Category: Uncategorized
-
Employees’ Newfound Leverage
Last month Governor Lamont signed legislation requiring employers to provide employees with wage ranges for positions in their companies. The idea is that with more transparency, wage gaps will be tightened and folks will be paid based on value rather than on gender. It’s a good idea and, based on studies, seems like it should work. …
-
Guaranteed Basic Income & Other Economic Supports
I was an Economics major at Fairfield University more than thirty years ago. I enjoyed the study of economics, particularly looking at rational and irrational behaviors in markets. I also learned a lot of basic concepts that help me today as I negotiate collective bargaining agreements. I remember spending a lot of time on…
-
The Four-Day Work Week
One idea that I have read about lately in our post-Covid world is the four-day work week. I have to say that the idea appeals to me. I have never subscribed to the idea that employees need to be shackled to a desk or a workspace eight hours a day, five days a week.…
-
Fourth of July Free-Riders
Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. Hot dogs, swimming pools, and fireworks are hard to beat. It is good to feel like an American and to be proud of that fact at least on one special day every year. Last year was a rough…
-
Help Wanted, But Not Like That
I remember getting my first job at J.E. Smith Hardware and Lumber in Waterbury back in 1984. I started three weeks after I turned 16 and one day after I got my driver’s license. I remember that the job was a little boring but, generally, I enjoyed it, I learned a lot, and I…
-
Juneteenth: Our Latest National Holiday & What it Really Signals
The first time I heard of Juneteenth was when I got my new iPhone a couple of years ago, and the day popped up in my calendar automatically. I did not know its significance. Last year the day registered as one of significance for me for the first time just…
-
Want to Thank Pandemic Workers? Pay Them.
Over the last fifteen months, as I drive around New England and other parts of the East Coast, I see these nice signs with hearts on them giving thanks to the workers who kept this country going during the pandemic. Routinely, these folks who went to work every day in the face of dangers to…
-
Proving Discrimination Through a Mosaic
I’m a Crosby High School grad. I became a Bulldog in 1982. I can’t believe it has been that long. My history teacher freshman year was Mrs. Vassallo. I think she reads this column. She may remember assigning my class a project requiring the students to create a mosaic out of construction paper when…
-
Masking and Vaxxing Requirements
The masking and vaxxing requirements are changing regularly, and they can be confusing for most of us. I walk into some stores and there are no worries if I don’t wear a mask. In others I can tell before I reach the front door that it is best I don my mask as I…
-
How the NLRB interprets Graduate Students’ Employment Status
Over the last 25 years, I have been lucky enough to have this space to write about work and business. I am fully aware that I write for a conservative-leaning newspaper, and that I bring a left-leaning voice sometimes (not always). I am grateful for the chance to share my ideas with the folks…
The Law Office of Eric R. Brown 