Category Archives: New Approaches

Why Raising Walmart Wages Helps The Economy

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Walmart CEO Michael Duke’s $35 million annual salary constitutes an hourly wage equal to the annual salary of the average Walmart employee. — Jonathon Turley

Walmart tops the “leading retailer by employment chart” with over 2 million employees — next on the list is Target with only 365,000.  Today Walmart workers will go on strike to demand fair wages among other issues. A study by Demos reports that “Retail jobs are a crucial source of income for the families of workers in the sector, yet currently more than 1 million retail workers and their family members live in or near poverty.3 More than 95 percent of year-round Continue reading →

Black Thursday? Or, Black Friday? Will Walmart’s employee strike work?

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It all depends on shoppers.  Walmart wants to bring people in before the stirke — and ABC’s Good Morning America glibly helps them make their case:

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We Know Bullying When We See It – or do we?

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One of the problems with subtler claims of workplace bullying is the difficulty in determining who did what to whom, why and what to do about it.  Here’s an article out of Australia that highlights just how complicated perception can be:

An underperforming Canberra public servant was “bullied” by having her work problems addressed in private meetings with her superior, a Commonwealth tribunal has found.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal says that the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) was “insensitive” to the worker’s issues and “humiliated” her by holding one-on-one meetings to talk about her poor performance. Continue reading →

$155 Million Workplace Defamation Award Overturned

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Too many victims of bullying and harassment have seen their reputations torn to shreds as they struggle to heal and find new employment.  In 2010 Dr. Katherine Murphy lost sexual harassment and retaliation claims against the Aventura City charter school she helped found and Aventura City Manager Eric Soroka.  Later an Appeals Court upheld the verdict stating she was unable to prove a hostile work environment and, based on the testimony of co-workers, Soroka did not “single out females as targets for the profanity”:

Murphy testified that she asked Soroka to stop bullying her and that she complained to a former supervisor, Soroka’s assistant, and a city commissioner that Soroka had used “vulgar, inappropriate language,” and engaged in “bullying, yelling, [and] screaming.” Murphy failed to report Soroka’s conduct, formally or informally, to her employer, and Murphy acknowledged that she did not complain to Soroka’s assistant or the city commissioner that Soroka’s conduct was sexually hostile or sexually harassing. The district court correctly entered summary judgment against Murphy’s complaint of retaliation.

Fast forward two years to November 2012.  Murphy wins a whopping $155 million for defamation, conspiracy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The Miami Herald reports that: Continue reading →

Managing your boss

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reprinted from the American Psychological Association Help Center

Q.How do you manage the prototypical “difficult boss?”

A. Successfully managing a difficult boss is a challenge but often feasible. First, you should try to understand the reasons for your boss’ difficult behavior. Assuming your boss generally behaves in a fairly reasonable manner, and that his/her difficult behavior seems to be a result of stress overload rather than his/her character, chances are good that the behavior can be modified. If your boss’ behavior seems to reflect a chronically hostile, abusive style of interacting regardless of the amount of stress in the worksite, the chances are less positive that the behavior can change. In fact, you may want to consider seeking counsel from a trusted mentor or human resources professional to evaluate your options. Continue reading →

Maryland Drops Healthy Workplace Bill And Seeks New Approach Against Bullying

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A growing number of states are following Vermont‘s lead and deleting the original language of the Workplace Bullying Institute’s legislation (the Healthy Workplace Bill) and instead asking for a state-based team to draft their own bill. While it’s true that  HWB advocates have invested a great deal of time and passion in their singular bill, Maryland’s proposed Senate Bill 999 would bring together a dream team that includes; the Secretary of Budget and Management, different union leaders, state employees, supervisors and a practicing attorney. Passing a legislative response for abusive work environments irregardless of protected class status is something all of us have struggled hard for and this solution holds real promise for Maryland’s state workers.   The bill, which shows Senator Muse as the SOLE sponsor, passed unanimously in the Senate’s third reading on April 3, 2012 so it is now in appropriations.  Below is the section that describes the work study group: Continue reading →