Court rules US Labor Board was ‘wrong’ to ask Musk to delete anti-union tweet
The National Labor Relations Board went too far by ordering Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, to delete a 2018 tweet stating employees would lose stock options if they unionized. Showing clear division over the issue, the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals voted against the NLRB by a verdict of 9-8 and concluded that Musk’s tweet amounted to free speech that was protected by the First Amendment. “Deleting the speech of private citizens on topics of public concern is not a remedy traditionally countenanced by American law,” the court held in an unsigned opinion joined by eight of the nine judges in the majority. The tweet relates to an organizing campaign at Tesla’s Fremont, California, plant by the United Auto Workers union. Musk tweeted: “Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union… But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?” Tesla argued the tweet was not a threat and merely reflected the fact that union workers at other auto companies did not receive stock options. A three-judge 5th Circuit panel disagreed in March 2023, but the full appeals court elected to rehear the case. Musk’s rocket company, SpaceX, is separately suing the NLRB, claiming its in-house enforcement proceedings are unconstitutional.
Publicis fires staff for refusing the return to the office
The knives came out at PR and advertising firm, Publicis, last week, after it was reported to have fired dozens of its US staff for ignoring its return to office (RTO) policy. According to a Publicis insider, staff were let go due to “egregious” cases of non-compliance with the policy, which has been firmly in place for about two years. Since the start of 2023, all Publicis Group employees around the world have been required to be in the office three days a week. Since 2024, this has included mandatory presence on Mondays, with no consecutive remote working days. According to PR magazine, PRWeek, there was speculation that the crackdown affected people who hadn’t come into the office for 25 days this year, but a source close to Publicis has reportedly played down this suggestion. “We have been clear and consistent about our policy that employees work from the office at least three days a week, an expectation that is being met and exceeded by the majority of our talent,” said a Publicis media US spokesperson. Publicis Media has 10,000 employees in the US and its brands include Publicis Collective, Publicis Health Media, Spark Foundry, Starcom and Zenith.
Walmart accused of having a ‘deadly workplace’ after another employee death
A worker who was ‘baked to death’ inside a large walk-in oven has seen Walmart lambasted over its “deadly” workplace. Gursimran Kaur’s charred remains were discovered inside an industrial oven at a store in Halifax, Nova Scotia two weeks ago. But this death follows the death of a worker crushed by a forklift truck at a Walmart warehouse in Texas in February, and grisly injuries to other staff including employees suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and even one who had his fingers sliced off by a meat slicer. These incidents have helped contribute to Walmart having the second-highest injury rate in the US, with three serious incidents per 100 full-time workers, according to Strategic Organizing Center, a coalition of some of the country’s biggest labor unions. Another Walmart employee – David Bradshaw – collapsed and died during a shift at a Shelby, North Carolina distribution center in March. He was allegedly denied medical attention for an hour. Data from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) showed 571 incidents recorded at Walmart between January 2015 and May 2022. This was second only to the United States Postal Service (USPS) with 1,142 injuries.
Backlash still raw over EY dismissing staff for doing ‘too much learning’
The furor over EY’s decision to fire employees over taking too many online training sessions has not quelled, according to Business Standard, which reports that many staff think the punishment was disproportionate. And now EY has reportedly been forced to reveal that it has “revised how it promotes its internal training events.” However, in a move that is still likely to anger many, EY has doubled-down on the sackings, and is unapologetic for why they happened. In a statement, a company spokesperson said: “Our core values of integrity and ethics are at the forefront of everything we do. Disciplinary action was taken in a small number of cases where individuals violated our global code of conduct and US learning policy.” The training incident actually took place in May, but has taken until now to come to light. EY said that since this event, it had revised how it promotes internal training events, including reminding employees to “complete this learning activity with integrity,” and to avoid attending multiple sessions at once. But one former consultant, speaking to The Financial Times, sais that EY staff were often expected to work with multiple monitors, adding: “If you’re expected to bill 45 hours a week and also complete internal tasks, how can you not multitask?”
Employers warned not to snoop on workers
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has once-more cautioned companies against using tools that monitor or evaluate employees without their knowledge or consent. The response comes as data suggests more employers are using technology to track workers – particularly from the algorithmic scores or background reports compiled by outside parties. Rohit Chopra, the agency’s director, said: “Workers shouldn’t be subject to unchecked surveillance or have their careers determined by opaque third-party reports without basic protections.” He added: “The kind of scoring and profiling we’ve long seen in credit markets is now creeping into employment and other aspects of our lives.” Companies using third-party consumer reports about employees are required to follow Fair Credit Reporting Act rules by obtaining consent and being upfront information being used to make adverse decisions, allowing workers to dispute incorrect data, the CFPB said. Guidance issued by the agency states that companies need to fix or delete any information that cannot be verified to make sure that employees are not “unfairly penalized due to errors in these reports and have the opportunity to set the record straight,” it said.
Sun Life named amongst best workplaces for remote working
Sun Life US has been named a Top Workplace for Remote Work by Monster.com – based on employee surveys conducted by Energage, and direct information about Sun Life’s employee programs and benefits. Sun Life employees are encouraged to connect in person when they can, whether off-site or at an office. This includes curating satellite communities where there are large concentrations of employees not near a Sun Life office. All Sun Life employees have access to inclusive programming, including regional events that bring colleagues together, and philanthropic activities that give people the opportunity to gather and give back to their local communities. Said Tammi Wortham, senior vice president, human resources, Sun Life US: “Although we had several hybrid employees prior to the pandemic, we have really leaned into the hybrid dynamic, helping people stay connected to their colleagues and their jobs.” She added: “Technology is only part of the solution. We maintain a culture that prioritizes work/life balance and have created opportunities for our employees to connect and build rapport throughout the year. We want every employee to feel valued and included regardless of their work location.”
Microsoft fires employees for holding ‘vigil’ for Palestinians killed in Gaza
Tech giant, Microsoft, has sacked two employees for holding an unauthorized vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza at its Redmond, Washington, campus. Both employees were members of a coalition of employees called No Azure for Apartheid that has opposed Microsoft’s sale of its cloud-computing technology to the Israeli government. The sacked staff had contended the event they ran was similar to other Microsoft-sanctioned employee gift campaigns for people in need. “We have so many community members within Microsoft who have lost family, lost friends or loved ones,” said Abdelrahman Mohamed, a researcher and data scientist. “But Microsoft really failed to have the space for us where we can come together and share our grief and honor the memories of people who can no longer speak for themselves.” The second fired worker, Hossam Nasr, said the purpose of the vigil was both “to honor the victims of the Palestinian genocide in Gaza and to call attention to Microsoft’s complicity in the genocide,” because of the use of its technology by the Israeli military. In a statement, Microsoft said it had “ended the employment of some individuals in accordance with internal policy,” but it declined to provide any more details.
