we didn’t spend much on your Thanksgiving present, but, hey, what did you get from your employer? Bloomberg tells us 80 percent of you got nada. Its survey says the tradition of employers handing out turkeys is almost one for the history books. Only 4 percent of employers still do that.
Bloomberg goes on to say that 97 percent of employers will give employees the day off. But then the survey says 33 percent will have at least some employees work. Kind of confusing unless you read closely. Turkey day is a PTO day, which means if you have to work it, you might get OT or a comp day. A stingy 8 percent of employers will make employees work and pay them only straight time.
Work For Us. We Stay Closed
So who’s working today? Oh, you know. It’s the usual public safety, hospital and healthcare, and critical services workers, like retail clerks at Kmart, WalMart, and a bunch of other stores that will lure shoppers with 60″ TVs for $499.
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Another group of stores is claiming the high ground by staying closed, and promoting that fact loudly. Nordstrom, Costco, GameStop, and some two dozen or more chain stores will be closed today. And, in the words of The Washington Post, “though they’ll lose out on a day of bargain-hunting, they’re winning a type of publicity money can’t buy: One Today Show segment highlighting them is headlined, ‘Family trumps profits at these stores.'”
Ah, ha! A new recruiting campaign for next season’s retail hiring: “You get Thanksgiving off.”
