Public Sector Employment Under Siege
This article was prepared for a symposium at Indiana University Maurer School of Law on Labor and Employment Law under the Obama Administration. The article analyzes the current spate of attacks on public employees with particular reference to three sub-topics: teacher tenure and evaluation “reform,” the periodic cycles of public sector fiscal crises, and the unilateral modification of public sector collective bargaining agreements. The article concludes with the assessment that cyclical attacks on public sector workers reflect a skewed viewpoint that public employees owe first-class obligations but possess only second-class rights.
Unpaid Furloughs and Four-Day Work Weeks: Employer Sympathy or a Call for Collective Employee Action
In these tough economic times, employers have responded by pursuing four-day work weeks and other mechanisms that change the components of the standard five-day work week. Although four-day work weeks provide some savings in the form of reduced operating and energy costs and have received recent notice for also being family-friendly and environmentally-friendly, current dismal economic prospects have inspired employers to pursue other work week changes to achieve further savings. Furloughs, also referred to as unpaid days off, represent a form of a reduced work week as employees do not work during their furloughed time and receive no income for those hours. Furloughs have become more prevalent as employers have offered this option to employees as a major cost-cutting action and as a unique response to the current recession. In some situations, employers have mandated these furloughs without consulting employees. In other situations, furloughs have been presented as a sympathetic action by an employer seeking to help employees by not pursuing layoffs. In the midst of a nearly unprecedented jobs crisis, employees have few options when responding to these wage-cutting initiatives. This Article offers a strategy to assist employees in developing a comprehensive response to an employer’s planned furloughs. Through collective action, employees and their unions can navigate these difficult economic times and focus on the one benefit that would significantly aid financially-distressed workers: paid leave. Either through legislative action or union-negotiated agreements, employees must band together and respond collectively to furlough initiatives by exploring all other cost-cutting measures and by seizing upon this time to seek paid leave benefits.
The economic health of dentistry: past, present, and future.
Important changes in dentistry during the past two decades include a declining caries incidence, an increase in the number of dentists, greater competition for patients, and the spread of retail dentistry and alternative plans for financing and delivering dental services. Dire predictions about the effects of these changes often have not been based on facts. This article uses available data to examine the profession's economic prospects.