Management Update Newsletter

Volume 7, Issue 8

August 2018

Moonves To Remain CEO Of CBS While Investigation Is Conducted

On July 27, 2018 allegations of sexual misconduct were released about CBS News' Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves. Six women spoke to a reporter at The New Yorker, all accusing Moonves of inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace during the 1980s and through late 2000s. Four claimed he forcibly kissed or touched them during business meetings, and two said he had physically intimidated them and threatened their careers. In a statement on July 30, CBS announced that they would delay making a decision about Moonves' future with the company until an investigation was conducted by an outside counsel. The company also delayed its annual shareholder meeting which was originally scheduled for August 10.

Starbucks Loss Could Be H&M Worker's Gain

On July 26, the California Supreme Court ruled that a Starbucks Corp. shift supervisor should be paid for work he did after clocking out. The court rejected Starbucks' argument that the work the employee was performing after he clocked out fell under the de minimus rule and therefore was not compensable. In a similar case filed by H&M workers hours after the Starbucks decision, employees claim they are eligible for pay for time spent waiting on mandatory bag checks before they are allowed to leave the store. The H&M claim is a supplement to a December 13, 2017 motion for class action certification which would cover other H&M workers unless they opt out. The workers claim the bag check waiting periods can take as long as 15 minutes. Like Starbucks, H&M has argued that the waiting time is not compensable because it falls under the de minimus rule. The H&M case is currently before Judge Edward J. Davila of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, but he has not scheduled oral argument on the class certification motion.

Federal Judge Rules UPS Union Agreement Is Biased Against Disabled Drivers

A federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas ruled that a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between UPS and a union violates the Americans with Disabilities Act and discriminates against disabled workers. The court ruled the bias laid within the text of the CBA which provided that UPS freight drivers who lost their commercial driver's license for medical reasons were entitled to nondriving work at 90 percent of the rate of pay. Alternately, drivers who lost their commercial driver's license for nonmedical purposes - including conviction for driving under the influence - would not have to take reduced pay work. In August 2017, UPS paid a separate $1.7 million settlement to end claims that its 12-month maximum leave policy discriminated against workers taking medical leave.

Disney To Boost Minimum Pay By 20 Percent for California Park Staff

Walt Disney Co. announced it will be boosting minimum pay for workers at its two California theme parks to $15 an hour by 2019 and offering wage increases of about 3 percent annually through 2020 to those already making that amount. Currently, employees are making $11 minimum wage, and will get an immediate 20 percent bump to $13.25 an hour and then receive $15 in January. By then, Disney said 89 percent of employees covered by a new labor agreement will earn at least $15 an hour. The new contract, which was voted for on July 26 by ticket takers, custodians, food-service workers and other hourly employees, will apply to about 9,700 of the 30,000 employees at Disneyland and California Adventure. In contrast, about 38,000 Disney park workers in Orlando, Florida rejected a raise to $15 an hour starting pay for new workers last year. The Florida unions are set to resume talks with Disney on August 15, citing one of the sticking points was scheduling workers' hours.